Local Media Misreports “The Jordan Times” Closure

  • 2020-01-02
  • 12

Akeed- Several professional violations were detected in local coverage of news circulating about plans to shut down The Jordan Times, Jordan’s only English daily, Akeed said in a report.

The coverage was marked by inaccuracy, imbalance, bias, and lack of reliable sources. Jumping into conclusions was yet another violation, according to Akeed.

Akeed monitored and followed up on several relevant articles posted by local media outlets including: 

The Jordan Times Mercy Killing .. the Sin of Bureaucracy

 “Al-Sabeel and The Jordan Times”, Old Jordanian Newspapers that will go out of Business

Jordan’s Secrets and Saloons… The Jordan Times Closure, Amjad Adayleh to Moscow Again, Momani is back to the Front.

Ayman Majali, board chairman of the Jordan Press Foundation (JPF), which publishes Al-Ra’i and The Jordan Times, told Akeed that no decision has been taken yet about the closure. He added that discussions were still ongoing to keep the newspaper running. “It is up to the general assembly, not the board to decide”, he noted.

Closing down the newspaper is only one of the options available to control JPF financial losses and to move out of the crisis, added Majali. Shutting down Al-Ra’i Center for Studies, one of the arms of the newspaper, is another option that could be considered, said JPF board chairman.

Other catchy headlines circulated on social media platforms about the same story include:

I don’t know whether the News Is Correct …Regarding Plans to Close down The Jordan Times

If News that The Jordan Times will be Shut down Turns Out to Be True, then it is disaster!

The Government Does not Care about the Fate of a Newspaper that is Considered its Mouthpiece

Akeed, Jordan’s media monitoring portal, urges media institutions to adhere to professional standards; chiefly accuracy, objectivity, and balanced reporting. It also calls on journalists to ensure that information come from credible sources, and to stay away from leaping into conclusions - which could contribute to spreading rumors.