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[johnslat]

Another article by my friend, recently returned from Yemen:

"While leading online versions of US newspapers were reporting on a suicide plane crash in Austin, Tiger Wood's apology, and the death of former Secretary of State Alexander Haig early yesterday, their English-language counterparts on the Arabian Peninsula were covering their own preoccupations 10 or 11 time zones away.
These Peninsular websites cover a broad swath of the Peninsula from the east to southwest, beginning with prosperous Qatar on the Persian Gulf, continuing to its oil-rich neighbor Saudi Arabia in the center, and ending in impoverished Yemen in the corner.
The first stop takes place at the popular Al Jazeera.net site headquartered in Doha, Qatar. The site provides in-depth coverage of world events beyond the Peninsula. In fact, no lead stories yesterday involved the Middle East last Saturday. Instead, its lead story described the collapse of the Dutch coalition government as it failed to agree on withdrawing troops from Afghanistan. Two other major stories reported on political developments in the Ukraine and a recent coup in Niger.

For regional or local stories, however, a reader would have to drill down into the website--or check out the Saudi press next door.
Claiming to be the Middle East's leading English-language daily, the Arab News focused on events in the Islamic World, including a deadly minaret collapse in Morocco, Iran's latest criticism of the US presence in the Persian Gulf, and the deaths of militants in a Pakistani air strike. What's more, the News gave prominence to a statement by Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-Asheikh, Saudi Arabia's highest religious authority, condemning terrorism as un-Islamic.
On its local-news pages, the headlines chronicled complaints from residents in eastern Jeddah about a recycling plant emitting noxious smoke. Another story emphasized the National Prawn Company's efforts to recruit women for onshore aquaculture positions. And the Grand Mufti again was quoted in an article about medical establishments "fleecing patients."
Meanwhile, its competitor, the Saudi Gazette , continued its coverage of the role of Israel in the assassination of a Hamas leader in Dubai. The Gazette also focused on sporting events, praising soccer team Al-Hilal for winning the Crown Prince Cup and profiling female falconer Umm Bandar who had been encouraging more women to participate in this traditional male sport.
The newspaper then wrapped up the day's events by describing "A New Lawrence of Arabia." Othar Lawrence, a member of the Red Bull Air Force Sky Diving Team, made quite a splash by landing next to the King Fahd Fountain in the Red Sea off Jeddah.
At the same time, across Saudi Arabia's southwestern border, the Yemeni press was providing vigorous coverage of local and regional affairs. The weekly Yemen Observer offered articles ranging from a surprise 50-cent increase in the price of propane to a shaky cease-fire agreement with Houthi insurgents north of the capital.
Another story, "Jungle Pharmacies Popping up in Sana'a," described a rash of unlicensed pharmacies operating in the capital Sana'a, while still another lamented the huge annual consumption of the narcotic plant Qat, blaming it for depleting the water table and supplanting regular food crops.
In a series of man-on-the-street interviews titled "Celebrating Valentine's Day between prohibition and identity loss," the paper described the country's mixed feelings toward the holiday. Some interviewees insisted that the holiday was good for business, but others maintained that it was an "attack on Arabian and Islamic identity".
A competitor weekly, the Yemen Times, ran headlines on other social concerns. It reported, for example, that Parliament had just rejected an amendment to an anti-smoking law, which would have taxed cigarettes, banned smoking in public places, and restricted advertising. This story quoted a recent British study estimating that 77 percent of Yemeni men and 29 percent of Yemeni women smoke. By the way, a pack of cigarettes in Yemen costs about 40 cents.
The third online newspaper, the daily Yemen Post pulled no punches. On the right-hand corner of the home page, the editor-in-chief and publisher Hakim Almasmari criticizes the government for finding "many ways to eat financial support it is given without having real reforms being practiced."

Then in its "Quick Poll" column on the same page, the Post announced results to its question "Will US troops be welcomed in Yemen in the fight against Al-Qaida?" A resounding 95% responded "No."

The paper went on to other social and political issues plaguing Yemen. One story reported the latest calls for secession in the southern half of Yemen, which had been the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen before 1990. A second story reported the arrests of illegal immigrants from the Horn of Africa who had just made a perilous crossing of the pirate-infested Red Sea.

To sum up, representatives of the Arabian Peninsula's English-language press provided some valuable insights into their popular preoccupations. Their political or business affiliations did not matter in the overall scheme of what was considered newsworthy, as their collective interests ranged well beyond the War on Terror and included the expanding roles of women, the effects of drug addiction, and complaints about governmental corruption. This kind of media sampling should serve as a starting point for any Western policymakers seeking to understand the region."

William Heenan

"An amateur linguist, world traveler, and educator, Bill Heenan has spent more than eight years teaching overseas. These interests began while he was serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Chad. After mastering the official language French, he went on to learn Modern Standard Arabic. He recently returned from Yemen where he was director of training at the Yemen-America Language Institute in the capital Sana'a. Bill is now a teacher with the Gordon-Bernell Charter School and a trainer of volunteers for the New Mexico Coalition for Literacy. He has also written two articles on Yemen for the Albuquerque Journal and has contributed to AAA World and Transitions Abroad."



http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-38007-Middle-East-Affairs-Examiner~y2010m2d21-Headline-news-Preoccupations-of-the-Arabian-Peninsula

Regards,
John

[scot47]

It is really very wayward of these people not to take a close interest in the sexual pecadilloes and confessions of an American who makes his money by hitting a little white ball.

We really have to try harder in our attempts to show these people what the important things in life are.

[eclectic]

[Cleopatra]

[Sheikh N Bake]

Another shocking revelation: politics is always local. At least in the US.

That is, we might comment and complain about Capitol Hill, but ultimately it's all about "what's in it for ME?"