Show me the money

What's the accepted average freelance rate per word in Dubai? How does it compare with overseas? Whether you're a legitimate freelancer, or doing some moonlighting, do you get paid the same rates? Do publishing houses like Motivate and ITP actually stick to a rate across the board? How many of you freelance for PR companies?

And, who are bad / late / no-payers? With great power etc: don't be a prat and start naming every company you don't like... we're looking for genuine warnings on companies that don't cough up. We'll give you a clue: they're normally government or quasi-government.

In the absence of proper unions, let's at least be open about the rates available, and make the tightwads pay up on time! We want to hear comments from editors about what they pay, and from freelancers about market rates and which companies are slow to cough up.

Come On Eileen

You're everyone's favourite and most respected PR exec in Dubai, so why are you lowering yourself to the Ahlan! Shit 100?

It's a shame betting's forbidden in Dubai, or we could run a book here on what spectacularly crap nonentities will slime themselves into the list this year (along with a few token charidee people to show us that being Shit! Hot! is not just about being driven around in Neil Petch's wankmobile).

On a more serious note, if you're bored of London then you're probably bored of Dubai. Because Dubai is just London (but crapper) and ten years too late. The rise and decline of London as a pan-Arab media hub is the most prophetic synopsis of Dubai's media scene ever penned [our bold]:

In its heyday, London was home to scores of Arabic publications of diverse provenance, function and quality: From lavishly-subsidised journals with pretensions to a worldwide readership, political publications of every persuasion and cheaply-printed dissident tracts, to glossy lifestyle magazines, sophisticated cultural titles and mischievous (or merely mercenary) gossip-purveyors.

Media ho's?

A colleague has passed on a fantastic e-mail promotion he received from Mediaquest, the parent company of Trends (formerly Arabies Trends). The email is promoting a "provocative symposium" for Gulf radio advertisers.

Provocative doesn't describe the half of it - the event is presented by Cummunicate magazine(sic). Just what kind of magazine-buying spree has Mediaquest been on? We know they've bought Gulf Marketing Review and the magazines from Gray Business Communications, but are they also branching out into the Debbie Does Dallas market?

(PS one of the symposium presenters is Dr Richard Gross. Dick anyone?)

Radio gaga

We've not had much mention of Dubai's world leading radio sector recently, so here's a comment submitted by DMO reader:

Was it just me, or were the comments made by Steve Johnson on Radio 2 Breakfast Show at about 6.30 this morning (Feb 7) just a tad racist? In passing comment on the story that Posh'n'Becks may want to adopt an African orphan, he said that Becks was used to being followed around by a 'little black man' - just think of Sean Wright-Philips. I am at a loss to understand why on earth a so-called 'professional' radio presenter would put his job in such jeopardy!

It's also worth mentioning the often abysmal pronunciation that floats over the airwaves. The "Skilly" Isles, "Nor-witch", anyone heard any great examples recently?

Once bitten, but not twice shy?

It seems the prodigal sons and daughters are flocking back to ITP like lambs to the slaughter. (Forgive the mixed metaphor, but it's apt.)

First, news broke that Alicia Buller was returning to ITP as managing editor of Arabian Business, where she was formerly features ed. Now Sean (Puffy) Cronin - ex-Construction Week editor, then Bloomberg - is leaving the newswire behind to head back into the ITP fold as editor of Arabian Business.

Both will be working under Anil Bhoyrul.

UPDATE: Apparently Alicia's off to join the Abu Dhabi paper now. Did she get a chance to warm her seat at ITP before joining the exodus?

REUPDATE: Alicia starts at Arabian Business tomorrow (Sunday) and was never heading to the Abu Dhabi paper - we were wrong and our source has been severely chastised. (Our willingness to publish a retraction is a bit of an alien concept in Dubai!)