The discussion focused on four areas:
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The journalist as the messenger or maker of information
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The ideology of the media
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Al Jazeera's coverage of Palestinian issues
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Citizen journalism and its impact on media professionalism in the present Arab situation
The debate touched upon all of these topics but centered mainly on the discussion of Al-Jazeera’s policies and its coverage of the events regarding the revolutions in the Arab world. Naturally, a special focus was the Palestinian situation related to the peace negotiations in the Palestinian conflict. And mr. Aref Hijjawi confirmed that "Al Jazeera's coverage of the Arab uprisings especially in Tunisia and Egypt got its share of coverage which might lead to less focus on the Palestinian case.”
The discussion also included Hijjawi's own personal experiences as a broadcaster as well as his own way of presenting news, his style of reading the news and managing the dialogue with the in-studio guests.
As for citizen journalism, Hijjawi explained, the media blackout imposed by some Arab regimes made it clear that it was impossible to get insight into what was going on in the revolting countries without using citizen reports. They were the only source of news and were these news true or false there were no alternative for him until he was available to get actual media professionals into the area to report the news.
Speaking of the new programs of interest to the Palestinian cause, Hijjawi said:
"There are many programs, including ‘Under the Microscope’ , which stopped broadcasting is currently busy due to the station’s success, the follow-up news about the Arab revolutions, but these programs are ready to be broadcasted again in the event of stability of the situation."
As a finishing note he added:
"The need to promote the Palestinian flags and work to make it the main news topic during the Palestinian unity agreement live up to the standards of professional journalism."
Aref Hijjawi, program director at Al Jazeera television in the presence of a large number of journalists, media professors, students, and university staff.
