Job Satisfaction and Editorial Freedom at Al-Arabiya: Finding the Balance while Covering Volatile Middle East News

Abstract

Al-Arabiya is one of the most respected television news networks covering all aspects of the volatile Middle East. Its journalistic reputation increased during the Arab Spring protests of 2011, as it came to be regarded as one of the most reliable and accurate sources for news. Like any other television news network, it relies heavily on the professionalism and good will of its news staff. Although Al-Arabiya has the luxury of not being state owned, and therefore of being able to exercise more editorial freedom than most state-owned Arab television news stations, it does have limitations because of its Saudi Arabian ownership. The study found that journalists accepted these news gathering limitations as a trade-off for a secure job and for being able to work at what they consider the best Arabic television station in the region. This is one of the first academic studies to investigate perceptions of job satisfaction and editorial freedom among the news workers at this unique Middle East television news network. The researchers got a 94 percent response rate from a staff survey, and were given full access to interview staff and executives in Al-Arabiya’s headquarters in Dubai’s Media City.