Tech savvy journos are need of the hour

Dubai - "If you don't have journalists that are quick to capture and absorb all these new things, you will not do well."

Saudi journalist, columnist and former editor-in-chief of the Saudi Gazette, Khaled Al Maeena has called on journalists in the region to do more to embrace new technologies and reach a greater audience.
"It has to be a marriage of print media, apps, social media and online. Journalists have to be savvy," Al Maeena said on the sidelines of the WAN-IFRA Middle East event in Dubai on Wednesday.
"If you don't have journalists that are quick to capture and absorb all these new things, you will not do well."
Looking back on his long career in journalism, Al Maeena noted that "different standards prevail" across the GCC, but that he was particularly impressed with the positive steps taken by Saudi media over the last 15 years.
"Arabic print media has really been on the go, exposing corruption, child abuse and focusing on women's rights and growing movements," he remarked.
Looking to the future, Al Maeena called on Arab media outlets to be more assertive and bold, and focus more on communities which they are covering.
"Regional media has to come out of its shell. We have technological processes.but they need to have a wider parameter and solid journalists and media people," he said. "We have to have a change in mindset."
"The UAE English media is doing well, but it should also focus on the environment and some issues that are prevailing like safety, or awareness programmes about health and diabetes," he added.
"These are issues that we are facing. Not just politics. There must also be integration between expatriates and local people," Al Maeena added.
The Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the international community have been somewhat unsuccessful in their efforts to solve the geopolitical problems in the Middle East, he said.
"The Arab League has failed, and I think the geopolitical situation will only [be solved] when it is a homegrown, indigenous position."
"We don't need No 10 Downing Street, the White House, the Bundestag or the Kremlin to come and solve our issues."
"The Arab people, by and large, love each other," he added. "Unfortunately, Arab relations are mainly personal between leaders. But the solutions have to come from within and the mindset also has to change."
Similarly, Al Maeena said the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation has failed in certain regards. "The OIC, in terms of culture and economy, has done a lot," he said. "But on the political level, the OIC and the Arab League or even the United Nations depend on what the leaders want," Al Maeena added.
bernd@khaleejtimes.com