AKEED, Shadha Shamayleh and Lana Kazkaz

Daily newspapers and other media outlets were satisfied with highlighting the press release issued by Zain Jordan to justify the sudden interruption in service on Saturday evening (13 January 2018) for 70 minutes. The company provides services to around 6 million subscribers. Media outlets did not try to investigate the reasons for the disruption; they simply relied on the statement issued by the company. 

The statement said that the disruption in the network on Saturday evening was due to "a technical failure beyond its control. This has caused network subscribers to experience some difficulties in communication." The company extended its apology for the difficulty in communication due to the technical failure. It confirmed that its team is currently conducting a full examination to discover the main reason for this failure despite the restoration of service. It said that this examination "might cause some inconvenience for some users in the coming period."

Some media outlets were not content with trying to find a justification for the company beyond the statement it issued; they started promoting the company and explained how to benefit from the offer with which Zain compensated its users for the technical failure that precluded the efficient use of the network.

One website promoted the offer that the company made to compensate its customers by publishing the following story: "Zain Jordan has announced giving all its subscribers 2 gigabytes of free Internet, out of its eagerness to satisfy its subscribers and to maintain a cordial spirit. The network users have been accustomed to seeing it in the lead as it is the largest and most advanced. The offer has been widely disseminated on Facebook. People deemed it commendable. This means that the company has apologized to its customers in a special way."

Most media outlets did not provide an explanation of the failure beyond the statement issued by the company. They merely reported the news as is without trying to explain the reasons that led to the failure. This is despite the fact that they referred to the cause of the failure in their headlines: "Disruption in Zain Telecom Network…Company Clarifies," "Statement by Zain on Disruption in Network for Technical Reasons," "Zain Network Restored After Disruption…Company Clarifies," "Zain Apologizes to Subscribers," "Zain: Technical Failure "Beyond Our Control" Reason for Difficulties in Communication," "Important Statement by Zain," and "Urgent…Statement by Zain on Disruption in Network for Technical Reasons."

Some media outlets should be commended for making a greater effort in handling the news by contacting the CEO of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) and Zain customers to get a clarification. Other media outlets highlighted the attempt to contact Zain. However, they did not receive anything other than the statement that apologized for the failure.

Media outlets published a statement by Tareq Bitar, executive director for media and communication in Zain, on the attempt by its staff to fix the problem as soon as possible and explain the reason to the public.

Some reports copied the news verbatim, including the headline, from the Jordan News Agency, Petra. Some media outlets merely reported the news, without doing any follow-up. 

The Jordanian Media Credibility Monitor (AKEED) tried to contact the media department of Zain, which merely answered that "a detailed report of the technical failure will be sent to the TRC. The failure involved voice calls only."

On Sunday, 14 January 2018, the TRC website posted a statement on the sudden technical failure in Zain network, in which it explained that "the failure lasted 70 minutes. Some minor effects remained until noon on the second day. The TRC is still waiting for a detailed and comprehensive technical report from Zain, in accordance with the instructions of the regulatory framework of quality control within 24 hours of the time of the failure."

The AKEED Monitor contacted journalist Jamal Shteiwi, who attributed the lack of media interest in clarifying the failure to the fact that "Zain advertises with many media outlets, which could cost any media outlet a contract worth hundreds of thousands of dinars." He referred to "a state of laziness in the media in handling the failure. Media outlets were satisfied with the Zain statement, which did not mention any details. The sources and opinions mentioned by the media were lacking and general and did not contain any details. They excluded the opinions of the main sources."

According to Shteiwi, "none of the media outlets mentioned the legal and financial effects of the technical failure and the rights of subscribers due to the disruption in communication. Some media outlets did not even report the technical failure that the company experienced. The company statement was brief and did not explain whether the failure was in the communications network or its other services, especially in a large company like Zain, and how to handle it if it is repeated."