The Department of Mass Communication at Qatar University College of Arts and Sciences (QU-CAS) hosted its second media symposium, titled ‘Arab Media in Light of the Current Political Changes’, recently.
The event aimed to “highlight the structural and referential changes of the Arab media in light of the current political changes and study the level of independence of Arab media and its development within the context of change and reform”, QU said in a statement.
Attending the opening ceremony were head of CAS Department of Mass Communication Dr Noureddine Miladi and CAS Gulf Studies Centre director Dr Majoob Zweiri, as well as CAS faculty and students.
The event brought together speakers from institutions including QU, Al Jazeera Centre for Studies, Al Jazeera Channel, Al Jazeera English, Al Jazeera.net, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, and Primary Health Care Corporation. They shared their knowledge and expertise on the issue of democracy in Arab media, and the levels of coexistence between social media and traditional media in approaching the Arab political and social reality.
The first day featured three sessions moderated by CAS professor of Public Relations and chair of the symposium’s organising committee Prof Mohamed Kirat, Dr Miladi and CAS professor of Mass Communication Prof Basyouni Hamada.
Discussions focused on a wide range of topics, such as ‘Arab Journalistic Professionalism: Lessons from Egypt and the Gulf Crisis’, ‘Messengers and Villains: The Roles Played by News Outlets in the GCC Crisis’, ‘Arab Media in Light of the Current Developments: Freedom and Responsibility’, ‘Politics and Humanities in Arab Media’, ‘The Political Changes in the Arab World and the New Media’, ‘The Challenges Facing the Professional Values Between Traditional Media and Alternative Media in the Arab Region after the Revolutions of the Arab Spring’, ‘The Symbiotic Relationship Between Media and Terrorism’ and others.
The second day included three sessions moderated by CAS assistant professor of Online Journalism Dr Kamal Hamidou, CAS associate professor of Mass Communication Jamel Zran and CAS associate professor of Public Relations Dr Mahmoud Galander.
Discussions focused on ‘Misinformation of the Siege Countries’, ‘The Violence of Language in the Culture of the Blockade’, ‘Media Values During the Blockade’ and ‘The Role of the Qatari Media in Shaping the Trends of Citizens Towards the Government’s Efforts to Face the Effects of the Blockade’ and others.
Dr Miladi said, “This symposium addresses the correlation between media and the current changes that are happening worldwide and serves to provide relevant outcomes that are of the benefit to the Arab media, especially at a time when the Arab world is undergoing a phenomenon of distortion, misinformation and confusion.”
Prof Kirat added, “It (the event) comes at a time when Qatar is facing the unjust and illegal blockade imposed by the neighbouring countries and serves as a significant platform for media experts in Qatar to discuss and assess the Arab media after the Arab Spring and during the current Gulf crisis. We look forward to the expert recommendations that will emerge from the symposium’s discussions.”
Speakers at the symposium.
