Thursday 16 April 2009

Draft media law starts to bite

Despite claims from UAE Inc that the new law will not encroach on media freedom, it seems that there are already a number of cases where it has. Worryingly, these include the news wires, as reported in the Guardian, and verified by a couple of our wire sources in Dubai.

The article, which states that a Bloomberg journalist was detained at Dubai airport and warned to be careful, also confirms that the double whammy of the Panorama documentary and the Independent's article on Dubai have struck a nerve with the powers that be.

Have any of you noticed increased censorship, self- or otherwise? Or run-ins with local authorities over stories you have run?

Monday 6 April 2009

Down the tubes

Is your publication going down the tubes? Budget cuts, non-payments, layoffs, CEO just transferred all the remaining dirhams to his Swiss account, etc?

Here's a thread to spill the beans.

Thursday 2 April 2009

Was this a joke?

I am still hoping this is an April Fool's joke from Business 24-7, but quite frankly, it's not funny. Apart from the laughingly biased reporting. And I didn't think anyone at Business 24-7 had a sense of humour anyway....

Emirates has offered cabin crew voluntary unpaid leave starting May 2009, from one to six months.

An Emirates spokesperson said: "After a careful review of our operational requirements, we have decided to offer our cabin crew staff the opportunity to apply for unpaid leave on a voluntary basis, starting from May 2009. In anticipation of our growing fleet, Emirates' recruitment efforts over the past 12 months have been highly successful in meeting our operational requirements. Combined with a sharp drop in cabin crew attrition, we now find ourselves in a position to be more flexible as an employer.

"We believe some of our staff will welcome the opportunity to take time off to pursue personal interests such as studies, hobbies, or spend time with family and friends.

"There are limited slots available, depending on seniority and the aircraft type the crew is trained to operate on. Cabin crew may opt for unpaid leave from a period of one month, up to a maximum of six months. While on leave, they will still be employees of the airline."


Please can someone assure us that Emirates don't really think that six months unpaid time out to pursue basket-weaving and navel gazing is what their trolley dollies want?