Mediums of Mass Communication: Journaling, Print and Digital Media

Journal therapy is the purposeful and intentional use of reflective writing to further mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health and wellness. It offers an effective means of providing focus and clarity to issues, concerns, conflicts, and confusions. In practice, it is the act of writing down thoughts and feelings to sort through problems and come to deeper understandings of oneself or the issues in one’s life. Modern Kuwait's print media had its beginning in the 1920s, expanding in the 1960s (Kamaliour & Mowlana) with the emergence of a number of publications. Most newspapers in Kuwait are individually owned, allowing for a wide range of expressions of opinion, but are limited to some degree in that speaking against the government or Islam is not allowed. Independent newspapers were somewhat challenged after Iraq's invasion, when the Kuwaiti government became involved in publishing news. However, government newspapers were discontinued because they could not compete with privately owned publications.

Definition of a Journal

In accounting and bookkeeping, a journal is a record of financial transactions in order by date. Traditionally, a journal has been defined as the book of original entry. The definition was more appropriate when transactions were written in a journal prior to manually posting them to the accounts in the general ledger or subsidiary ledger. journal or book of original entry is the place where journal entries are recorded before they are posted to the ledger accounts. A journal is a record of all the transactions a company has recorded.

Journal therapy is the purposeful and intentional use of reflective writing to further mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health and wellness. It offers an effective means of providing focus and clarity to issues, concerns, conflicts, and confusions. In practice, it is the act of writing down thoughts and feelings to sort through problems and come to deeper understandings of oneself or the issues in one’s life. Unlike traditional diary writing, where daily events and happenings are recorded from an exterior point of view, journal therapy focuses on the writer’s internal experiences, reactions, and perceptions. Through this act of literally reading his or her own mind, the writer is able to perceive experiences more clearly and thus feels a relief of tension. This has been shown to have mental and physical health benefits.

Although people have written diaries and journals for centuries, the therapeutic potential of reflective writing didn’t come into public awareness until the 1960s, when Dr. Ira Progoff, a psychologist in New York City, began offering workshops and classes in the use of what he called the Intensive Journal method. Dr. Progoff had been using a “psychological notebook” with his therapy clients for several years. His Intensive Journal is a three-ring notebook with many color-coded sections for different aspects of the writer’s life exploration and psychological healing. The Progoff method of journal keeping quickly became popular, and today the method has been taught to more than 250,000 people through a network of “journal consultants” trained by Dr. Progoff and his staff.

In 1978, journal writing for personal growth and emotional wellness was introduced to a wider audience through the publication of three books. Dr. Progoff’s At a Journal Workshop detailed his Intensive Journal process and gave instructions on how to set up an Intensive Journal for those who could not attend a journal workshop in person. In 1977 a young writer and teacher from Minneapolis named Christina Baldwin published her first book, One to One: Self-Understanding Through Journal Writing, based on the adult education journal classes she had been teaching. And in Los Angeles, Tristin Rainer published The New Diary (1978), a comprehensive guidebook that for many years was the most complete and accessible source of information on how to use a journal for self-discovery and self-exploration.

Newspapers and Other Publications

Modern Kuwait's print media had its beginning in the 1920s, expanding in the 1960s (Kamaliour & Mowlana) with the emergence of a number of publications. Most newspapers in Kuwait are individually owned, allowing for a wide range of expressions of opinion, but are limited to some degree in that speaking against the government or Islam is not allowed. Independent newspapers were somewhat challenged after Iraq's invasion, when the Kuwaiti government became involved in publishing news. However, government newspapers were discontinued because they could not compete with privately owned publications.

Arabic daily newspapers from Kuwait include: Al-Rai Ala-Am (Public Opinion) which started publication in 1961 and hosted a 2001 circulation of about 87,000; Al-Seyassah (Policy), founded in 1965, with a circulation of 70,000; and Al-Qabas (Starbrand), a somewhat liberal publication founded in 1972. Before the Iraqi invasion in 1990, Al-Qabas reportedly had a circulation of about 120,000, compared to its 2001 circulation of 79,000. In 2002, its online Arabic Al-Qabas site reported 30,000 weekly hits. Another Arabic newspaper, Al-Watan (The Home-land), started publication in 1974 and had a 2001 circulation of 60,000. Al-Anbas (The News) was founded in 1976 and had a 2001 circulation of about 107,000. Other newspapers include Al Dostoor, a general interest publication; and Al Iklisadia, a business publication. Newspapers published in English include the Kuwait Times, founded in 1961, with a 2001 circulation of 28,000; Kuwait Today ; and the Arab Times, founded in 1977 reporting a circulation of 42,000. The Washington Post is also received in Kuwait. Weekly publications include Al-Mousaher, an economic publication; Murat al-Umma (Mirror of the Nations) with a circulation of 80,000; and Al Yaqza (The Awakening), a general and political publication founded in 1966, reporting in 2001 a circulation of 91,000. Al-Mujtamaa is a weekly Islamic magazine.

Other magazines include Al-Arabia (Pioneer), founded in 1958 reporting in 1994 a circulation of 360,000. The widely read educational journal which was halted because of the Iraqi invasion but restarted publication in 1991. Other publications include general interest magazines Al Forgan, Anhaar and Mishkat Al Rai ; Al-Nahda, Al-Moukhtalef, OusratyAnnasHayataniaAl-Majales, and Al-Balagh, a general and Islamic publication with a 2002 circulation of 29,000. Other sources of information in Kuwait include the State of Kuwait Official Gazette, a Sunday weekly journal published since 1954 by the Ministry of Information (2002 circulation of 5,000), and Kuwait Magazine, published monthly since 1961. The Ministry of Defense publishes a monthly magazine, Homat Alwatan. In addition to television and radio, the development of movies and VCRs provided additional avenues for electronically communicating information. However, the introduction of the Internet provided unprecedented opportunities for freedom of the press throughout the world. In 2000, there were three Internet service providers and some 100,000 users in Kuwait.