Shelina Janmohamed is an author and a culture columnist for The National
January 23, 2023
Think for a moment about how we consume information, how we read the news, through what medium and on which platforms. Now think of how all that might change in time. In five or 10 years, how will we read the news? Will we trust news sources to a greater or lesser degree? We know that the world around us changes rapidly and the online world, only more so. In this context, it is useful to bear in mind that Mark Zuckerberg announced the Metaverse less than two years ago; TikTok is coming up to its seventh birthday this year; and Twitter is 16 years old.
The transformation from traditional sources to the digital space has changed our relationship with news, as has the access to news around the clock. Citizen journalism and a distribution of power (of sorts) to new voices and influencers has also opened up platforms and ways of consuming news. Some people have called this the democratisation of news. But such changes have also introduced the perils of fake news, disinformation and online hate, all amplified by algorithms and news feeds. The result can be that we inhabit almost parallel universes, rarely encountering different perspectives, or news that doesn’t adhere to our world views.
Now add to that AI-generated news. Studies show that it can be hard to differentiate human-written news from AI-generated news. And these tools are becoming ever more sophisticated. For instance, as of late, a lot of people are talking about ChatGPT and it is great fun to try out. I asked it to write a paragraph in my style. And I am going to leave you wondering if it was ChatGPT or me that wrote this. An article published this past week in the scientific journal Nature found that ChatGPT has created studies in scientific literature that are so convincing that they are already being cited.
This then becomes a pivotal moment: will journalism and news coverage become more or less valued by society? The answer is that great news coverage and great journalism play a vital role in society and should have greater stature than it does now. But without careful safeguarding, that stature could erode.
Good journalism, as we know, must be rooted in trust, transparency and credibility. As consumers of news we learn how this is a two-way relationship, where news outlets elevate credible trustworthy voices that uphold the highest standards and build a loyal readership or an audience.
We can see this happening before our eyes in societal measures of trust. The annual Edelman Trust Barometer was released this week. The UK, for example, remains one of the countries to have the lowest faith in the media. But what is notable is that trust in the media is slowly rising. The study conducted in November 2022 suggests that this trust has risen by two points compared to 2021. But it still remains low at 37 per cent. While shared reliable trusted information about the state of society is vital to its functioning, perhaps some healthy scepticism in what is offered to us is not a bad thing. Nor is accessing a wide variety of news sources and assessing the merit.
If there is a key thing missing from consumers of news, it is media literacy and how to engage in a two-way process with news outlets. By this I mean that news publishers and journalists need to have brands and names they can trust, so that the readers or consumers can then trust a news platform. That trust is built on transparency, accountability, credibility and dialogue with their consumers, whether they be readers or listeners.
I use the term “listeners” because podcasts are now increasingly a central part of news output and consumption. In fact, I’m putting my own name to a news podcast just this week in The Shelina Show, precisely to try to inject a more nuanced, in-depth and considered view of the news headlines and the topics that affect all of us, so we can join the dots and see a bigger picture.
In the future, we may well see an increasing return to local and regional news brands, those whose credentials and the credentials of their journalists determine their popularity, their news output and build a two-way relationship with news consumers. That will be both powerful and welcome for news producers and news consumers, especially after the past years of difficult, teething problems of the transition to a changed new digital news economy. It is my optimistic view.
Oh, and in case you had a niggling doubt about whether this is a human-written piece or one generated by AI, you can rest assured that it is written by my own fair hand. Or is it?
Friday Celta Vigo v Villarreal (midnight kick-off UAE)
Saturday Sevilla v Real Sociedad (4pm), Atletico Madrid v Athletic Bilbao (7.15pm), Granada v Barcelona (9.30pm), Osasuna v Real Madrid (midnight)
Sunday Levante v Eibar (4pm), Cadiz v Alaves (7.15pm), Elche v Getafe (9.30pm), Real Valladolid v Valencia (midnight)
Monday Huesca v Real Betis (midnight)
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8
Power: 503hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 685Nm at 2,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Price: from Dh850,000
On sale: now
About Takalam
Date started: early 2020
Founders: Khawla Hammad and Inas Abu Shashieh
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech and wellness
Number of staff: 4
Funding to date: Bootstrapped
If you go
The flights
Etihad flies direct from Abu Dhabi to San Francisco from Dh5,760 return including taxes.
The car
Etihad Guest members get a 10 per cent worldwide discount when booking with Hertz, as well as earning miles on their rentals. A week's car hire costs from Dh1,500 including taxes.
The hotels
Along the route, Motel 6 (www.motel6.com) offers good value and comfort, with rooms from $55 (Dh202) per night including taxes. In Portland, the Jupiter Hotel (https://jupiterhotel.com/) has rooms from $165 (Dh606) per night including taxes. The Society Hotel https://thesocietyhotel.com/ has rooms from $130 (Dh478) per night including taxes.
More info
To keep up with constant developments in Portland, visit www.travelportland.com. Good guidebooks include the Lonely Planet guides to Northern California and Washington, Oregon & the Pacific Northwest.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 178hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 280Nm at 1,350-4,200rpm
Transmission: seven-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: from Dh209,000
On sale: now
Huroob Ezterari
Director: Ahmed Moussa
Starring: Ahmed El Sakka, Amir Karara, Ghada Adel and Moustafa Mohammed
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side 8 There are eight players per team 9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one. 5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls 4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
Tuesday, Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha. Kick off 7.30pm
Zidane's managerial achievements
La Liga: 2016/17 Spanish Super Cup: 2017 Uefa Champions League: 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18 Uefa Super Cup: 2016, 2017 Fifa Club World Cup: 2016, 2017
List of alleged parties
May 15 2020: Boris Johnson is said to have attended a Downing Street pizza party
27 Nov 2020: PM gives speech at leaving do for his staff
Dec 10 2020: Staff party held by then-education secretary Gavin Williamson
Dec 13 2020: Mr Johnson and his then-fiancee Carrie Symonds throw a flat party
Dec 14 2020: Shaun Bailey holds staff party at Conservative Party headquarters
Dec 15 2020: PM takes part in a staff quiz
Dec 18 2020: Downing Street Christmas party
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
The specs: 2018 Range Rover Velar R-Dynamic HSE
Price, base / as tested: Dh263,235 / Dh420,000
Engine: 3.0-litre supercharged V6
Power 375hp @ 6,500rpm
Torque: 450Nm @ 3,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 9.4L / 100kms
Why does a queen bee feast only on royal jelly?
Some facts about bees:
The queen bee eats only royal jelly, an extraordinary food created by worker bees so she lives much longer
The life cycle of a worker bee is from 40-60 days
A queen bee lives for 3-5 years
This allows her to lay millions of eggs and allows the continuity of the bee colony
About 20,000 honey bees and one queen populate each hive
Honey is packed with vital vitamins, minerals, enzymes, water and anti-oxidants.
Apart from honey, five other products are royal jelly, the special food bees feed their queen
Pollen is their protein source, a super food that is nutritious, rich in amino acids
Beewax is used to construct the combs. Due to its anti-fungal, anti-bacterial elements, it is used in skin treatments
Propolis, a resin-like material produced by bees is used to make hives. It has natural antibiotic qualities so works to sterilize hive, protects from disease, keeps their home free from germs. Also used to treat sores, infection, warts
Bee venom is used by bees to protect themselves. Has anti-inflammatory properties, sometimes used to relieve conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, nerve and muscle pain
Honey, royal jelly, pollen have health enhancing qualities
The other three products are used for therapeutic purposes
Is beekeeping dangerous?
As long as you deal with bees gently, you will be safe, says Mohammed Al Najeh, who has worked with bees since he was a boy.
“The biggest mistake people make is they panic when they see a bee. They are small but smart creatures. If you move your hand quickly to hit the bees, this is an aggressive action and bees will defend themselves. They can sense the adrenalin in our body. But if we are calm, they are move away.”
How to get there
Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
