Independent media in Yemen call for help

In the midst of the greatest upheavals in Yemen in 20 years, the country’s independent media is on the verge of bankruptcy, unable to provide Yemenis with much-needed reliable information

By Lotte Dahlmann

The growing unrest in Yemen has led advertisers to withdraw their funds, with dire consequences for the few independent media in Yemen. For the country’s only English-language newspaper, Yemen Times, this development is imminently life threatening.

– If we do not obtain the necessary funds here and now, we will not last more than a month, says the owner and chief editor of Yemen Times, Nadia Al-Sakkaf.

Advertising revenue is the greatest source of income for Yemen Times and in line with most of the other countries in the region, the ads are mainly placed by the state.

– Because of the recent protests, the number of ads has fallen so dramatically that we have had to halve the number of pages in our newspaper from 16 to eight, Nadia Al-Sakkaf explains.

Although her staff have been diligently reporting the protests, Nadia Al-Sakkaf, the only female chief editor in the region, does not think the loss in advertisements is politically motivated. However, she noted that, while government ads disappeared from Yemen Times, they continued to run in state-controlled media:

– We asked them to run the same ads with us, but they just said no, she explains.

Crisis stuns independent media

A survey carried out by Yemen Times shows that several independent media in Yemen face the same challenge as they do. The weekly newspaper Al-Masdar reports a 70 per cent loss in advertising revenue and some of the 25 staff members have yet to be paid their latest salaries.

Another small independent newspaper, Al-Nida’a, has also seen a decrease in advertisement revenue, but has not been massively affected by this, as the sale of single copies has a greater impact on their budget, according to the chief editor.

”We must survive”

The availability of reliable data about the Yemeni media environment is limited and therefore it is difficult to evaluate the clout of independent media. Confronted with the question of why an English-language newspaper like Yemen Times is important, Nadia Al-Sakkaf, says:

– What is unique about us is that half of our reporters are women. Even our security policy correspondent is a woman. As a female manager, I contribute to breaking down stereotypes in our society and strengthen the position of women – regardless of whether they work on the paper, read our paper or are our friends and family.

– In that sense our newspaper plays an important role in Yemen’s democratic development and vis-a-vis women’s rights, and that’s why we must survive, she adds.

Yemen Times is the oldest, independent English-language newspaper in Yemen, established when North and South Yemen were united in 1990. It was the first paper to go online in 1997 and therefore has the largest online archive of any of the existing Yemeni newspapers today.

– We are pioneers as the first newspaper to convey to the world in English what is going on in Yemen, says Nadia Al-Sakkaf, whose father founded the paper.

In 2006 the paper was awarded the “Free Media Pioneer Award” by the International Press Institute’s. Nadia Al-Sakkaf also received the World Association of Newspapers ”Gebran Tueni” award” that year.

Solutions

Nadia al-Sakkaf is hoping to avoid having to let go of staff members at Yemen Times because she knows this would have serious financial and social consequences for their families. Instead she is looking towards other solutions such as “sponsored pages” or publishing articles on specific issues.

She welcomes any assistance from the outside world, but Yemeni law prohibits Yemeni media from receiving financial support from external sources. This limits her options, and it doesn’t end here:

– We also have no desire to give up our independence, she says.

– But if anyone has any ideas as to how they could support is professionally and without legal or political consequences, I am more than happy to speak to them, says Nadia Al-Sakkaf.

Unstable media environment

Antti Kuusi, consultant on IMS’ media support programme in Yemen, explains that Yemen’s media problems are structurally based.

– There are too many newspapers compared to the country’s size and readership. Most are either controlled by the state, the military or dominated by certain political agendas – or as with Yemen Times and other independent media – they are dependent on the advertisement market, which is primarily state-driven.

Therefore there is a need for radical changes and some will flourish while others will falter. Having said this, IMS is looking into the possibility of offering emergency assistance to Yemen Times in cooperation with World Association of Newspapers (WAN). Antti Kuusi stresses the need for independent media at this crucial juncture in Yemen and is even hopeful:

– At this moment in time there is a crucial need for reliable, factual and independent information for the people, which can explain developments in the country as they happen. If the independent media can deliver this, this crisis may well be their saviour, says Antti Kuusi.

Read more about Yemen Times here.