The Abandoned Hard Rock Cafe

Here is a link to our radio story press here

Project Done by: Saif Al Naji & Indira Kasaeva

A fire at A University Campus Raises Questions

A fire broke out at the tennis court in the American University in Dubai this morning between 6 and 6:30am causing a fatal tragedy, University Senior Administration Official Sabah Haider said at a press conference held an hour ago.

2 casualties were reported and the reason for the fire is still under investigation. One of the victims is still unidentified whereas information about the other was revealed during the conference after Meedo Taha, Media City Police Chief Constable, had a quick phone call with an anonymous person and ending the conversation by asking: "why would he burn himself?" Yet, Information about the incident is still scarce at the current moment.

The identified male causality is an engineer student at AUD, 25, who was reported to be a smoker. And according to Constable Taha: "there is still no evidence, but 3 cigarette buds were found on the premises."

Smoke billowed up from the tennis court as seen by the only security guard who was on duty but went on a cigarette break at the time the fire broke out. He was questioned about the 3 cigarette buds found on site, however; he swore that they were not his. Though, swearing doesn't justify his position as an innocent person.  

Firefighters brought the fire under control 5 minutes after they were informed at a late stage from the security guard who was on a cigarette break.

Mr. Taha revealed an additional clue at the end of the press conference saying: "Substantial evidence of Midwakh pipes were found under a tree in the side of the tennis court and we have a reason to believe that the tennis court was being used as a scene of exchanging contraband goods. But this remains to be investigated." He added later that there hasn't been any drug related arrests reported last year.

Out of the 5 security cameras surrounding the tennis court, only one is eligible to be tested. It was under examination while the press conference was taking place. "Further details will be forthcoming in the next 2 hours and the police station will release an official statement once they have all the details." Constable Taha ended the conference.

The flags at the university will be flying at a half-staff for the next 2 weeks In commemoration of the 2 missing people and the tennis courts will be closed until further notice. But the question remains unanswered to what may have caused the blaze. Did the student(s) burn him/themselves due to mysterious reason? Were there an illegal exchange of contraband goods? Or did the security guard who was in charge at that time break the fire out?

The Extravagant Shaikh Zayed Mosque

Abandoned Cars Rotted in Dubai Police Impound

Hello. Here is my photojournalism slideshow Press Here

Transportation to School With The Canoe

I was searching for some photojournalism photos on Google and I came across the one above, it captured my complete attention among all the other pictures. I wasn't able to get the area where the picture was captured from, however; a brief caption at the bottom said: "transportation to school with the canoe." I realized how these people or children are using an antique traditional boat as a transportation method without the slightest fear. The canoe is literally 1 cm away from sinking into the ocean. Having said that the kids are going to school, imagine the poverty they're suffering from since none of them are wearing clothes. It's a really sad picture, but makes you realize the blissful life we are living.

UAE Airwaves On The Rise

Commuters on the roads of the UAE spend hours driving due to regular traffic jams; it might be disturbing. But for radio stations broadcasting in the UAE, it's an incentive to encourage people to listen to radio. "More than 70 per cent of radio listening in the UAE is in the car," said Vikram Dhar, head of Gulf News Broadcasting.

The first radio stations in the UAE were Arabic FM’s which had started as news information providers. English FM service followed to join the airwaves in the mid 70s, mainly in Dubai as news channels as well. However, in the late 90s stations slowly started to move into the entertainment field and made more choices available to the listeners. "A professionally-managed entertainment radio channel offers around 70 per cent music, 20 per cent advertisements and 10 per cent talk from presenters," said Dhar.

The FM band is currently crowded with a new station every 2 or 3 MHz apart, some are clashed from neighboring Emirates and countries in the Persian Gulf.

At the time radio industry started in the region, the only way people could listen is either on transistor radios or in cars which was infrequently found. But nowadays, so many media platforms started to play a vital role, MP3 players, iPods, smart phones and most importantly internet radio. Louisa Sandra, a regular listener to Radio1 said: “Despite listening to radio in the car, I find it very useful to tune in through my smart phone or through my laptop. I feel that radio stations are now following me everywhere I go.”

Radio stations used to operate on vinyl records and complicated systems; it was not easy for a businessman to establish such a business. Today, a sophisticated technology has come up to facilitate the overall standards of radio stations. Therefore, don't be surprised to see an empty radio studio with a couple of buttons but still do the same job. Steven Simon, head of Radio1 programming said: "It's all been programmed; there is no need for someone to man it full time anymore."

“Radio stations have matured in the UAE due to several reasons - the biggest factor is the diversity of stations we have today, ranging from languages spoken in the country (Arabic, English, Hindi, Filipino, Russian, etc.) to different genres of music (Arabic, Hip-Hop, Rock, Classical and Oldies, etc.)," Simon said. This development is due to the fact that UAE houses around 200 nationalities with each speaking a different language and enjoys different types of music.

English stations used to acquire the latest pop hits from BBC in London on a weekly basis, which was costly; CDs had to be physically sent overseas. Whereas today, certain music sources are cheaply available online and licensed to be played on air. This advancement facilitated to enhance the radio industry in the UAE and around the world in general.

The general standards of radio stations in the UAE have improved greatly in the past few years and many stations are now at par with leading stations in major cities in the world. However, according to Mr. Dhar: “Gulf News Broadcasting is constantly triggering new revolution on the airwaves.”

"Barbers' Tales" & "Linking Gaza to the Outside World"

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/06/16/world/1194840995653/linking-gaza-to-the-outside-world.html


http://www.monocle.com/sections/business/Web-Articles/Barbers-Tales/


Each of the videos above discuss different topics and touch on different genres of news reporting. The "Barbers' Tales" video tackles a social phenomenon and a lifestyle of 4 barbers in different countries who view hairdressing as an art form more than a random daily job. The variety of voice-overs on the different countries added a twist of realism and randomness into the video. The video also portrays the trade more as a lifestyle of a community rather than a random daily job. The main reason men and women enter the trade is either because they have passion for it or because hairdressing is an inherited job passed through generations. If a couple of more countries were added I would enjoyed it more. From my own experience, I think there are so many barber tales in the U.A.E that would be interesting to capture.

"Linking Gaza to the Outside World" video talks about a controversial political issue in the Middle East, specifically Palestine, which are the underground tunnels that link Egypt and Gaza. Israeli airstrikes constantly try to damage those tunnels to stop trades but Palestinians fix them right away and operate them once again. It mainly talks about the people who work in the tunnels, identify their job descriptions and the different kinds of goods and weapons smuggled through the tunnels. Those smugglers do not fear the significant chance of being buried alive, not because they choose to, but because they sacrifice their life to feed their family and the rest of the country. As mentioned by one of the smugglers, it's their only source of income. Unemployment is over 50%, they merely rely on aids. The voice over in the video was a bit hard and straight to the point, which suits the subject discussed.