Journalism in Kuwait: Journalists’ Practices, Professional Values, and Perceived Roles

Fatima Alsalem
Kuwait University, Kuwait

Abstract

This study explores Kuwaiti journalists’ perceptions of journalism as a profession and its role in society. It examines how journalists view different aspects of their practices, values, and roles. First, the study provides a general picture of how journalism is perceived by working journalists in Kuwait and its role in society. Second, it examines how journalists perceive their professional identity by assessing different aspects of their practices, functions, and professional values. In-depth in-person surveys were conducted with 37 Kuwaiti journalists using a forty-five-item questionnaire to develop perceptions towards their profession, values, ethics, and general outlook of Kuwait society. The results show that most Kuwaiti journalists are males and the majority hold a bachelor’s degree. Moreover, 89.2% of surveyed journalists expressed their interest in additional journalism training. In terms of job satisfaction, more than two-thirds of journalists are reasonably satisfied with their job.

Keywords: Journalism, Kuwait, print newspapers, journalism ethics, media law, censorship

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Dr. Fatima Alsalem holds a Ph.D. in mass communication from Indiana University, Bloomington, USA. Dr. Alsalem is currently working as an Assistant Professor of mass communication at Kuwait University, Kuwait. Her research areas are in journalism, impact of social media, and new media technologies.

Correspondence to: Fatima Alsalem, Mass Communication Department, Kuwait University, PB 13096, Safat 2355, Kuwait.

© 2020 by the author. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits any use, reproduction, and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed properly. The article may be reused without special permission provided that the original article is properly attributed. The reuse of an article does not imply prior approval by the authors or Media Watch.

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Journalism in Kuwait: Journalists’ Practices, Professional Values, and Perceived Roles

Almulla, D. (2020). Kuwait National Assembly amends publication and press law. World Gulf. Retrieved from https://gulfnews.com/world/gulf/kuwait/kuwait-national-assembly-amends-publication-and-press-law-1.73314616