By Nebal Snan and Ghadeer Ghloum
KUWAIT: On its 62nd anniversary, Kuwait Times is unfolding two distinct eras, seamlessly intertwining within its printed pages and digital presence. A lot has changed over the past six decades in the way news is covered, reported, written and consumed, creating both challenges and exciting opportunities for news organizations. Journalists, both young and veterans, have stepped up to continue providing the audience with the information they need.
Islam Al-Sharaa, who’s seen it all having first joined Kuwait Times in the 1980s, and Khaled Al-Abdulhadi, a young journalist and translator who joined in 2022, share their thoughts about the rapidly-shifting news industry. The interviews have been edited for length and clarity.
Kuwait Times: How would you describe the value of a newspaper as a source of news in the past as opposed to now?
Sharaa: At that time, newspapers were a pivotal source of news as there was no social media or internet. ... Of course, not everyone had access to television, so people relied heavily on newspapers. Although you could get the news from the radio, the newspaper was the go-to source to find out more details. In the past, when something major happened in Kuwait, all international news agencies would contact Kuwait Times for more information. Many news stories published by these agencies credited Kuwait Times as a source.
For example, during the brutal Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, the calls to Kuwait Times never stopped. ... Currently, since news is easily found all over social media and the internet, we are shifting focus towards breaking exclusive stories ... We also do our best to follow up on an event with detailed and clear information about its repercussions, which gives the reader more accurate knowledge of what happened.
So, we can say that the newspaper is no longer the primary source of news as it used to be, but its importance stems from providing analysis and in-depth reporting. Despite the developments in our time, there are also those who enjoy reading the newspaper. Certainly, the number of readers is not as it used to be, but there are still many who prefer reading the newspaper for several reasons, including trust and credibility.
Abdulhadi: Newspapers obviously aren’t as important as they used to be. ... But I do still feel that they hold a little bit of prestige. You can walk by any store, find their display of newspapers and by looking at the headlines, you know what’s happening today. The newspaper format and style is very important because it’s played a great role in shaping how we write news, even as it’s now published and consumed online and on social media.
Kuwait Times: Earlier this year, Kuwait Times’s partner Kuwait News created and unveiled Fedha, an AI-generated news presenter. Is having an AI-generated colleague something you could have foreseen?
Sharaa: We never expected the emergence of artificial intelligence and the existence of a colleague like Fedha. But now that it’s here, it doesn’t feel strange. In fact, it feels like pop culture, especially science fiction films, have long prepared us for this moment.
Kuwait Times: How do you feel about AI being utilized in the journalism industry?
Sharaa: I do not see AI as a threat. In fact, I think AI can support people who work in this field. While AI can write a story about a topic, only humans can go out to interview people or use their connections to verify information. So, AI functions more like a guide for the reporters and could facilitate some aspects of their job but it cannot take over their place.
Abdulhadi: I think the development in AI has been great because it’s helped us get the news out faster, which is essential because people need to know what’s happening as soon as it happens. Also, in our day-to-day life, it’s allowed us to get more work done with our limited time.
Kuwait Times: What advice would you give younger generations when it comes to consuming news?
Sharaa: Make sure to get your news from reliable sources. Don’t rely on random people claiming to be influencers on social media who have no real connection to actual news sources because due to the lack of oversight and credibility in their news reporting, the possibility of inaccuracies is greater than you expect.
Abdulhadi: There are two factors at play here. For one, you need to be aware of any affiliations the outlet providing you with news might have. You should also know that some news outlets unfortunately resort to clickbait or overhype some topics to get more views, which is a very dangerous phenomenon since it significantly harms the credibility of our profession. To ensure these two factors don’t have a negative effect on your judgment, I think people should always look at the news from multiple sources and come up with their own analysis of what’s happening based on common sense.