MANAMA: The legislature framework, international outreach and bolstering the role of broadcast channels can create a sustainable media sector in the Kingdom, according to the Minister.
The Minister of Information Affairs, Isa Abdulrahman Al Hammadi, on the sidelines of the post weekly Cabinet briefing told The24X7News Bahrain (www.twentyfoursevennews.com) that a sustainable media sector would create jobs for Bahrainis as well as attract foreign investments.
The Minister believes that there is a huge potential of growth and development in the media sector and he assured that his Ministry would do everything possible to tap the existing opportunities in line with the leadership’s aspirations of serving the people and by contributing towards the economic development of the Kingdom.
With a little over two weeks in office, Minister Al Hammadi, has already put in place an aggressive media briefing format for journalists during the post Cabinet meeting briefing sessions at the Gudaibiya Palace.
This is second post Cabinet meeting briefing where the journalists get an opportunity for detailed briefing from one Ministry followed by a Q&A.
Asked whether this format of bringing every week a Minister will serve as a regular format, Minister Al Hammadi said that he plans to make the idea of one Minister every week a regular feature of the post Cabinet briefings.
Also the Minister, quoted by the Bahrain News Agency (BNA) saying that there were many priorities that assume the focus of his concern to develop the entirety of media business in the heart of which comes the official media, pointing out that the Bahraini media should keep pace with political and economic developments that took place in the Kingdom in the past years in line with His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa’s reforms march.
“We want an effective media which takes the initiative, a sort of media that adopts course which gives the requisite long-term output, pointing out that there is much that we seek to accomplish at the level of local official or international media or interaction with external media.”
He said that despite the development made in the national media, however, there is need to adopt a new strategy of movement so as to give the sought output, adding that at present there are numerous meetings, communications to glean diverse opinions in order to determine the suitable path of movement especially in view of the change in conditions and data and the existence of a new government action plan, a new parliament and a new budget.
He said that any future work aimed for the sake of modernization should stand on realistic concepts, citing the important and top priority to develop the media’s legislative frame, issue a new comprehensive law for the media to keep abreast of the age and satisfy the requirements of future phases.
He added that he seeks to develop media performance through training and development so that the Bahraini media message reaches to the outside world and display the true image of events taking place in Bahrain and also to develop the content of radio and TV channels.
“In addition to that, there is a tendency to activate the role of the Media and Communications High Authority in such a way as to benefit from their assigned role as per the decree under which they have been created,” the Minister stressed.
He added that the official media should be coordinated in order to give the optimum returns and to keep pace with government business and international communication and importantly dealing with international parties. The Minister also said that he would avail from the plans and strategies lay down by former ministers and develop them commensurate with developments.
He pointed out that our doors and hearts are open and we hope that opportunity shall be given in order to explain the official stance towards any events. He said that in compliance with the directives of His Royal Highness the Prime Minister regarding opening the doors onto the media and the press and firsthand informing public opinion about new developments, there is inclination to establish a media council comprising chief editors of newspapers and opinion journalists in newspapers to convene once or twice a week in order to exchange views, ideas and discussion on such new developments.
Al Hammadi reiterated that the national media should be effective, should reach out to external parties even to media institutions, pressure groups, NGOs in order to inform them about Bahrain concerns, and that the media should contribute into economic development, provide opportunities to Bahrainis through investing available capabilities and create infrastructures to attract external media institutions such as Al-Arab TV Channel which will begin transmission soon. This will reflect positively on the economic development plans and programmes, the Minister said.
The Minister of Information concluded his statement by saying that it would be feasible to work currently on attracting the private sector so as to develop the media sector and to invest in radio and television infrastructure sector or to attract channels, etc. in order to yield the requisite turnover. The Minister said that there is big work to be done in order to develop the content of the sector’s institutions and to retrieve viewers and listeners to our screen and radio and that quality of broadcast should be far better in terms of quality and content that what is now available.