About al-Sahafiyeen
"Al-Sahafiyeen" is the Arabic word for "journalists" or "the journalists." American Arab journalists, through the National Arab American Journalists Association, are working closely with SPJ to help encourage other American Arab journalists to join the SPJ. We have more than 250 American Arab journalists who now work in the mainstream American media or in the growing American Arab ethnic press.
There are now 90 American Arab publications (including 11 magazines) being published in the United States in Arabic and some in Arabic and English serving an estimated 4.5 million Arabs who are Christian and Muslim living in the 48 continental American states. Since Arabs are not classified as an ethnic group, they are not included in the official US Census and their precise numbers are not accurately known.
We are hoping to do several things:
First, we want to improve the dialogue and understanding between the mainstream news media and the American Arab community. American Arab journalists can play an important role.
Second, we want to encourage American Arabs to pursue professional journalism careers.
Third, we hope to establish networking not only among American Arab journalists through the SPJ, but to also create bridges between the American Arab journalists and journalists in the Arab World.
Finally, we also hope that we can help make mainstream journalism more professional when addressing Middle East topics. American Arab journalists should be the first resource for stories on the American Arab community.
We can serve ourselves up as a primary resource on American Arab issues for mainstream journalists covering issues and events in the American Arab community, the Arab World, the Muslim World, and in the Middle Eastern in general. (There are many groups of people in the Middle East, for example, who are not Arab, such as Assyrians and Iranians), although they share the same religion and cultural practices.
As journalists, we are all very proud of our achievements. Sarah Alfaham worked on The Working Press during the recent SPJ Convention in Washington D.C. You can read some of her news reports and the reports of others.
Two of our members, Osama Siblani and Kay Siblani, were recently featured in an article they wrote in the SPJ's The Journalist Magazine which is now out on news stands. The feature describes the steady rise in influence of their weekly newspaper The Arab American News which is based in Dearborn, just outside of Detroit, Michigan.
When many of us were younger, we were moved to pursue journalism as a career after watching the Watergate Hearings on Television and learning about the work of Woodward and Bernstein at the Washington Post. There were very few American Arabs in journalism who were known at the time and who were role models. It wasn't easy for these earlier Arab American pioneers. Today, though, things are changing.
Anthony Shadid of the Washington Post, and one of our SPJ-Arab Journalists Steering Committee members, won the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting in 2004 and is a role model for today's Arab American youth who are looking at Arab American journalism as a career choice.
Prior to Sept. 11, 2001, there were seven American Arab newspapers being published in Chicago, for example. All but one closed. Today, there are five based in Chicago and every month we learn about new publications like the Arabic Times Newspaper which launched recently in Jacksonville, Florida and is published by Dalia Mousa. Jacksonville has a large American Arab community. Blogger and longtime SPJ member Ray Hanania launched the National Arab American Times Newspaper in 2007 to broaden news sharing, networking and community reach distributing in all 48 states. Although things have improved somewhat since Sept. 11, 2001 for Arab Americans, it is still not easy to publish an Arab American ethnic newspaper. Many of our steering committee members and SPJ-Arab Journalist Members publish Arab American newspapers and magazines.
Many of us have been SPJ members for years. We hope our involvement with SPJ will make a positive contribution to all that SPJ represents in terms of helping to promote professional journalism.
Thanks
The SPJ-Arab Journalists Steering Committee