Recorders of history

An embarrassing mistake in The Jordan Times (the third time that same mistake had appeared in the paper that I used to read religiously) is the reason I started working at this newspaper 26 years ago.

I had been asked before to join the team by two former civil aviation colleagues George Hawatmeh and Abdullah Hasanat, but to the regimented mind of someone working for the government — where I had before — the “do your story and go home” promise did not sound very serious, so I had forgone that earlier offer.

Not so in 1990 (February 1, to be more precise) when I started as a — what else, if one wished to catch mistakes? — proofreader.

A month later, Hawatmeh, our chief editor at the time, asked me to become home page editor. I was for two years, after which I moved on to the opinion pages, with which I am still proud to identify today.

That was, I believe, the heyday of the newspaper. Young, driven, competitive, enthusiastic reporters were filling the newsroom, vying for a scoop and sources’ attention, wishing and willing to change things, big egos — often deservedly so — and small resources: few typewriters, cramped space and not even a hint at Google, which made research and finding background information difficult, so it would often be done without, which made our job, the editors’, quite gruelling and lacking appreciation (but then we knew we were the anonymous soldiers toiling behind the curtain, not minding it, and actually often proud of making the paper what it was).

The Jordan Times was the place to be for good English-speaking young people. There were no private companies paying big money then, so the puny salaries were not the issue. Having their name on the pages of this prestigious newspaper was often enough.

And rightly so: it was a stepping-stone for many who made it in other media outlets and fields. It gave exposure and head hunters were always keeping an eye on it. Still do, I believe.

We witnessed the Gulf crisis and war of 1990-91, changes of governments, Intifadas, refugees, fall of leaders and countries, peace, war, proud moments in the Kingdom’s life and sad happenings. We were duly recording all, aware of our role as shapers and keepers of history.

The turnover has been big. People would come — interns, mostly foreign, who would want to stay for the love of country and place, but also many Jordanian graduates who often “made it”, job seekers, the occasional “driven” journalist who believed in the profession, young people searching for their Arabic roots, the odd, barely speaking English “anybody” who could not possibly stay (how could he/she?) — and go — better pay, bigger places, death (and we had our fair share of that, unfortunately, with very capable people taken away too soon, leaving indelible memories with the rest of us).

It used to be a vibrant place teeming with people. In time, due to several reasons, The Jordan Times became more subdued, calmer, a place that young people still seek, but not with the enthusiasm I used to see.

A few of us, very few, are hanging on, still proud to be part of this great newspaper, still striving to see it appreciated and still believing in our duty: to inform the reader objectively, to project the Jordanian spirit to the rest of the world, to work as determined archivists because, after all, we document events both for the present and for the future.

Times are hard for printed press. We have not been spared, but for as long as possible, we will persevere, giving our best to our loyal readers.

We owe this to those who put their trust in us and to the old timers who still believe in us.