My letter on The Pitiful State of Maldivian Web Media by Minivan News
'Allow me to contribute my humble opinion to this debate. It is all very well for the Minivan News to criticize Maldivian web media such the Dhivehi Observer for being sensationalist and focusing on “petty private arguments” as opposed to the idealized notion of the mainstream press – the positivist assumption that the careful collection of facts presented in official and impersonal language after a good objective investigation somehow leads to the truth. I do agree that this does provide factual information for those who have no knowledge of the situation.
However, on the contrary, tabloid websites such as DO use everyday conversationalist tones, which in a way lead to a more egalitarian relationship with the ordinary person on the street. In another word, there is no pontification.
In the Maldives I believe that there is a need and room for both. We need the careful analysis of facts that provides understanding and belief. The Minivan News is in this sense a remarkable source for those who are fortunate enough to understand the excellent English language that you use. However, for the ordinary Maldivian we also need websites like the Dhivehi Observer who use the language of the common man/women and had single-handedly exposed some of the worst crimes of this regime from raw information- something that some times no amount of empirical fact-finding investigative journalism is able to unearth.
Sir, Minivan News should concentrate on doing what it claims– being an independent news source for the Maldives – and bringing factual information for the people of the Maldives instead of spending time on slamming other web-based media. If DO or Factmaldives want to walk on a different path, then let them do so. After all, isn’t democracy about having the freedom to choose and shouldn’t that choice apply to journalism as well– whether to be a tabloid journal or to be with the mainstream press?'
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2 comments:
Dude I gotta side with with Minivan on this. I like the fact that you point out that DO is a tabloid, however it presents itself as the free voice of the opposition at times. Things are not so simple that tabloids can be allowed to run off at the mouth however they please. DO addresses the common man in colloquial dhivehi and 5th grade English, yes, but it also invades the private lives of innocent people who are not necessarily political figures. I think DO did a good job, albeit not an ethical one, when the opposition was small and virtually unknown. However, now it does more harm than good (probably why Minivan News wants to make it clear that they have no ties to it). Hate to kick a dead horse when it's down but DO has served its purpose and that's why it's annoying the opposition now. Their eventual fade into obscurity is inevitable unless Gayyoom's administration reverts to the ludicrious authoritarianism which fed the DO machine and made it famous.
Nah..our darling Donthabey is too cunning..if DO is not there, he will not hesitate two bokibas to revert to his more autocratic routine. The only reason why he is even remotely acting as if he is interested in reform is his nagging fear that it will be exposed on the net once more. Without that instrument, Golhaabo will love to lock up everyone and torture them...a snake will always be a snake...Don't underestimate what he is capable of..
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