|
|
|
Developing talent from within |
|
|
 The Middle Eastern broad-casting market is the third largest in the world, after Europe and North America, according to a recent international study. Overtaking the Asia-Pacific and Eastern Europe markets, it is currently operating over 370 television stations. And it’s still growing, ranging from major stations to very simple operations, with a wide variety of interests and focuses.
Experts in the field unanimously agree that there is a need for educated, talented broadcasters and journalists to operate and support the demands of these enterprises. But most universities in the Middle East have lagged behind the industry in updating their production equipment, programs, and even faculty training.
Mass communications “graduates” too often do not receive the training required to assume anything near fully-functional positions in the journalism and broadcast industries.
Some regional television stations have thus taken to covering the shortages in artistic and technical staff by hiring foreign workers to operate their equipment and train their new employees. This is costly; it is a stopgap measure; and it works in some areas, but not in others.
The Arab world suffers from a lack of specialized degree programs in key production areas, ranging from lighting and camera work to post-production editing and acting. Of particular concern is the creative aspect of production, which is still considered limited and problematic. Students may feel that something looks good, but they often cannot explain why.
Experts conclude that the demand produced by the market’s fast growth is quickly depleting all communications resources in the area, and it is currently limited by the lack of in-depth training for the rising generation of broadcasters.
MEB meets the challenge
 We need to focus and find dynamic solutions to these major complications that are affecting the entire industry. The goal is to strengthen broadcasting’s capabilities and provide a sustainable method for training our new leaders in the field. The success of this endeavor will rely on establishing crucial collaborative efforts among reputable international and regional broadcasting individuals and institutions. MEB has taken the first step in that direction by establishing an educational institute dedicated to training.
“The Institute’s unique program ‘Setting Broadcasting Standards’ is launched as a direct solution to obstacles previously mentioned and identified in MEB’s late 2005 research,” says Rawan Manna, MEB’s Director of Strategic Solutions. “The program is dedicated to enhancing both academic and technical broadcasting education. MEB will serve as the broadcasting heart of the region, for it will gather noteworthy events and efforts produced by broadcasting entities, faculty, and students.”
Manna points to MEB’s co-sponsoring role in Notre Dame University’s First Annual Student Film Festival in Lebanon as indicative of the future: “We plan to distribute programs such as these all over the region through multi-faceted campaigns and advertisements.”
“Sharing efforts, even with competitors, is most rewarding, for it will broaden the benefits and encourage competition among broadcasting entities to reach a higher level,” says Manna. “It is necessary to strengthen the relationship between industry and academia. One way to do that is to train faculty and students to use state-of-the-art equipment and software.” She concludes: “We realize that the industry has many broadcasting institutes and training centers in addition to universities, but the main problem with these programs is that there is almost no coordination among them.”
MEB Founder Ahmad Al Maaz has dedicated the association and its resources to forming an institute which will serve as the center where broadcasters can unite and exchange key skills, education, training, and experiences. He warns that, in most Arab countries, reading has been relegated to the lowest priority in recent history, at only two minutes per week. Watching television, he says, exceeds an average of six hours per day. “This should underscore the growing responsibility of broadcasters today,” Al Maaz says, “for many are now considered teachers first – and broadcasters second. This emphasizes the need to create educational standards to enhance the quality of productions in the region.”
“It’s impressive to see that five governments from outside the region have realized the importance of Arab audiences,” says Al Maaz. “Each has established an Arabic-speaking television station with an annual budget of around 60 million dollars.” He continues: “It is imperative that Arab broadcasters plan, identify, and address the obstacles facing them. Relying on a foreign workforce only temporarily solves our problems.” Al Maaz warns that “if Arab TV stations are not able to address broader issues, they will lose their viewers to foreign stations, who are relying on highly capable professionals.”
The need for reform
 “The enhancement of the Arab broadcasting industry is a burden all broadcasters should share and solve,” says Mahmoud Abdulhadi, General Manager of Ashorooq TV and former head of the Al Jazeera Training Center.
He points out that “while it is fair to say that there is no such thing as international media standards, there are individual media standards in almost every country.” Abdulhadi recommends and MEB concurs that “no one should be trying to impose any one country’s standards on us.”
About the “Setting Broadcasting Standards program,” Abdulhadi says: “I know that MEB’s goal is to unite our efforts to develop common Arab broadcasting standards on the educational, technical, and even ethical level. This is a rather ambitious step that will take time to crystallize. However, taking the first step is crucial at this point and I applaud MEB’s efforts in the area.”
“Standards are only partially there and strategic planning is almost absent,” insists Abdulhadi. “For example, unions are handicapped; most play a political role rather than maintaining professional quality. A broadcaster’s mission is close to that of a physician. If he doesn’t follow standard procedure, he could end up with a fatality.”
Abdulhadi says that “the Arab broadcasting industry is full of production, but since there are no clear standards to follow, this production will continue to suffer, as they won’t achieve the goals they were set for.” He adds that “setting standards isn’t easy at all, [but] I hope we can all join forces, and fulfill the current gaps, and achieve this strategic goal.”
According to some experts, the problem begins at the most basic level of communications. “We have no place for training,” says Yousef Al-Failakawi, Kuwait University’s Assistant
Professor of Mass Communications, “and journalists need training before they hit the road. There are many people who work in the broadcasting industry without the education and background they need.”
“Everyone wants to work in the industry,” believes Al-Failakawi, “and that is what affects the quality of broadcasting.” He insists that ”there is no more specialization and no respect for education. Whoever holds a camera considers himself a director and whoever writes a line believes he’s a writer.”
Professor Khalil Smayra of the Academie Libanaise des Beaux Arts told MEB Journal over a year ago that he is sure graduates “do find some kind of job in the industry,” although “many must be convinced that not everyone can be a director.” He fears that “the industry will witness a surplus of directors in misused capacities and no job vacancies.” Smayra wonders, “why do we need to pay foreign directors of photography thousands of dollars instead of training our students to do it? In the end, a director can’t accomplish his work without a qualified team of cameramen, sound, and lighting engineers.”
Nabeel Al-Utaibi, currently with the Al Jazeera Training Center, warns: “Our industry lacks all broadcasting capabilities, starting from directors to cameramen. New stations are launched on a daily basis, creating the need for more broadcasters. This brings us to the fact that we need quality, not only quantity.”
 Al-Utaibi says that “the majority of universities in the Middle East are graduating students who are not in a position to get an entry level job at any station today. Many of these students have never been trained to use a camera or a microphone, let alone cover a story.”
“In other words,” worries Al -Utaibi, “the majority of these graduates have only learned broadcasting theories, which makes them illiterate broadcasters.” To meet this challenge, Saad Abu Nasr, the General Manager of MEB, is certain of the success of the MEB Institute and its program “Setting Broadcasting Standards.” He points to 2005, when MEB built and launched the first high definition (HD) television studio, complete with a control room in the Middle East. More than 50 companies provided HD equipment worth millions of dollars. Training was provided to over one hundred students from Lebanon to operate the live HD production via ArabSat. What’s more, fourteen of those students were then sponsored by NAB to run its 2006 international HD convention presentation in the United States. Because of this, Abu Nasr is convinced that the NAB and many other organizations and firms will support the MEB Institute.
The program’s first milestones
To nurture “Setting New Broad-casting Standards,” MEB has enlisted the support of Mr. Dale Matthews. Recognized by many industry professionals as the best university-level television production instructor in America, Matthews has been appointed President of the MEB Institute and recruited as the MEB Journal’s Managing Editor.
“I intend to hit the ground running,” says Matthews. Just a few days after sharing the vision with MEB Founder Ahmad Al Maaz, Matthews organized the program’s first joint enterprise, a live television production of the national championships of girls’ high school volleyball in Las Vegas, Nevada. All he needed was a crew.
“The United Arab Emirates Uni-versity was one of the first to recognize the benefits of our program and adopt the vision to become a pioneer,” says MEB’s Manna. “Their first step was providing a team of eight female students to participate in our training session in Las Vegas.”
 The UAE University team included students from the UAE, Egypt, Yemen, Lebanon and the Kingdom of Bahrain. “The main intention of this training session was to empower these young women with the use of quite affor-dable equipment,” explains Matthews. “Together, we professionally planned, produced, directed, and broadcast a live national sports production from the United States to the entire world.”
“It was an honor to work with these young ladies,” adds Matthews. “The techniques they learned from MEB will be important for students to know all over the Arab world because it will give them a window to contribute to their society. We truly are in need of their fresh, creative contributions.” The students were also tasked to document their training and experiences, within MEB’s goal to maximize the benefit of each session and reach as many students in the region as possible.
 “It is imperative that we connect young Middle Eastern broadcasters to the wealth of knowledge in the United States,” says Dr. Beverly Merrick, Chair of the UAE University’s Mass Communications Department. “And it was a great cultural and educational experience for students. It sure was an intensive training session, but the students felt that they learned a lot and they are anxious to participate in future sessions.” Dr. Merrick agrees with MEB: “I encourage all universities to join hands and collaborate in this program.”
Merrick feels that MEB’s mission for the Arab world is in harmony with the grand vision of HRH Mohammad Bin Rashed Al Maktoom, referring to his interview on CBS’s 60 Minutes news program. Recently, His Highness dedicated what is considered the largest financial contribution worldwide to encourage education and research in the Arab world.
Merrick is excited: “The birth of such visions is a significant step that could mark the beginning of a new broadcasting horizon, not only in the UAE, but also in the Arab world.”
“We are looking forward for further collaborations with MEB to extend similar training to all our students,” says Dr. Donald Baker, Dean of UAE University’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences.
 In Lebanon, MEB Institute was quick to co-sponsor the First Annual Student Film Festival organized by Notre Dame University. The festival included six universities and each contributed six of its students’ best productions.
The films were screened daily at the Pierre Abou Khater Auditorium. The best three films were honored with awards by MEB and NDU at the Issam Fares Conference Hall. The winning films will be displayed on the MEB website at a later date. Emile Chahine, a Lebanese film professor, film critic, and head judge of the festival says: “Our festival under-scores the necessity of MEB Institute in the Arab world, especially that it is able to multiply the number of students benefiting from our efforts to reach students not only in Lebanon, but all over the Arab world.”
He added, “A good live example of how such an event can benefit students greatly is Nadine Labaki. The encouragement she received as a student helped her launch her career confidently. I look forward to work with MEB on future projects empowering students all over the region.”
MEB’s Director of Strategic Solutions, Rawan Manna, is working to extend opportunities such as those offered in the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon to other universities and broadcasting institutions in the region. To participate in the program, contact:
This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
|
|
