Meanwhile, a reader pointed out the strange goings on at new kid on the Muscat 4th Estate block - Muscat Daily, stabled by Apex Press and Publishing, sired by successful Omani Businessman Saleh Zakwani, out of ambitious dame Mohana Prabhakar.
Photo: Mohana Prabhakar, CEO of Muscat Daily publisher Apex Press & Publishing. (Apex press release)The newspaper launched just a few months ago, and according to my sources seems to have rapidly exceeded its business plan targets for subscriptions, due to the combination of official home delivery (a first), low cost, and a populace frankly desperate for a new English paper that might do more than simply reprint Oman News Agency propaganda and the Reuters wire services.
They also ran a few stories initially that built on the reputation of free Apex magazine The Week for 'daring' to print a few articles that actually criticised something, such as pointing out when rubbish wasn't being collected, or minor issues with parking. This was actually groundbreaking folks, pathetic though that may seem.
However, those high expectations have met reality, and the usual drivers of poor newspaper reporting in Oman.
For a start, Muscat Daily editorial is essentially 100% Expat, mainly Indians (as is Times of Oman). The problem with this in terms of a newspaper is that the average Indian population** is famously afraid of doing anything to displease the Omanis who pay them. The fear of being ignominiously sent back to India keeps the typical Indian expat** in a constant state of prostrate genuflection to authority and their paymasters.
It also means they will not print anything truly challenging to ANYONE important, as they may get in trouble, and important people tend to be connected to one of the big oligarchy groups of businessmen who dominate non-Governmental advertising in Oman. Threats of pulling advertising are common, and seem to work. The treatment of the Toyota recall by Bahwan was typical - the story did not explicitly point out how Bahwan (the monopoly Toyota dealer in Oman) were denying there was a recall that applied to Oman.
The only way Oman is going to get real reporting is to have Omani journalists, supported by Omani editors with balls and wasta. Some young Omani journalists are much more talented than the expats when it comes to real reporting. They are not so much driven by earning a salary and having a residency visa. They actually have a passion for Oman, and some are willing to write real stories. The National's Omani stringer Saleh al Shaibany is a great example of this, but of course he has to work for a UAE paper. The fact that their English may not be as polished is something that can be handled by having a good sub-editor to fix the grammar and spelling. But Omani editorial is the only way this is going to improve, and it seems none of the Omani newspapers can be bothered to develop such talent*.
In addition, the Muscat Daily has a few strangle quirks. I noticed they are printing the self-help drivel pumped out by failed businessman but aggressively hyped-up self-promoter Kevin Abdulrahman, who left a string of ripped off people in New Zealand after a suspiciously unethical multi-level marketing scheme failed and he forced to flee the country. He had such a bad reputation that the biggest newspaper in the country the NZ Herald felt moved to warn the UAE authorities of his past record. Still, he's good enough for Muscat Daily. (Again, does no-one in Muscat Daily bother to use Google??)
Also, there are reports that Mohana's famously strong ego, and a tendency to be surrounded with fawning yes-men, are resulting in big staff turnover at the paper. This is usually a sign of bad management. Mohana was always ambitious, working her way up from a lowly editor of one magazine in 2001 to the lofty heights of CEO by 2008.
Muscat Daily may be a financial success - circulation is good, and they are making The Times of Oman up their game. But as a journalistic endeavor right now I'm calling it a fail. From promising beginnings, this little filly is back to business as usual, with small non-stories and the usual everything's happy local news stuff in the attempt to boost advertising (which has been slow), especially from the Government.
And that's a shame.
The flag of real journalism in Oman is firmly held right now by gallant but small weekly freebie "Y Magazine", but they are a tiny outfit and don't have the resources to really take on giants like Apex and ToO.
* The tendency of expats to protect their jobs by blocking the development and training of Omanis is a whole story on its own. It's one of the many things holding back the expansion of Omani workers.
**Post edition
Update 1: I was making a gross stereotype here to make a point. I was never referring to all Indian expats. If you are an Indian Expat (or indeed, an expat of a different nationality) and you know this description does not apply to you, then please don't take it as applying to you! But I still think the visa/sponsorship system creates an atmosphere that severely discourages risk-taking to the disservice of journalism and several other desired behaviours, and that these apply more commonly to the NRIs. It's not meant to be about blame.
Update 2: I take the point that there were a couple of statements that were a matter of opinion, and that even the fact that these opinions were shared by more than just UD, they did not actually help the point of the story at all. These have been changed. I do actually read the comments and take them under consideration. Thanks for the input folks.
UD
