DOHA Debates chairman Tim Sebastian gave a keynote speech on in-depth interview techniques to a gathering of some 200 Arab journalists yesterday at the first ‘Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism’ (ARIJ) conference in Jordan. The Jordanian press hailed the event as ‘unprecedented’ in light of the region’s struggle with issues of freedom of speech, repressive media laws and democracy. Sebastian told the hall that a journalist’s first duty is to provide the general public with sDOHA Debates chairman Tim Sebastian gave a keynote speech on in-depth interview techniques to a gathering of some 200 Arab journalists yesterday at the first ‘Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism’ (ARIJ) conference in Jordan. omething new and that the opportunity to question those in power is a responsibility that should not be taken lightly. “It is not your job to make friends over a cup of tea and slice of cake. The general public does not get the chance to hold politicians accountable and in many cases your questions are their only weapons,” argued Sebastian. Journalists at the gathering asked Sebastian whether timid journalism has made political interviewing boring and whether journalists should accept restrictions on subject matters up for discussion. “Over the past 30 years – with the BBC and now the Doha Debates – I have never been told what I could or couldn’t ask,” he claimed. During his trip to Amman, Sebastian also met with the Jordanian Minister of State for Media and Communications, Nasser Judeh and former Foreign Minister Hazem Nusseibeh to discuss political developments in the region. http://gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=259502&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16

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