The Jordan TimesI just have to dash off a quick post to criticize the internet edition of the Jordan Times (JT). When will it ever join the modern world? I find it very disturbing that the JT website lacks the most very basic internet features: An opinion poll, an "e-mail to a friend" button,
or even a printer-friendly format option.

It is even more disturbing that the paper doesn’t have an on-line archive or a proper search engine. The Jordan Times is Jordan’s only English daily and they still can’t get it right! It is really frustrating.

As for the content of the daily, well that’s another story entirely. The quality of the daily, which once was one of the leading publications in the region, has really gone down the drain. In addition to the absence of comprehensive, investigative reports, the daily’s coverage of local issues is mediocre at best; practically non-existent. I’m getting more news about what’s happening in my hometown from blogs and personal e-mails than from the JT Home News page. This is really bad news!

The paper has some good writers, but perhaps not enough since the production output is so low. To be fair to the journalists there, I must say I enjoy Rana Husseini’s pieces, Ahmad Humeid’s weekly ‘Weekender’ columns and Sahar Aloul’s coverage of Jordan’s parliament.

As a former Jordan Times reporter it ails me to see the JT at such a standstill! Something must be done to improve its caliber and it must be done right away!

Okay, I feel much better now.