AKEED, Wasfi Khushman

Readers feel confused when they read two different headlines of one report issued by the same entity, as the Jordanian Media Credibility Monitor (AKEED) has concluded based on some comments on social media platforms.

On Monday/Tuesday (29-30 May 2017), daily newspapers and news sites reported on the General Government Finance Bulletin for the first quarter of this year. The reporting was mostly optimistic about the economic situation. The headlines were identical as follows:

Petra - Public Debt Ratio Stabilizes; Drop in Public Expenditures

Al Rai - Ministry of Finance: Public Debt Ratio Stabilizes; Drop in Public Expenditures

Al Dustour - Ministry of Finance: Public Debt Ratio Stabilizes; Drop in Public Expenditures

Al Ghad - Ministry of Finance: Public Debt Ratio Stabilizes; Drop in Expenditures

Al Anbat - Drop in Public Expenditures; Debt Stabilizes

Press coverage focused on the stabilization of public debt at around 26.5 billion dinars, compared with the end of 2016.

The coverage also highlighted the rise in domestic revenues and the drop in external grants, while some reporting preferred to merge the first two items under the headline "Drop in Revenues and Grants by 29.95 Million Dinars."

In its economic report, Al Dustour said that the net public debt rose at the end of March compared with the end of 2016 by 495.4 million dinars. As for Al Sabeel newspaper, it used a different headline, which read as follows: "Drop in Grants in First Quarter; Increase in Public Debt." In its hardcopy edition, the newspaper reported the increase in the net public debt of the Kingdom during the first three months of 2017 by 495.4 million dinars to reach 26.451 billion dinars, and the increase of the debt ratio by 1.1%.

The Jordanian Media Credibility Monitor (AKEED) observed that the newspapers made excessive use of economic terms, such as net public debt, public debt ratio, current expenditures, and capital expenditures without explaining them to the public. It also observed that some analyses made comparisons between the first quarter of the current year and its counterpart of last year, while other analyses compared the results of the current quarter with the previous quarter, which is the fourth quarter of 2016.

Salamah Diraawi, chief editor of the electronic newspaper Al- Maqar and a journalist who is specialized in economic affairs, sees no problem in that. The approach of comparisons can use both styles. He added that each newspaper reads the bulletin as dictated by its trends, whether for or against. He said that there are five items in each bulletin by the Ministry of Finance, which are: Total revenues and external grants, total expenditures, deficit (surplus/deficit), primary balance, and foreign and domestic debt. Each journalist or media outlet focuses on the items that agree with their interests.

Husam Ayish, an analyst and economic expert, agrees that media readings of official figures reflect the interests of those supervising it and their attitudes. Besides, figures and ratios can be used in different ways. He added: There are newspapers that want to "render a service to the government by talking about achievements," while others view the matter as "picking a quarrel" with the government.

He went on to say: We are not supposed to embellish the outcome of government actions. Also, we should not review it as a way of gloating over government performance. He added that figures are supposed to be presented to the citizen, who will be the judge. He elaborated by saying that there are figures and ratios that are correct, but they do not reflect the true economic reality. Therefore, it is difficult to consider this data as indicative of a different government approach.

He pointed out that judging economic performance needs two to three years in order to be able to say that there is growth or improvement in the budget deficit, which can be attributed to our effective plans and programs. However, we should not be optimistic about an increase in revenues in a certain quarter without explaining that this increase is due to receiving aid. These revenues are not sustainable. This will appear in the following quarter as an increase in debt, as Ayish explained. He said that "we must not pass absolute judgments on current developments."

He said that one newspaper published a report some time ago about positive economic figures during the first month of the current year, noting that "judgment cannot be passed on the results of quarters, but on the final results." He added: "Our region is in turmoil. Jordan"s exports and tourism are affected by developments around us. It is important for economic readings to be realistic and not to be controlled. They should serve the citizen and decision-maker so that everybody will assume their responsibilities."

The economic analyst said that governments "are unfortunately in a hurry because they believe that this will help them stay longer. This makes them direct some persons to talk about positive points and minimize the risks of negative points. Some people volunteer to write about this without being asked to do so."

He added: All of this confuses citizens. Sometimes, their reactions are violent for reasons related to how the news is worded. Throughout the year, newspapers have been talking about improvement in the economic situation, increase in revenues, stabilization of public debt, and decline in public expenditures. However, once the year draws to a close, the government announces its intention to increase taxes and fees due to a large deficit in the budget. Then, it is the right of the citizen to ask: "Why have you been trying to mislead me and embellish reality throughout the year?"