NMC participates in Saudi Media Forum
RIYADH: Mansour Al Mansouri, Director-general of the National Media Council, NMC, highlighted the importance of prioritising digital education to regulating the flow of information circulating on social media and promoting positive content.
Al Mansouri made this statement during his keynote speech at the Saudi Media Forum, which began today in the presence of a group of media professionals from various Arab and foreign media organisations.
While technological developments are accelerating, media organisations should take the lead, as they have the technical and human capabilities to promote, adapt and optimise the benefits of social media, Al Mansouri said.
He also stressed the key role of media institutions in promoting awareness and education, adding that their credibility and confidence qualify them to face related challenges and turn them into opportunities.
He stated that the media should be part of the equation of change and work to harness technological advancements to disseminate documented information.
Abdullah bin Fahd Al Hussein, Chairman of the Saudi Press Agency, SPA, received, in his office, Al Mansouri and other heads of media institutions participating in the forum.
During the meeting, several topics of common interest with regard to media were discussed, as well as ways of encouraging news cooperation and exchange among the two news agencies.
The forum, under the motto “Media Industry: Opportunities and Challenges,” is organised by the Saudi Journalists Association.
Recently, The National Media Council, NMC, organised a workshop, in cooperation with Google’s Digital News Initiative, on “Google Digital Solutions,” at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of the UAE in Abu Dhabi.
The workshop, which is part of a series organised by the NMC, aims to promote positive digital identity and introduce policies, laws and regulations related to the UAE’S media sector, as well as to ensure the responsible and positive use of social media, and introduce content policies and mechanisms for reporting violations adopted by Google.
The workshop, which was presented by Samia Ayyash, Training Supervisor at Google’s Digital News Initiative, presented four key topics, which are stories, news ideas, and storytelling using google maps, and fake news and video verification.
The event also explained the use of available news verification tools, including reverse image searches that can help reveal the truth about published photos on the internet, social media and emails, as well as video verification through “Invid.”