Lebanon’s Judicial Magazine cover

“Suppression is the basis of corruption,” Rouba El Helou quoted Arab reformist thinker Abdel Rahman Al Kawakbi as saying in an article featuring a workshop on corruption coverage conducted by Media Unlimited director Magda Abu-Fadil.

The training was part of a conference organized by the UN Development Program (UNDP), ACIAC and the Lebanese Justice Ministry.

The article can be downloaded here [PDF]

Media Unlimited director Magda Abu-Fadil wrote a chapter entitled “Qatar Educators Learn to Integrate Media Literacy into Curricula,” in the book “Media and Information Literacy and Intercultural Dialogue.”

Media and Information Literacy and Intercultural Dialogue

It was based on workshops Abu-Fadil conducted at the Doha Center for Media Freedom for teachers, activities coordinators, and education experts.

The book was edited by Ulla Carlsson and Sherri Hope Culver and published by the International Clearinghouse on Children, Youth and Media at NORDICOM, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

The publication is available in PDF format here.

Media have played a key role in uncovering Arab leaders’ corruption, according to Dr. Azmi Shuaibi, the Arab Anti-Corruption and Integrity Network’s Non-Governmental Group coordinator.

Dr. Azmi Shuaibi explains partnership between NGOs and media

He addressed 10 journalists from print, broadcast and online media who attended the training as part of a conference organized by the UN Development Program (UNDP), ACIAC and the Lebanese Justice Ministry.

The April workshop also featured academic Khalil Gebara who asked rhetorically if there was a political will in Lebanon to fight corruption.

Journalists at anti-corruption workshop

“Why aren’t corruption issues on the list of government priorities?” he said.

Dr. Khalil Gebara

Lead trainer and Media Unlimited director Magda Abu-Fadil walked the journalists through the definitions of corruption and how media can play an increasingly important role as watchdogs in the post-Arab Spring environment.

She also briefed them on international standards of investigative journalism and their application to corruption in the Arab world.

Magda Abu-Fadil shows links between anti-corruption coverage and investigative journalism

Another key component is media ethics and its importance in reporting on corruption, she said.

Abu-Fadil also focused on the vital role played by social media and how best to utilize them.

Participants provided a list of recommendations, which UNDP’s Regional Communications Specialist Rut Gomez Sobrino hopes to translate into an action plan.

Lebanese journalists, Rut Gomez Sobrino and Abu-Fadil at anti-corruption workshop

She attended a meeting in Dubai of committee representatives for 12 of the 14 prize categories. It grouped noted Arab journalists, academics and researchers and was chaired by AJA director Muna Busamra.

AJA Director Muna Busamra chairs judges’ committee meeting in Dubai

The Dubai Press Club, which oversees the AJA process, announced the names of the 60 judges in April.

It was the first time in the AJA’s 12-year history that judges’ names were made public ahead of the awards ceremony.

AJA logo

The awards will be handed out at the end of Arab Media Forum scheduled for May 14-15.

There were a record 4,146 entries in this year’s lineup with 33 finalists vying for top place in their respective categories.

Abu-Fadil evaluated articles in the investigative journalism category.

Magda Abu-Fadil discusses investigative journalism entries

Judges scrutinize anonymous articles according to strict rules and submit their evaluations online.

The committees’ recommendations are reviewed and approved by the AJA board, which also selects the best annual column and media personality of the year.

Some 600 jury members have served on panels since the prize’s inception in 1999, AJA deputy director Jasim Al Shemsi said.

Arab Strategy Forum 2013 logo

“We can’t operate in the media with a Stone Age mentality,” she insisted. “Social media aren’t just for kids.”

To prove the point and debunk traditionalists’ thinking, she spoke, tweeted and shot video during her session on the relationship between Arab media and social networks.

Abu-Fadil speaks, tweets and shoots video at ASF 2013

She also said there was a lot of useful information online.

But equally important is the ability to use critical thinking to filter through all the disinformation and misleading content, she added.

Arab media and social networks panel

The forum, organized by the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation (MBRF), grouped experts from across the Arab world and United States who discussed social networks and knowledge society.

MBRF CEO Sultan Ali Lootah opens ASF 2013

They included Charbel Fakhoury, Microsoft’s vice president for sales and marketing in the Middle East, Mohamed Murad from Google Gulf, Kaveh Gharib from Twitter’s U.S. headquarters and Jonathan Labin from Facebook’s Middle East and Africa arm.

Dubai TV’s Zeina Yazigi (right) chairs “Evolution of Social Networks” session

Also on hand for the two-day forum in March 2013 were Saudi bloggers Molook Al Sheikh and Abdel Aziz Al Shaalan, Bahraini TV host Khaled Al Shaer, and Kuwaiti columnist Meshal Al Nami.

Emirati speakers filled the “Tweet Positively” panel that concentrated on religious aspects and positive values in uses of social networks, as well as individuals’ roles in protecting their nation from harmful media, and how to use Twitter for good causes.

The outreach project covers a range of community organizations, including K-12 teachers and the media, with a goal of disseminating knowledge about women and Islamic cultures.

The project is funded by a Henry Luce Foundation grant, and the public outreach is organized by EWIC’s General Editor, Suad Joseph as well as Associate Editors, Bahar Davary, Marilyn Booth, Sarah Gualtieri and Elora Shehabuddin.

As part of the project, the article published in 2007 will be made available on the Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures and General Editor’s website.

It will also be published as a brochure and in brief format to be handed out to local agencies, NGOs, schools, religious institutions, and interfaith organizations.

Dr. Suad Joseph is Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and Women and Gender Studies at the University of California, Davis.

In an interview on the Rotana Khalijia channel’s program “Sayidati,” Media Unlimited director Magda Abu-Fadil stressed the importance of drawing red lines where children are concerned and urging media to abide by guidelines for good journalistic practice on issues related to violence.

Magda Abu-Fadil discusses media ethics and children on Rotana’s “Sayidati”

The show’s segment related the cases of the body of a naked child splashed on TV screens, a girl stricken with AIDS being visited by celebrities, and a boy whose parents abused him.

Abu-Fadil said it was important to create awareness through the media about such incidents but that it was equally critical to ensure that one does not cross that very fine line between reporting and sensationalism.

“Sayidati,” co-hosted by Saudi presenter Maysaa Al Amoudi, is broadcast live from Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia.

Cover of Al I3lam wal 3sr includes MU director

The wide-ranging interview in the magazine’s March issue shed light on Abu-Fadil’s career in print, broadcast and online media, as well as her stint in academia and her take on media ethics, social networks, and how to re-purpose oneself as a journalist.

A PDF of the Al I3lam wal 3sr article can be downloaded here.

Magda Abu-Fadil addresses Al Arabiya’s English website team

Abu-Fadil said elementary rules like spelling people’s names correctly and ensuring their titles were precise should not be overlooked since they were the corner stones of good reporting.

She also cautioned participants, several of whom she trained in October 2012, not to rush and publish information before verifying it from multiple sources, noting that rumors and other questionable news and visuals filled the Internet, leading to many a journalist’s downfall.

Abu-Fadil recounted some of her adventures as a foreign correspondent and editor and how she had transitioned from being a traditional journalist to a blogger and media trainer.

Abu-Fadil with Al Arabiya English website editor in chief Faisal Abbas

The event dubbed “Accuracy: How it could make us, or break us,” was part of an Al Arabiya English website General Assembly in March 2013.

The participants took part in a workshop on Strategic Communications conducted by Media Unlimited director Magda Abu-Fadil under the patronage of Sheikha Lubna bint Khaled Al Qassemi to help them craft their internal and external messages.

Magda Abu-Fadil (center back row) trains UAE-based foreign aid communications officials

The March 2013 training in Abu Dhabi centered on building bridges with the media, setting priorities, appreciating deadlines for various media, collecting news from the field, ethics in public relations, planted stories and conflict of interest, and, their organization’s visual identity.

Participants worked in groups to map out strategic media plans, practiced writing op-eds, and discussed how to improve coordination between their respective organizations.

Working groups map out strategic communications plans

They were advised to think like journalists, and to beef up their online presence through traditional and social media channels.

The workshop was organized by the UAE Ministry of International Cooperation and Development, the Office for the Coordination of Foreign Aid, and twofour54 Tadreeb.