Art of writing, presenting news focus of interactive forum
An interactive forum titled ‘Media coordinators for media and voluntary initiatives program’ was organised by Oman Academy for Volunteer in Musannah recently. It was attended by several Omani mediapersons. Ahmed al Naamani, a correspondent at Oman News Agency, welcomed the participants, sponsors of the event and presenters of workshops.
Shura Council member of Wilayat Al Musannah, Engineer Abdullah al Balushi was welcomed to the forum.
The forum began with a workshop titled ‘Three main things needed for the art of writing news, report, and investigation’, delivered by noted Omani journalist Mohammed al Rahbi.
“Don’t use repetitive words and widely used words in a feature story. Make it unique,” Al Rahbi said, highlighting examples from his published stories.
The workshop comprised interactive sessions. Mohammed al Rahbi, a journalist, for instance, gave tips on “how to avoid common writing mistakes”.
The interactive session was followed by a workshop titled “The duties and functions of media coordinators and how to come up with development journalistic outputs’, presented by well-known journalist Ali bin Rashid al Matani and vice-president of Oman Journalists Association.
A question and answer session saw Al Matani answering several queries posed by the participants.
Oman TV news anchor, Lujaina al Balushi spoke on how to write an effective TV news report, and how to edit it and present it creatively.
The event saw some practical sessions in which teams presented TV news on the stage. Lujaina chose the ‘best reader’ from among the participants. Omani social media influencer Aadil Al Maamari spoke on the role of social media in promoting voluntary initiatives.
The workshops concluded with a panel discussion moderated by Ahmed al Naamani. The panel comprised Lujaina al Balushi, Ali al Matani and Aadil al Maamari. Questions raised by members of the audience on writing and media were answered by the panellists.
Ali al Matani told the Observer: “Today’s event is an example of social solidarity in Oman. Many voluntary teams came from different regions of Oman, which reflects their awareness on media workshops and the desire to learn and educate each other.”
According to Lujaina al Balushi, the forum was “very informative” and “peppered with some humour”. “Individuals passionate about media news presentation can accomplish their goals through hard work and dedication.”