UAE needs free media, not big media

‘Creating a pool of media is the only way to survive in the coming years as competition between all types of media tools hots up.” The words of Ahmad Al Hammadi, Executive General Manager of Arab Media Group, speaking at the First Gulf Investment Forum, and quoted in one of his papers, Emirates Business. Hammadi has three newspapers, nine radio stations and sales rights to a couple of TV stations.
There is some old media sense in what he says – a diverse range of media, touching the consumer at different points during the day, providing a versatile platform for advertisers. But it suggests small and innovative media have no place in a modern media environment. This is nonsense.
What the media industry needs, what any industry needs, is free and fair competition. An innovative, outspoken freesheet should be allowed to distribute to homes in Dubai, instead of being banned by government-supported companies. It should be easier for publishers to get the license to print new titles. Talent should be able to move between employers and not face the threat of being banned.
There is nothing wrong with building empires, but it is not healthy for such a youthful market (bear in mind Gulf News just celebrated its 30^th birthday) to already be thinking about domination. Encouraging new media, new forms of information delivery, should be to the fore.