Media Freedom: a Reality that cannot be denied

The Journalists’ Society organized a seminar for the researcher and Journalist Mohammed Asaei, in which he discussed a study on the Bahraini media with the participation of 130 journalists. The study concluded that:

- There have been notable setbacks in terms of integrity and professionalism compared to previous periods. Journalism has also suffered from the lack of expertise, let alone the existence of negative competition between the daily newspapers.

- Instead of leading public opinion, it has become negatively led by it. The increase in the margin of freedom of local newspapers is a reality that cannot be denied despite an increase in government censorship of the internet.

- The political aspect of journalism is dominating the professional aspect, and many journalists working in newspapers lack sufficient expertise.

- The study revealed that 30.8% of staff working in journalism carry academic qualifications and 76.9% of journalists completed training courses after starting work. Also, 55.4% of those working in the journalism sector admitted that there are setbacks in the adherence to media ethics.

- Bahraini newspapers propagate ideologies and ideas, and 73.3% of journalists admitted that newspapers contribute to inflaming sectarianism.