Bikram Vohra has been editor of Gulf News, Khaleej Times, Bahrain Tribune, Emirates Evening Post and helped in setting up Gulf Today
The UAE’s English language newspapers have failed to invest in quality journalism and are ill-prepared for the looming world of multiple apps, argues Bikram Vohra
“The former CEO of Rolls-Royce was once interviewed by a reporter from a local English daily. Sir Ralph Robbins clutched desperately at his slipping smile when he was asked if he was considering making a new model of the Silver Sprite. He gracefully explained that his company was making power plants and working on the Trent series of engines. The reporter responded: “So is that an advanced v
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First stone has been thrown. Looks like it hit.
I agree with some of this – KT could close tomorrow and no-one would notice. National is good but massively under-delivers given the size of its newsroom and the depth of its pockets. Gulf News is stagnant and a new size will not make a difference. Gulf Today I have never seen let alone read. Sport 360 is outperformed daily in sport coverage by TN and must be losing a fortune. The only hope for the UAE is 7DAYS. They may be small in size but they outclass the other publications in terms of serious news coverage (you will never see a press release cut and paste into 7DAYS).
Newspapers here are like banks – unwilling to change and unable to see the massive problems they will soon face.
Inspiring, engaging, refreshing = 7DAYS.
I for one congratulate the ‘Phantoms Of The Opera’ for remaining centre stage for over 9 Years.
The only paper I trust for good up to date news is 7DAYS,I look foward to my daily fix of 7DAYS content.
One question : Why has Mr Vohra had so many jobs?
I suspect I’m the target audience for The National, but I don’t bother buying it because it won’t/can’t report the news. The Sheikh Issa case being a prime example. I understand why they can’t report on these things but it utterly undermines their position as a newspaper that wants to be credible.
7Days is plucky and deserves credit for it’s daily human-interest stories, but you wouldn’t use it as a source of serious news.
Likewise Sport360 – I get up-to-the-minute sport news (and now live footage) on my smartphone. The days of picking up a newspaper the following morning to see the result/report ended in the mid-90s.
And I’ve refused to even touch a copy of The Gulf News since Jan 2009 and this debacle: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2009/jan/06/dubai-middleeast