Rana Sabbagh, journalist and free press champion

As told to Laith Abou-Ragheb

IN TERMS OF JOURNALISM, Rana Sabbagh has pretty much done it all. In her career so far, which spans well more than two decades, the combative forty-nine-year-old has witnessed some of the Middle East’s great upheavals as a Reuters correspondent, and held senior editorial positions with The Jordan Times and Al Ghad. She also writes regularly for Al Arab Al Yawm, the pan-Arab daily Al Hayat and The Times of London. But most of her time is now spent boosting media skills across our restive region as head of Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism, and promoting that unfortunately rare forum for free speech, the Doha Debates led by the award-winning journalist Tim Sebastian.

MY JOURNALISM CAREER began back in 1984 as a reporter for The Jordan Times, under the chief editorship of the fearsome George Hawatmeh. Sometimes he would tear up my copy in front of my face, throw it in the bin, and tell me to write it again. He really bullied me into becoming a better journalist. So much so, that when I eventually took on his role at the newspaper, my team and I weren’t afraid to tackle any subject, regardless how controversial, provided we had proof to back it up.

I’VE INVESTED A LOT in ARIJ, which really aims to set benchmarks for media excellence in our part of the world. We’re training journalists here in Jordan, as well as well in Tunisia, Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Palestine, Bahrain, and Yemen. Next year we hope to move into Libya if things stabilize there. I think my role with ARIJ is simply a continuation of what I’ve been doing my whole life. I’ve always wanted to show that professional journalism matters. You can really help your society by exposing the truth for the benefit of the public, but what you produce can’t be hearsay—it has to be properly documented.

EVEN THOUGH working for ARIJ takes up a lot of my time, I still find time to write regular columns and features for the local press. I often get attacked for expressing my views or for tackling taboos, but I’ve never written to make friends with anyone or to please those in power.

BEING A JOURNALIST is a tough job. But all I can say to anyone thinking of becoming one is that you’ll get the chance to meet paupers and beggars, presidents and ministers, kings and queens. Some of it will exact a physical and psychological toll, but in the end it’s your reputation that saves you, and realizing that you’re the voice and conscience of the people you speak to.

MY MOTHER IS GERMAN. She instilled in me a really hard work ethic. Also, I grew up in a household with two younger brothers, and I’ve always been grateful to her for making us feel equal to one another.

ON MY SECOND DAY as a Reuters correspondent in 1987, riots erupted in Ma’an. I was in the bureau by myself when the story broke, so I was pretty frightened about making a mistake—having to issue a correction in Reuters is a pretty big deal. But I got the scoop over the other news agencies and was given my first ever herogram.

WITH REUTERS I also got to cover the peace talks between Jordan and Israel, as well as the fallout from the first Gulf War. Every day for three months I would trek out to Ruwaished near the Iraqi border to document the stories of refugees coming from Kuwait. Tens of thousands poured across, and they often had to live in the most appalling conditions. I remember crying when I saw refugees originally from the Philippines and Bangladesh literally sliding out of dump trucks in the August heat. It was a real human tragedy.

I DON’T BELIEVE there’s been a change of regimes across our region over the past year or so—there’s just been a change of leaders. There’s a window of opportunity for real change to happen, but it’s a very small one as the new politicians are just as bad as the old ones and don’t really want a professional media

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