Striving for real Middle Eastern journalism

It is no secret that newspapers and magazines are losing their economic viability. Advertising budgets have been slashed due to numerous factors, from consumer skepticism toward conventional advertising to the new and innovative, tech-oriented channels and the recent trend in experiential marketing where consumers interact with products. Traditional ink on paper is living its last days, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain the large staff required for quality news gathering.  Part of the decline is due to the resistance of the modern consumer toward top-down messages. Eventually, newspapers and magazines will become elitist, intellectual tools for the select, information-rich few, leaving the masses and the middle class in front of their screens — mainly their television screens. This is where the values of democracy are most at risk: the more people watch TV and the more they become mass media-rich, the less information they actually get.  On the