When You Are a Journalist, You Are No Longer An Arab

Hassan Fattah, a Middle East correspondent for The New York Times, outlined the basics of journalistic ethics, while recounting his role in presenting the region to an American audience.

Speaking at a broadcast journalism class in the American University of Sharjah, the Beirut-born Fattah highlighted the reporter’s need to judge the news value of events, while also presenting the big picture. Citing his experiences in Lebanon during the war, Fattah underlined the importance of having good sources, stressing that being approachable was a recipe for success. He urged budding journalists to forsake their ego in the search for information, quipping that “a good interview should feel like a therapy session.”

Fattah noted the emotional impact of covering a war zone, but emphasized that a reporter should not be taken by the story. Dubbing criticism of articles covering the Arab-Israeli conflict as commonplace in the United States, Fattah called for nonpartisanship, explaining that “when you are a journalist, you are no longer an Arab.” -Kareem Shaheen