When tested, go back to your roots
33 years together for ethical journalism
First cup of coffee with them. They were gracious and generous.
“How long have you been together?”
33 years last September. Tele Liban was their second home. They met, got engaged, married, and had two children while working at the TV station. Their work dictated their family engagements and social life. When everyone was in shelters, they were on duty. No weekend, no vacation. They witnessed peak political and armed upheavals and Lebanon's golden age of media and journalism. After Tele Liban, Nehmat and Christian served the profession in many institutions such as ANB, MTV, SBS-Australia, Radio Canada International, and Radio Orient-Paris.
Journalism as they knew it
As journalists, they met many people and witnessed firsthand the industry's technological and financial fluctuations. Unfortunately, they see a decline in moral, ethical, and political standards. People in charge today don't have the same fabric as the statesmen they knew. The lowering of standards is real in Lebanon and everywhere else.
Responsible journalism is becoming rare. As professionals, they treat 'the word' with such respect and care as it influences situations and people. They evaluated every expression they wrote: Impact, accuracy, and truthfulness. Their political or ideological beliefs do not matter in the newsroom. What matters is conveying facts from all angles. A media professional serves the truth. The whole truth.
They serve everyone with unbias and professionalism. Being a media professional is a vocation for them. When their job is to give facts, they do just that. They delivered the news with "poker faces." There are no hints of any emotions, facial insinuations, provocations, or altering. Their job was to report and provide the news, and they did not believe it was their position to tell us how to think
Biased news
Unfortunately, absolute objective news does not exist. Media has become an industry with machines subjected to supply and demand market forces. Even in the US, the truth can be relative as the media is in open war. CNN, CNBC, and Fox News. Whose truth do you subscribe to? What an awkward position to be in!
Bias exists. When money dictates, you have to compromise. Successful institutions keep a framework for legitimacy and credibility. For example, if you can't state everyone's opinion, then cancel that piece. If you have to only portray one point of view because you're paid more from that source, then you're much better off canceling news altogether.
Money is essential to stay standing, but so is integrity. If you were to compromise, do it with limits. We should reconcile progress with the integrity of the profession. Journalists should be given the space to be objective. We used to study thousands of words to add to our vocabulary. Today, they google: quick and efficient. But are they reading any books to stay cultured? It is also true that today, anyone can publish on the internet. How responsible are people?
Reconciling progress and the fundamentals of journalism are vital for any individual or institution. Eventually, the disruption in the past 20+ years will subside. Traditional journalism will adapt, amateurs will learn, and the industry will prevail.
Introducing the news a la Libanaise
In Lebanon, it is the standard that all stations put their political introductions before reporting the news.
It should not exist. Period. Why should I tell you how to think about what I'm about to tell you? It's the epitome of brainwashing and bias. As if I'm telling you: "Don't think. I'll think on your behalf."
When Christian was tasked to run the news section at Tele Liban, and the political tension was at its peak, he pulled a hack against what was assumed. He went back to the roots — to basic journalism principles. He gave all competing parties equal air time, and he respected the viewers to think for themselves. That's it.
Consequently, Tele Liban jumped back to second place in the local scene in just three months, which proved that viewers appreciate honesty and objectivity. The introduction to the news was a resume and not an analysis.
Christian, as a third-year university student, interviewing Bachir (1979)
To all journalists out there
Nehmat is so proud of the students she mentored over the years and still does. She glowed as she named some of them. The teacher in her sprung up. She tells the newcomers that there is something special in every single one of them. Despite the pressures and the industry's constraints, they always have room to maneuver intelligently and with integrity.
Set high standards, stick to them, and in the long run, you will succeed.
Stick to your values and nurture self-respect.
Be ethical with your colleagues, and be happy for their success.
Everyone gets a turn (to that special coverage, private assignment, or trip)
Have integrity and protect it with everything you've got.
When tested, return to your roots, values, and principles.
In journalism, being a gentleman or a lady pays off.
Develop a solid personality. It makes a big difference.
Winning without dignity is not winning.
In my conversation with Nehmat and Christian, they were both totally engaged. Occasionally, they would gently cut into each other, not to refute what was being said; instead, to complement the other's thoughts with more facts. All done with such enthusiasm, sweetness, and love. It was the "yes…and" and not the "yes…but" kind of ping-pong between them.
They argue? Sure.
Who doesn't? Christian is talented, fast, creative, courageous, and a visionary with a wealth of knowledge. Nehmat is calculating, proper, well-prepared, and doesn't like ambiguity and making mistakes. He can wing it. She has to prepare every step in advance.
Their working relationship was tested during a two-year program, where she barely caught up with his pace. It got to a point where they would go live with the two of them barely communicating on camera. Until the episode wrapped up, and they got swarms of congratulations.
This was when Christian jumped in with a devious smile: "She was the one who made up with me."
On another occasion, they were about to go live for the 7:30 pm news. Nehmat sat waiting for Amale, who worked the teleprompter, to arrive. The slow elevator at Tele Liban was of no help. As Christian ordered the generic jingle to start, Nehmat sat camera-facing. Amale is still not there. At 7:30 sharp, they went live.
As she had nothing to present, Nehmat panicked. He fully improvised the introduction and talked through it until the teleprompter was ready. Once off the air, she went ballistic. "Don't talk to me right now!"
“He did poetry. I had to give facts!” she told me.
Nehmat, Christian, and Starbucks
Nehmat fell in love with Starbucks before Christian. She cherishes her coffee time. It is her refuge when she's sorting something out. Coffee starts her day as she goes with Christian to Starbucks with intention. They like the culture, the service, the smell, and the coffee. It's become a ritual — their oasis and escape place. Especially nowadays, in Lebanon, Starbucks dates have become simple periodic pleasures. Among all the challenges and changes in this world, the coffee experience got better.
The present lightness of being
She says: "I love him very much. He's one of the few people that I learned from so much. I learned from him in my personal life and in my professional life. Christian has what I don't have, as we complement each other. He's so accepting of people.
On the other hand, if I can't stand someone, I simply don't care. He learns from the people who bother him. I learned to deal with people who are not like me."
He says: "Nehmat is my weakest point. I am all taken by her, and she is my total life partner. A wonderful person, a loving mother, a devoted wife, and much more of what any husband could wish for. Loyalty is of utmost importance to her. Her family comes first, and I respect her for this. She's raised two boys; now men on their own."
They learned to work together and still leave room to breathe.
I like their story. I liked being around them. They're accessible, fluid, authentic, and light on the heart. 33 years! It felt like they just started dating and had been friends for an eternity.
At Starbucks, they both drink ☕️ : Tall black.
Check out, Christian’s LinkedIn, Christian’s Facebook, and Nehmat’s Facebook.