2013-08-02

 Two years ago, Ms. Ghada Zoabi, founder and director of the “Bokra” website, was selected as one of the influential women in the Palestinian society in Israel, for her initiative in establishing the website and its success. Ms. Zoabi has a degree in the English language; she was born in Haifa, and her family hails from the displaced village of Al-Sumayriyya (near the village of Al-Mazra'a in the Western Galilee).  She began her media career with the radio station, “Voice of Israel in Arabic”, and has participated in a number of courses on journalism.

Ms. Zoubi worked in Israel TV to present a program on road accidents that was broadcast on Saturdays over a two-year period.  She then moved on to work with the ART channel on the “Chamber of the East” program, which was broadcast from Ramallah, and then Acre and Nazareth. She has participated in several Arab world conferences in Jordan as part of a Palestinian media and press delegation.  In addition, Zoubi was involved and active in the Haifa youth movement.  She was also a member of the Women’s Coalition, which brought together Arab and Jewish women; she was the youngest member and the only Arab. She briefly worked in teaching, and then decided to return to the media. In addition, she is active in several associations, including “Yasmine” for businesswomen and raising the status of women, led by Ofra Strauss and Karam Baloum, the “Maseera” Association for people with special needs, and the “Miriam Foundation” to combat cancer.

At the beginning of her interview with “Sijal”, Zoubi said, “If you work in the media, there are always limits or agendas, I often did not follow these agendas, and I have always had something to say, even if indirectly.”

Why did you choose to create an Internet website and not a printed newspaper?

Printed newspapers still exist, but their popularity is in a steady decline with the readers, who are a relatively young society; 75% of the Arab population is under the age of 35.  Our community is young and spends its time on social networks and the Internet to obtain the information it needs.  This is a dynamic, intelligent and cultured generation that wants to communicate with the world through the Internet, a generation that does not accept waiting for the weekend to read what happened at the beginning of the week.  We are in the era of technology, progress and communication, and this is one of the reasons to create a website with updated standards and content in various fields. I think that the newspapers issued at the end of the week should provide the reader with material not read during the week in the websites.

With this huge amount of media, it should be noted that there is a need to provide professional and objective journalism, as not every person who holds a camera can be considered a journalist or a reporter.

Tell us about the first step in creating the website?

The idea began after the war on Lebanon in 2006.  Around 18 Palestinian Arabs from within Israel from the North and Nazareth were killed due to the lack of sufficient awareness on how to act in emergency situations.  I began to implement the idea with the support of my husband, who is a businessman.  We developed a plan of action and started to recruit staff.  At that time, we were a small number who valued the meaning of professional journalism.

The “Bokra” website is distinguished in its impact on the browser’s daily priorities, as it has managed to be a real awareness-raising media source, which raises issues and problems faced by our society.  It pays attention to respecting the reader’s intellectual awareness and not ridiculing the browser, and since its inception it has worked to increase the wealth of information on various fields such as economy, health, art news and other topics.

Did you decide from the outset what content the website would provide for the reader?

Of course, we determined the agenda and strategy at the founding of the website.  This resulted from a specialists’ study of the Arab browser’s needs from the Internet in general, and the Palestinian browser from inside Israel in particular.  We then developed an agenda to meet the needs of generations and different segments of the Palestinian people inside Israel.  You can say that the image of my son, Oday, accompanied me all the time. What news would I prefer him to read and what images would I want him to see? What I want for my son, I work to apply for all the browsers.

Can we say that the Internet is “profitable”?

Those who believe that journalism can be a “Business” are mistaken.  Whoever is thinking of establishing a “Business”, can create a private company in the field of real estate, or advertising and marketing, but the journalistic platform is not a trade, particularly since the press is a source of strength and an important factor in influencing decision-makers. The press is a real platform for any browser who previously couldn't find the truth.  In the “Bokra” website, we do not reach the end of the line in expenses, we are constantly renewing programs that are in line with the technological age and meet the wishes of the browsers.  All this requires several dedicated efforts, the most important is the economic effort and honestly, we did not think about profit. I want to emphasize again that I view “Bokra” as an influential journalistic platform amid an environment lacking professional and objective media.

Does the non-pursuit of profit affect the salaries of journalists and reporters?

There is no relationship between the two, the “Bokra” website respects its staff, we appreciate our employees in the office and in the field according to their skills, and even more than this, we are working hard to develop some talent because we believe in investing in humans. If there are courses organized, we work to integrate our staff in them.  If there are conferences abroad, we do not hesitate to send them.  We see the level reached by the local press and we strive to improve it; that does not mean that we always succeed, but at least we try.

We must not forget the bad economic situation of the local media institutions. I run a website that addresses the Palestinian minority, and this in itself is a challenge that must be overcome and dealt with.  You are more familiar with government institutional policies, which do not support us. Despite these difficulties, we are working to completely meet the rights of our staff, because we respect them and because it is in the interest of the website.

How do you explain the resignations in the media in general and from the website in particular?

Firstly, there can be resignations in every institution, but if are talking about the “Bokra” website, the resignations did not occur on a financial basis or improper treatment, they happened because the other party wanted to search for other areas of work, or initiatives, or enter academic education.  None of our employees have worked with us for less than 3-4 years, and this shows that the employees professionally offer all they can to the institution. In “Bokra”, we also look for new resources, and this is healthy for the office and the employee at the same time.

It is important to emphasize that we are not an “snapshot” website, for example, suicides are not covered in passing, but we try to address it from several aspects.  Our professionalism in the coverage prompted Beterem (Safe Kids Israel) organization to invite us to speak on their platform, while it has never invited any Arab in the past.  This responds to our professionalism in following-up on the news and ensuring the raising of awareness, as I mentioned previously. The incident of a child being run over in the Negev is not just a fleeting piece of news.  The work environment is exhausting, but professional, and this is what leads to the “running away” of correspondents who are used to just providing a picture and a news item of four lines.

Do you consider “Bokra” a social project more extensive than being a media platform?

At the beginning of the interview, I mentioned that “Bokra” is not a “Business”; it is a message and a source of strength.  We covered the situation of the Gazan children in Israeli hospitals, and personally worked to collect donations for them using our website. We covered what happened in a school where the students were forced to stay in their homes for several days; we went to their homes and followed the personal situation of the children.  This is the source of our strength, pressuring decision-makers and mobilizing the media for change.  Yes, our project is journalistic, but it includes a social aspect we are proud of. We are always eager to raise community issues in order to raise real awareness, in the hope that it will benefit the readers and browsers.

Who is considered a contender for “Bokra” in content?

I do not want to talk about the competition, I do not imagine we compete with anyone, we are a site that has its own agenda, faith and strategy, and carries a real message, aspiring to provide proper media education.  Whoever browses “Bokra’s” various sections, whether health, economy, reports or investigations, and even art and sport, will notice that we make sure they are all updated with the latest developments and real professional content. God willing, we will continue this way with the help of the professional staff.

How do you evaluate the advertising situation, and do you have a share in the “advertising pie”?

Advertisements are problematic on two levels; the first being that investment in the Palestinian minority is very small and does not exceed 3%.  On the other hand, the advertising companies, but not Israel's Governmental Publications Bureau (Lapam), do not understand the needs of the Arab community and do not value the Arab consumer’s purchasing power. Part of the challenges that we face is visiting these companies and explaining to them in detail about the importance of investment and advertising in the Arab media. With regard to Lapam, the matter is clear, investment in Arabic is very small, and also does not exceed 3%.  There are several tenders suitable for translation into the Arabic language, but Lapam does not publish them in the Arab media; there are a lot of ads that the browser needs to be aware of, but they are not published in the Arab media.

We received a promise from Lapam that they will raise the percentage of advertisements devoted to the Arab community to 8%, has the shift started?

Unfortunately, the picture is not reassuring with regard to the division of the advertising pie.  I have had meetings in Lapam, but matters are moving very slowly. Lapam is currently directing the Arab media to communicate with the Rating Committee, which carefully examines the percentage of browsers of the websites, and collects a monthly fee from us for this examination so that our websites can be rated and thus receive advertisements.  There is no doubt that the Arab media is suffering from a “deficiency”, and the Arab Knesset members should support this issue.

How many employees does “Bokra” have?

We currently have 36 employees, which include the technical staff, programming, editors, content providers, and reporters in the field, as well as the “media” staff and those who work in “Bokra TV”.

Since there is work on program production, have you thought of entering the Arab television arena?

We did not apply for the Arab television tender, and do not think of undertaking it, because television work requires great efforts and huge budgets. We all saw how Arab television  collapsed due to lack of resources, as well as other reasons.

Have you thought, for example, in developing a “television” specific to the website?

We are working on the production of what is called “Bokra TV”, which is a special area through which we present our filmed productions, in addition to showing movies. In “Bokra TV” we are trying to produce special societal programs that address all generations.  There is a news broadcast and another art program as well as other seasonal programs. For example, we are working on the production of a television program for the local elections, and another special program for Ramadan - cooking.  We are well aware that the young are present in a televised environment, and spend all their time in front of the computer and Facebook, so we are working hard to stay in this environment.

Does the speed of Facebook in getting news scare you? Do you consider it to be a competitor?

You cannot compare the various social networking with a news site, because Facebook has permeated the individual’s personal life, and not every status written on Facebook is professional and credible.  Facebook is like a double-edged sword, if a person does not know how to use it, it will lead him to total destruction.  You can never compare a journalistic website based on professional and credible agenda in dealing with the news, with what is published on Facebook without a supervisor to confirm its authenticity and origin. When an accident occurs, we delay the publication of victims’ photographs as we take into account the family’s feelings, and we refuse to rush to offend the reader.

In your opinion, where are the websites heading to?

What concerns me is what I offer my readers in “Bokra”, and I emphasize once again that I have roles in raising awareness, in the information revolution, in community formation, and in maintaining the national constants that we were raised upon, as well as keeping abreast of developments; this is what I aspire to and this is the website’s message. There are a number of websites, national and local, and honestly I am ignorant of their agendas and do not follow them.  It is a free market and competition is available.

Are there any red lines, limits and publication bans?

We are a progressive, independent website that does not belong to any party or group.  We reflect the community situation and simulate their issues and positive developments as much as possible.  Sometimes, we try to publish reports considered taboo in our society in order to break down barriers, and other times provide a platform to Israeli figures. There are those who object and wonder; why them? The answer is because we respect our readers and we aim to deliver the Israeli voice to them, and they, the readers, have a responsibility to make a decision. It is very important for us that the Arab browsers are aware of the views and positions of Lapid, Livni, Bennett, and other Israelis, so that they know what's going on in their world of racist views or fateful decisions.

With regard to red lines, we have our agenda that we make sure to apply; we do not encourage our readers on matters that affect the future of the Palestinian society inside Israel. We candidly presented the issue of civil service, and despite that there are red lines, as we refuse to encourage civil service.  At the same time, we refuse to have a clear position on the Syrian issue, because just as our society is divided, we are also divided.

Do you have accurate data on the percentage of browsers of the website?

You can say that on normal days there are 820 to 840 thousand visitors, of whom 60% are from the Arab community and 40% from the Arab world. This number rises by 60% at the weekend. The local Arab browser’s interest is in the local news, while the browser from the Arab world is interested in the website’s media world, whether soap operas or songs.