Ma’an is the most important news agency in Palestine. Raed Ohtman, its founder, says the key to its success has been to be the voice of those who can’t speak.
“Nowadays all you need to cover news is a laptop”.
It was 2003 and Raed Othman had an idea in his head; he hadn’t found a place to read all the information about daily life in Palestine yet. The solution was to create something entirely new: an independent news agency that collects news from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The following year he created Ma’an, which means “together” in Arabic.
The idea was to use the power of the media for the people. Othman, who was a panelist in the workshop ‘News for Social Change’ at the DW GMF 2013 in Bonn, says his philosophy is simple: make the media get involved with people.
“If you don’t go with them, don’t listen to their stories and their problems and don’t publish daily life news, they will not read you”, he says.
Find every story
Ma’an has become the largest news agency in the country: today 85 percent of Palestinians regularly view its website, which is read by over 3 million people every month. It also has 10 radio stations, which are heard by nearly 55 percent of the population, as well as the second biggest cable channel. He describes them as his “three arms”.
According to a survey cited by Othman, 82 percent of those who support Hamas and 86 percent of supporters of Fatah consider Ma’an as “independent”.
“We started to read the people. We went to a lot of little villages and towns all over the country to find stories and news”, he says. In addition, their English website is regarded as a worldwide reference for understanding the reality of the Palestinian people.
Othman sums it up: “Now we are the main source about Palestine for Palestinians and everyone else.”
A new way of debate
Ma’an has also taken a leadership role in the discussion regarding complicated issues in Palestine. On June 24 this year, the TV channel will present the final of President, a reality show in which about 1200 palestinians applied with the idea of being ‘elected’ the new president. Although it isn’t a real election, the program has high ratings: the final chapter will be covered by more than 100 journalists.
And for Othman it is another opportunity to achieve Ma’an´s goals: “In the show, we speak about democracy, human rights, the struggle with Israel and how to end poverty. We speak about big issues”.
By Sebastián Rivas, Chile
Photo by Biayna Mahari, Armenia
