CPI finally imploding?

Rumours started to circulate yesterday that long-term editorial director at CPI, Dave Reeder, is on his way out from Dominic D'Souza's zoo. If true, it's perhaps not too surprising as CPI seems to have given up on creating new and original ideas and instead copy ITP.

I've been told that Reeder has made comments on his Facebook page but I can't verify that.

Anyone who has more information on this, comment below.

Plagiarism at The National?

Post submitted by a reader - "Examples of shoddy and unethical journalism at The National":

+++++++++++++++++
As many of us who worked there knew and know, The National is a sham publication, in many ways. The people running it are substandard, and the alarming lack of ethics in many sections of the paper is enough to make one laugh.

Here is a great recent example: on page 8 of the Business section - Wednesday August 31 - there are two wire stories, one headlined "Following every move" and one headlined "Hacker reveals his code of conduct." The first one is a Reuters piece, written by Jillian Kitchener; the second one was written by Rich Jaroslovsky. But readers of The National's Business section on that day would have no way of knowing who wrote the pieces, because the editors of the section (and this has been the case since the current editor took over the section) lied to those readers.

You see, both stories are bylined "The National Staff" ... and at the bottom of the pieces the email contact reads "business@thenational", followed by "with Reuters" for the first piece and "with Bloomberg News" for the latter.

What a farce. The National's Business staff added nothing at all to those pieces ... they are totally copied and pasted from those wires; all of the work was done by the original writers, and they received no credit from their brethren at the "NY Times of the Middle East."

This is unethical, shady, sloppy and simply ridiculous. But the practice is daily routine in that section.

Sad, pathetic. If anyone of any import read the paper, noticed what was in it, these practices would have stopped a long time ago. As it is, the editor of the National's Business section will be able to continue his lazy brand of journalism for as long as the paper loses money. Any editor with any integrity would never state that his section/staff wrote something that was written by someone else; indeed, in some minds, this is plagiarism.

What examples of poor ethics at The National can you share?

Media jobs in Dubai and Abu Dhabi

We regularly get asked about jobs in the UAE and how to get them. So to throw it out there to readers:

- how did you get your own job?

- what are the best recruitment agencies for media jobs in Dubai? and the worst?

- which job ads sites are most useful?

- is there need to visit the UAE and go doorknocking, or can jobs be picked up remotely?

- what about jobs on the sales side as well as editorial?

Read: all about it

By request, the Metro's new free sheet "Read" - thoughts/opinions?

Media Misdemeanour

Miss L. Lane asks if anyone has any further information or comment on this 30th May story from The National:

A British journalist was acquitted this morning of defaming an English-language newspaper in Dubai and describing its management as unethical and immoral.

MT, 49-year-old former business editor of the newspaper, denied the charges in the Dubai Court of Misdemeanors Court in September 2010. Prosecutors had said he described the newspaper's management as "driven by sex and money".

MT wrote on the newspaper's website that women who failed to get jobs at the newspaper had claimed they were rejected because they didn't have sex with the managers.

MT was also accused of abusing the Etisalat telecommunications system to hassle the newspaper's management and directors, as well as insulting by posting defamatory material using the paper's website.

At the time of the incident, an Egyptian manager at the paper lodged a complaint at Bur Dubai Police Station. He told police that an internet user had posted defamatory material on their website.

About a month later, the newspaper identified MT and reported him to police.

The verdict is subject to appeal within 15 days.

A rival for The National?

According to a commenter:

It seems a new newspaper will soon be launched in Abu Dhabi. It's recruiting reporters - http://www.journalismjobs.com/Job_Listing.cfm?JobID=1250147
Are you surprised to hear this? Is there a market for more newspapers in the UAE? I thought the ad market was drying up.

The ad points to "the projected launch of a new local daily print publication for Abu Dhabi" by "a successful local publisher (small, well-funded, profitable, keen, entrepreneurial) with a number of print, online and video products".

More interestingly, they seem to be expecting some kind of Armageddon to break out among the seven-star hotels of the world-leading cultural capital of the UAE:

"this is not a job for those who like safety, an easy life, or the support infrastructure of a big organisation."

Screenshot in case it disappears:

Getting paid

It's long been a dilemma for freelancers to get paid in the UAE, here's one reader seeking advice:

What do you do when a UAE publishing company owes you more than Dhs40,000 (and has done so for the best part of a year)?

I have emails, text messages and paperwork to prove it. I have been promised the money on many, many occasions - and heard every BS excuse under the sun when it hasn't arrived.

Would those in the know recommend I sue the company, complain to someone or other...or write the money off and just tell as many people as possible?

Any wisdom gratefully received.