By Sports Reporter/Doha


State-of-the-art facilities, combined with the latest technology and highly skilled staff, have ensured that every journalist will make the most out of his or her presence in Qatar while facilitating his task in delivering a message of noble competition.  
Almost 1,530 media representatives—900 among them accredited journalists and 630 TV crew—from 75 countries are working in Doha on a daily basis. From Algeria to Uruguay and Norway and from Spain and Germany to the United States and Guam, one thing is evident: Handball is a global sport and the 24th Men’s World Championship is a unique setting for the teams and athletes to shine and demonstrate their skills and sporting achievements.
The success of the 24th Men’s World Handball Championship is not only measured by the high level of the infrastructure provided, such as the Main Media Centre, the mixed zones, the press conference halls, the media tribunes. The workforce, both professionals and volunteers, have been handpicked and trained in a way that ensures that they are able to cater to every media representative’s professional query.
In addition to the human element, as Ms. Fatma al-Obaidli, Head, Media & Broadcasting Committee, Qatar 2015 Organising Committee, says: “We are proud to have introduced an Olympic-level service, the Info System, that is employed for the first time ever in the history of the competition, to cover the needs for fast, accurate and in depth information for all accredited media.”
The goal of the News Service is to keep the accredited media informed about the Championship. As well as publishing valuable news reports such as flash quotes, press conference highlights, previews, reviews and general interest articles, the News Service team is also distributing printed reports such as start lists, results, official communications and cumulative statistics to pigeon holes at Venue Media Centres and the Main Media Centre (MMC).
The Info System is updated on a daily basis and users are allowed to make use of or reproduce the available uploaded content. Almost 40 stories are uploaded every day in both English and Arabic—and this is another premiere for the Info System since it is the first time it is bilingual. Up till now 24,789 page views have been made, with an average of 18% of new viewers per day since the championship started.
Says Sascha Staat of German sports radio 360 Grad: “The working conditions are better than at any other previous event. The info system is full of useful content and the statistics are a great help and are deliver in due time.”
Gustau Galvache, press officer, FC Barcelona, concurs: “The media facilities in Doha are not comparable with any place in the world, they are the best in the world. The quality of the info system content is highest class in terms of all statistics, quotes and news articles.”

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