Dubai Journalists - Intellectuals Slaves of Media Barons

Dubai: Long working hours and lack of job safety are only some of the serious problems haunting many scribes here. While a leading channel is known to have delayed salary to its representative for several months, another channel gives its stringers a salary less than the monthly earning of a housemaid!!!. Even though the Gulf wing of the Malayalam media has been growing, there is no major improvement in the living and working conditions of journalists and non-journalist staff. Some of the media organizations are virtually squeezing their workers by giving peanut salary and forcing them to work long hours.Despite the glamour and status associated with the profession, actual living standard is like many other ordinary folks. Channels, which make a major chunk of their income from the Gulf region, don't give decent remuneration to even the editorial staff. Due to rising rent and cost of living, some journalists live here as bachelors. Journalists with poor payment are much easier to be influenced and those who indulge in luxurious lifestyle are definitely earning through "other means". .

A leading Malayalam channel has offered a very senior journalist from Kerala a lumpsum salary of Dhs.2000 with which he had to arrange accommodation, transport, food and even maintain his family! "Indian media organizations convert these amounts into Indian currency and feel that the amount is a very big salary for a Malayali journalist. It is another matter that to get a decent accommodation, one has to give that much amount as monthly rent," says a journalist. The same channels give about Dhs.8, 000 to 10,000 plus commission to marketing managers. "As competition among newspapers and channels is getting intense, journalists are facing lot of pressure to produce exclusive stories and scoops.

Deepika International Malayala Manorama and Malayalam News are giving reasonably good remuneration to regular staff. However, some media organizations recruit people locally and exploit them by retaining them as trainee journalists for long periods. Some media organisations are known to follow an aparthied towards "married" female journalists.

"Even though the Gulf wing of the Malayalam media has been growing, there is no major improvement in the living and working conditions of journalists and non-journalist staff. Some of the media organizations are virtually squeezing their workers by giving peanut salary and forcing them to work long hours.

In order to cope up with the increased work load, there is no corresponding increase in the number of journalists or non journalistic staff," says one of the victims. "Many journalists who work in radio stations lack job security. Due to increased competition, each station is adding more programmes and extended timings. However, the existing journalists have to cope up with the increasing pressure, without any corresponding increase in salary or other service terms," added another journalist. The chief of a radio station deals with his subordinates so arrogantly, contrary to what they preach to the public through their programmes.

A leading media organization with TV and radio operations earns much of its advertising revenue from its Dubai operations. A reporter has to write the script, prepare news, go for shooting, act as a camera man, editor and even as the messenger to transport the finished cassette to the airport. As the channel has not introduced the latest technology, the staff will have to call up all the travel agents in town who will have to identify air passengers to Trivandrum, persuade them to carry the cassette to the nearest airport and hand over it to a telephone booth from where the channel representative will collect it. In case the cassette is lost or delayed, the announced programme will be in trouble. And it has happened at least a few cases.

Many part time journalists are working for fame and publicity rather than earning a livelihood. Newspapers have been exploiting such "journalists" who want some reputation and publicity through their ritings/reporting. For them getting a byline is more important than getting paid for an article. Some of the also employ ghost writers and put their bylines.

Malayalam Media Revolution in Dubai

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League Attacks Journalists in Kerala, Journalists Honour League MP in Gulf

The Indian Media Forum (IMF) Special Get together had two special guests - business tycoon and Rajyasabha MP Abdul Wahab and KMCC head Puthur Rahman. A prominent League leader and former director of Kairali channel, Wahab was a special guest in the IMF meeting owing to his role as a parliamentarian representing the NRIs. He has announced that he would be heading the Dubai edition of Chandrika, the Muslim League mouthpiece, which is now spearheading a campaign against all the media organizations that have played a role in exposing the Leage Minister Kunjalikutty's involvement in the notorious Ice Cream Parlour sex scandal.

The presence of Abdul Wahab and Puthur Rahman, representing a political party that has mercilessly attacked journalists at Karippur airport raised many eyebrows. While some people questioned their credibility as journalists, there is another counter argument that they represent Chandrika, which is also a party newspaper.

However, one group alleged that since the two league leaders have not yet condemned the attack on journalists, honouring them as special guests was contrary to what the IMF did a month back when it condemned the attacks. Some people with left political lenience have questioned the credibility of some journalists who attended the forum meet. However, another group counters this argument by saying that Wahab was on the board of directors of Kairali channel, which is also a CPM mouthpiece. Even when one journalist asked Wahab about his comments on the attack on journalists in Kerala, he was evasive and did not bother to give a direct reply.

Abdul Wahab is a Rajyasabha member representing the NRI community and he was invited purely because of his prominence as a journalist. Puthur Rahman was invited because he is a representative of Chandrika Newspaper. Another theory is that someone is trying to grab the much coveted post of Chandrika Editor and the special invitation went out as a reward ....

Who will be editor of Chandrika?

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Omani Paper Installs Hidden Cameras to Monitor Journalists Movement

Do you know? A leading newspaper in Oman is facing problems. Journalists are being harassed, yet it remians No.1 paper in Oman. But for how long? Rumours are up, the paper is up for sale. No news editor, no editor, no chiefsubeditors, no chiefreporter and no business editor, no city editor and no....no...
Do you know about it?

Property rights dispute is at a very high point.You know the expatriate journalsits in Oman (it is a day fact that Oman has only expatriate journalsits and as far as I know, you were one among those good ones)are being harassed. I will tell you a secret. The journalists being harassed now are working with the newspaper. There are not being harassed by the authorities, but by their own chief manager, one of the ill-informed heirs of its chairman and editor in chief, a well-known figure in the regional and world media. The paper has an expatriate editor (evrybody calls him an expatriate editorial managaer) with no power and control, you may call him an obedient clerk. It is rumoured that the publication is slowly collapsing after another Indian editor managed (well-managed compny) TRIBUNE of Al Watan Group of newspapers hit newstands.

You know, the leading newspaper installed close-circuit cameras in all its departments, journalists and others are now being closely-watched by the security staff appointed by the company. One Omani lady journalist reporter resigned because of this camera story. It is shame for al of us living in a free world of today. Honestly Oman has the best ruler and we all salute and are ready to die for him, the great Sultan of the century. You know the local police rop seized the passport of a reporter who is famous among Indians, especailly mallus) some 20 months ago and his passport is still with the police. The motive is mysterious. You know, a big name says, a rival company was involved in appointing a manager from Bahrain for demoralizing and depressing existing capable staff journalists. The manager left after one year doing some harms to the staff. The company also lost its 25-year skilled advertisemnet manager skilled Goan circulation manager recently. An Egyptian manager also resigned or sacked recently.