NO single Somali website to trust, any alternative

[nuune]

I raised this topic, because I was so confused about a recent development, this kind of confusion also happened to many people concerning the Somali politics,

 

why and why all Somali websites act like clan-oriented infromation center? examples: u don't need, u know what those websites are!!

 

why all Somali websites always try to be the superpower of the other websites?

 

if one Somali website publishes an accurate information about a subject, why other websites act as an ANTI to the one which published accurate information?

 

basically, I can continue my questions, but I gave up reading news on Somali websites, the reason, which one to trust, I don't know.

 

my alternative, am gona relay on Reuters and AFP on somali news, and about the Somali government in kenyka, I will relay on the Daily Nation of Kenya :mad:

[Baashi]

Nuune, there is no such thing as an “objective†media. It is a common knowledge that media are owned and run by subjective and unsanctified men. Here in America, there are liberals, conservatives, libertarians, and religious right journalists. There are all kinds of special interests pushing their views in so many different ways. Ethics of journalism, the need of having more than one anonymous source, competition, public opinion, watchdog groups, and other checks and balances is what makes them look an objective media. Somalis are no different.

 

Each website is run by interest group (sub-clans masquerading as city/region hence the name). Apart from the meager income they got from advertising, which is hardly enough to cover the expenses, they don’t make money at all. No one pays them. Therefore what these websites do is filter information through the sieve of their regions' caano miir and repackage it in a way that’s favorable to their audience. There are exceptions, of course. By and large though, they act as if they are spin masters operating from “war room†of one of the political contestants.

 

For instance, Gedi’s participation in what is professional gathering (veterinary organs of all nations represented by low level departmental heads) is now depicted as state visit. The TFG's utter failure to implement the reconciliation agenda it supposed to jumpstart is totally ignored. What you read, depending on from which site, is which faction of TFG has legal legs to stand. The Mogadishu security problem and unilateral invitation of FTs by Nairobi faction despite the objections of most powerful warlords whose participation of the Nairobi conference was very critical to the formation of the TFG is lost in the cheerleading analysis. Ms. Edna’s personal trip (uninvited) to US is reported as being official trip. The highlight of that report is when she waves her “stamped passport†to jubilant crowd who can’t even see the authenticity of the said document. Yet, we have dedicated nomads that we can count on to post these “events†as they happen.

 

The good thing about this is that no one has a monopoly over information. The days when SONNA, Ogaal, and Xidigta October dictated what is news and what is not are over. From what seems chaotic, biased, and sporadic media outlet, will become in due time a balanced, business minded and experienced media power houses constrained by public opinion and ethics of journalism. There will be money to be made, genuine public service to be advanced, public opinions to be considered, etc. All these will happen when the state reclaims its legitimacy, peace prevails, normalcy returns, and journalism becomes respected profession in which its practitioners are compelled to get their credentials from a respected accredited institution. Today, because of the nature of disunity, mistrust, political animosity between various groups, and fragmented Somali communities, there are people (majority) who find these spinner “makeshift freelancers†very useful and trustworthy. Therefore, these websites are popular and they do have sizable audiences.

 

The only sensible to do is to try to distinguish national news from local, political from non-political, and commentary from facts. For instance, the Gedi’s trip is factual whereas the significance of this trip is subjective and depending what news outlet is reporting, one can know whether the site is pro-TFG Nairobi faction or pro-TFG Mogadishu faction! In other words, critical eye is what is needed here.

[Haddad]

I don't bother with how each site interpret the news; what interests me is the content of the news. Dayniile is an interesting site, as it provides uptodate local news.

[Johnny B]

Mr Nuune , you´re not alone in the confussion !!

 

Why do i feel like you´re directly talking to my (Abtiyo) the Duke General

 

as he is the ONLY one who mostly cuts n pastes articles from those very websites that confuse ya

[Rokko]

loool. Duke is becoming the most feared nomad on this site na'mean. Consistent warrior na'mean.

[Rahima]

Duke and Sky,

 

Pay close attention to this thread (especially the post of Baashi).

 

You might learn a thing or two .

[Muhammad]

Originally posted by Baashi:

Nuune, there is no such thing as an “objective†media. It is a common knowledge that media are owned and run by subjective and unsanctified men. Here in America, there are liberals, conservatives, libertarians, and religious right journalists. There are all kinds of special interests pushing their views in so many different ways. Ethics of journalism, the need of having more than one anonymous source, competition, public opinion, watchdog groups, and other checks and balances is what makes them look an objective media. Somalis are no different.

 

Each website is run by interest group (sub-clans masquerading as city/region hence the name). Apart from the meager income they got from advertising, which is hardly enough to cover the expenses, they don’t make money at all. No one pays them. Therefore what these websites do is filter

information

through the sieve of their regions'

caano miir

and repackage it in a way that’s favorable to their audience. There are exceptions, of course. By and large though, they act as if they are spin masters operating from “war room†of one of the political contestants.

 

For instance, Gedi’s participation in what is professional gathering (veterinary organs of all nations represented by low level departmental heads) is now depicted as state visit. The TFG's utter failure to implement the reconciliation agenda it supposed to jumpstart is totally ignored. What you read, depending on from which site, is which faction of TFG has legal legs to stand. The Mogadishu security problem and unilateral invitation of FTs by Nairobi faction despite the objections of most powerful warlords whose participation of the Nairobi conference was very critical to the formation of the TFG is lost in the cheerleading analysis. Ms. Edna’s personal trip (uninvited) to US is reported as being official trip. The highlight of that report is when she waves her “stamped passport†to jubilant crowd who can’t even see the authenticity of the said document. Yet, we have dedicated nomads that we can count on to post these “events†as they happen.

The good thing about this is that no one has a monopoly over information. The days when SONNA, Ogaal, and Xidigta October dictated what is news and what is not are over. From what seems chaotic, biased, and sporadic media outlet, will become in due time a balanced, business minded and experienced media power houses constrained by public opinion and ethics of journalism. There will be money to be made, genuine public service to be advanced, public opinions to be considered, etc. All these will happen when the state reclaims its legitimacy, peace prevails, normalcy returns, and journalism becomes respected profession in which its practitioners are compelled to get their credentials from a respected accredited institution. Today, because of the nature of disunity, mistrust, political animosity between various groups, and fragmented Somali communities, there are people (majority) who find these spinner “makeshift freelancers†very useful and trustworthy. Therefore, these websites are popular and they do have sizable audiences.

 

The only sensible to do is to try to distinguish national news from local, political from non-political, and commentary from facts. For instance, the Gedi’s trip is factual whereas the significance of this trip is subjective and depending what news outlet is reporting, one can know whether the site is pro-TFG Nairobi faction or pro-TFG Mogadishu faction! In other words, critical eye is what is needed here.

excatly - that is what gives me hope!

 

even tho i can't help but laugh at some of these sites, in due time, Insha'Allah, the more media the state has, the better the balance of power!

[NASSIR]

Disseminating Somalia news through Web site is brothers' mission

 

 

By Peter Rowe

 

UNION-TRIBUNE

May 22, 2005

 

 

ENCINITAS – For a moment, let's pretend we're somewhere else.

 

Distance provides perspective; for this tale, a better perspective might be gained if you imagine yourself floating through space, midway to the moon. To fully grasp the Hassan brothers' mission, let's glimpse Planet Earth in its entirety for just one moment.

 

That moment? It occurs on May 3, 2005, when the time is:

 

10:40 a.m. in Encinitas. Abdel Hassan, 39, focuses on his day job as Ecke Ranch project manager. By night, he's publisher of Wardheer News.

 

10:40 a.m. in Kearny Mesa. Ahmed Hassan, 44, examines San Diego County welfare applications. That's his day job. His night job: managing director of Wardheer News.

 

6:40 p.m. in London. Ismail Hassan, 42, is at his night job: newsroom chief for Wardheer News. He scours the BBC and other media for details on a big story. That day, an explosion had killed seven spectators at a Mogadishu rally for Somalia's new prime minister.

 

8:40 p.m. near the Somali-Kenya border. A reader who identifies himself as "Bashir" e-mails a fan letter to Wardheer News.

 

"I currently live in the Hagrdheere camp in Kenya, and I consider myself an upcoming journalist," Bashir writes. "I will encourage you to continue expanding your news coverage and finally let me thank you and please continue your excellent work."

 

Fourteen years of civil war have destroyed Somalia as a nation; within its borders is no peace, no law, no order, and few professionals. A generation of educated Somalis has been scattered across the globe. They are isolated, unable to build the relationships that undergird most civil societies.

 

Or such would be their fate without the Internet. Cyberspace, the Hassan brothers and their readers have discovered, is an ideal place to meet, debate and organize.

 

Since 1991, Somalia has spiraled into chaos, with rival clans engaged in violent and seemingly endless struggles for power. A recently elected transitional federal government, headed by Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Gedi, remains in Kenya. The bloodshed that accompanied Gedi's brief visit to Mogadishu this month indicated that Somalia remains ungovernable, a patchwork of fiefdoms ruled by warlords.

 

Refugees from this civil war hunger for accurate, trustworthy news from eastern Africa. For the past six months, the Hassans have tried to meet the demand.

 

They are not alone. On the Internet, there's no shortage of media outlets peddling news from Mogadishu, Hargeysa, Berbera and other cities and villages on the Horn of Africa.

 

"But a number of these Web sites are clan-based, so they're tilted to one side," said Abdullah Said Osman, Somalia's last ambassador to the United Nations (1984-1991) and now diplomat-in-residence at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.

 

"In my opinion, Wardheer News gives an unbiased, reliable reporting of events. That's what makes it popular."

 

Morally corrupt 'elephants'

 

Wardheer is the name of a village that has produced a surprisingly large number of Somali poets. But the word has two other meanings: "news from afar" and "news that goes far."

 

The Hassans have traveled far, too, although none of them expected that the journey would deliver them to the world of online journalism. Part of a large, tightly knit family of seven brothers and two sisters, they grew up in Berbera. Their father, Abdirahman Hassan, was a Muslim leader in this port city on the Gulf of Aden; he died of natural causes in 1986. Their mother, Amina Hashi, now lives in Hargeysa, less than 100 miles southwest from their home town.

 

"I still call her every weekend," said Abdel, the dutiful son.

 

Ahmed came to the U.S. in 1987, to earn a master's degree in agriculture at Iowa State University. Abdel followed in 1992, to pursue his education – he's now enrolled in a business administration program at SDSU – and to escape the dangers of life in Mogadishu.

 

After two years of planning, the brothers christened www.wardheernews.com on Nov. 23, 2004. Their all-volunteer team includes brothers No. 4 and 5 – Yusuf Hassan, 49, the site's webmaster, and 37-year-old Abdirashid Hassan, an occasional correspondent. Another key staffer, Faisal Roble, is a family friend and a Los Angeles city planner.

 

Roble is a former contributing editor at the Ethiopian Review, and he may have been the first to sense the potential of Wardheer News. While San Diego County is home to 10,000 Somalis, one of the largest concentrations of East African immigrants in the U.S., Roble realized that this San Diego-based Web publication could speak to Somalis across the globe.

 

"Because of the power of the diaspora in Somali politics, we can be exerting some influence," he said. "We intend to play a role."

 

"We don't just write stories," Abdel Hassan said. "We take positions."

 

Abdel and Ahmed insist that Wardheer News does not back any political party. But they are pro-law and order, pro-human rights, pro-environment. A recent editorial backed a proposed ban on plastic bags in Somaliland, Somalia's semi-autonomous northern region.

 

Wardheer News is also anti-warlord, with a vengeance. Abdel's March 5 editorial, "The Elephant in the Room," accused the warring factions of being "thuggish looters," a pack of "morally corrupt" "career politicians" who "hold hostage the fate of the Somali nation."

 

In person, the brothers can be just as impassioned. Judging by the way they complete each other's sentences, on this matter at least, they are of one mind.

 

Abdel: "Mogadishu is the most important city in the country. There, some of the key warlords are against any solution."

 

Ahmed: "Any solution at all."

 

Abdel: "Because they are destroying ..."

 

Ahmed: "They are using ..."

 

Abdel: "The airport, the port ...

 

Ahmed: "The national infrastructure ..."

 

Abdel: "The national assets for their own private use."

 

Well beyond 'Wow!'

 

Like many Somali refugees, Ahmed and Abdel Hassan are well-educated and well-spoken. Their English is rapid, fluent, lightly-accented. Emotion sweeps across their faces with the speed of a desert storm: anger, humor, contemplation.

 

They also exude a gentle humility. Journalism isn't their game, and their low expectations for Wardheer News initially seemed justified. At first, the site averaged less than 90,000 hits a month.

 

"And that was 'Wow!'" Abdel said of his team's reaction.

 

These days, Wardheer News is well beyond "Wow!" By April, traffic had increased 10-fold. This month, they were on track to draw more than 1 million visitors.

 

Readers say they appreciate the site's even-handed treatment of Somalia's tangled politics and the reasonable tone of its op-ed columns and "Talk of the Town" articles by freelancers.

 

"This is a site where intellectuals can debate issues," said Abdiweli Heibeh, a San Diego police officer and an occasional Wardheer News contributor.

 

The site's news stories are supplied by an eclectic array of sources, from Al-Jazeera to the Pentagon, from London's Daily Telegraph to Agence France-Presse. This comprehensive, open-minded approach appeals to Mohamed M. Garad, a retired diplomat whose career included stints as Somalia's ambassador to Nigeria, Uganda and Qatar.

 

"Wardheer is a Web site of high quality for objective and balanced news," Garad said from his home in Maryland. "It is run by young, educated, highly dedicated Somalis."

 

Already a hit with readers, Wardheer News is starting to attract advertisers. The Web site is sprinkled with classified notices: "Meet Somali Guys & Girls," "Somalia Music News." And the brothers Hassan were approached by a potential advertiser, a company that wires money from the U.S. to Somalia.

 

Like media moguls everywhere, they continue to re-examine and refine their product. Lately, they've been mulling over a new feature, a column on health and medicine. They've already lined up a well-qualified author, an M.D. at the University of Minnesota Medical School.

 

"Our brother is a doctor," Ahmed Hassan said. "Dr. Mohamed Hassan."

 

 

ALL IN THE FAMILY

Wardheer News, a San Diego-based Internet outfit that reports on the Somali region, is run by Somalis on three continents – Africa, Europe and North America. Most of the volunteer staff is composed of the Hassan brothers. They are:

 

ABDIKARIM "ABDEL" HASSAN

 

Age: 39

 

Wardheer News position: Publisher

 

Day job: Project manager, Ecke Ranch, Encinitas

 

AHMED HASSAN

 

Age: 44

 

Wardheer News position: Managing director

 

Day job: Human services specialist, County of San Diego

 

DR. MOHAMED HASSAN

 

Age: 47

 

Wardheer News position: Under negotiation; possible health and medicine columnist

 

Day job: Physician, University of Minnesota Medical School

 

 

YUSUF HASSAN

 

Age: 49

 

Wardheer News position: Webmaster

 

Day job: Salesman, Frye's Electronics, San Marcos

 

ISMAIL HASSAN

 

Age: 42

 

Wardheer News position: Newsroom chief

 

Day job: Economist, London

 

ABDIRASHID HASSAN

 

Age: 37

 

Wardheer News position: Contributing editor

 

Day job: Co-owner, Hargeysa Spring Water, Somalia

 

 

San Diego Union Tribune

[Suldaanka]

Ms. Edna’s personal trip (uninvited) to US is reported as being official trip. The highlight of that report is when she waves her “stamped passport†to jubilant crowd who can’t even see the authenticity of the said document. Yet, we have dedicated nomads that we can count on to post these “events†as they happen.

LOL

 

You know what I think, xataa hadii adiga lagu soo hordhigo before you own very eyes, I don't think you'd be able to swallow that down. So, having that in mind, whom am I to waste any minute to argue on whether it was "authentic" or fake. That is not something I would even ponder myself upon. So sxb, as they say, ha ku macaanato whatever your conclusions are - that I don't give a flying fig off.

[Coloow]

When it comes to news related to somalia and somalis, I often go to Baar lugobaxsi or baar baagamundo because at least you get the chance of listening to different perspectives (beesha.news).

[nuune]

Baashi, thanks for that long reply,

 

but we are not like the Western Media or the likes, we don't have Press Freedom in Somalia, you know what happened in Hargeisa and in Boosaaso recently, and those Somali websites don't act as responsible, most of these Somali websites about latest news in Somalia are based not in offices in Somalia but in public libraries and rooms not far from you or me, and that is where they publish their bogus so-called-latest-news Watchdog center

 

 

media competence is alright, But Somaliwebsites are going too far, all they care is getting their agenda straight away which is as I said "Clan-oriented information Center".

[Haddad]

wardheernews need do a better job in presenting a professional design. For example, if you look at this The Yibir of Las Burgabo page, you'll note the image included is a small one enlarged, making it blurry (it hurts the eyes).

[AYOUB]

Nuune

Have you heard about the 'independent' Somali website that forbids criticing a restaurant because it's one of its sponsors?

[Xoogsade]

nuune, How about calling back home once every week or once every two weeks? The info you get is much more accurate. I find somalis back home to be more relaistic than those who live in the west when it comes to Somalia.

[nuune]

ayoub loool waryaa maxaad ka hadlaysaa, meeshaad hadalka ku wado waan garanayaa

 

xoogsade, sxb I do that most of the time, but upto-date aa loo baahanyahay, and that seems unreachable.