The media's role in turning the compass back towards elections

“The media's role in restoring the compass toward the elections” was a radio episode carried out by Pal-Think for Strategic Studies on the local Zaman radio, within the programme “Electoral Issues”, broadcast every Wednesday and Thursday at noon — within the project “Strengthening civil society's role in supporting the Palestinian elections”, funded by the Government of Canada, which aims to empower society's role and activate the role of youth and strengthen their political and communal participation in order to support the Palestinian elections.

The episode's guest was Fadi al-Husseini, an investigative journalist and founder of the “Akher Qissa” platform. He opened his talk by affirming that the media is one of the principal pillars of any democratic process and any democratic system, pointing to three starting points toward this subject: that the media represents the mirror of the street; that it is one of the instruments of integrity and good governance in society and of establishing social justice; and that it has an oversight role as a fourth estate.

He said: “The street no longer needs awareness-raising after the decision that issued from the President concerning the elections, because it is conscious of their importance, and this matter stirred the street's enthusiasm, and we must build on this condition that has formed. Meaning: in light of this popular thirst for the necessity of there being elections, the journalistic treatment of this subject must accord with the street's opinion. The matter now requires deep treatment of events.”

Al-Husseini made clear that it is necessary now to push toward issuing a new decree-law setting the date of the elections, through several levels: at the level of the press, there is a need for opinion writers who express the street's opinion and push toward the inevitability of holding the elections after 14 years of deprivation — in addition to the importance of the existence of a unified political base.

It is true that the Arab media outlets deal with sensitivity toward one party or another on the elections file, yet there exists a condition of great Arab sympathy when there are Palestinian victims, and this matter of humanitarian character must be built upon. The Arab peoples have what occupies them, yet it is required of the Palestinians to show their bright face and their successful models emerging from the womb of the blockade, according to al-Husseini.

He affirmed that the media needs a wide space of freedom of opinion and expression to perform its oversight role over all the steps of the electoral process, because by that it will search out the transgressions of the parties and the electoral lists.

The investigative journalist said: “In light of the condition of division, journalists have come to have self-censorship, and we as journalists must break up this censorship. Now a person, before publishing their opinion on social media, reviews themselves several times.”

As for the role of social media sites, he made clear that they are supportive of the traditional media outlets, and any media outlet that does not possess a site will have limited reach — pointing out that the activists' voices published on those sites are evidence of their strength in forming public opinion, and accordingly they must be invested to urge the necessity of forming the elections.

Al-Husseini said that the journalistic treatment of the elections proceeds from the angle of the government's or some body's adherence to the law. Investigative journalism is required to review all the decisions and laws that issued during the division and examine their accordance with public opinion, and this is an entry point toward oversight and supporting the elections.

He added that the media needs a joining of efforts to press toward the elections, and to review the engagement with the elections on social media after their cancellation. He continued: “We always side with the marginalised categories and public opinion and with achieving oversight and transparency, because journalistic coverage through the journalistic story finds greater attention than the other journalistic forms such as the news item or the report, and we can use these stories to press toward the democratic process.”

The designations used and the presentation of materials in this programme entail no expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Government of Canada