Media is universal means of connecting people: Sheikh Nahyan

Dubai - Social media has connected the world like never before but it has also blurred the lines of credibility.

Global news organisations play a key role in helping societies to flourish and care for each other, said Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance, at the 14^th edition of Wan-Ifra Middle East Conference, which started in Dubai on March 6.
"Know that when our people are well informed about national and international events, it strengthens our society. I believe that to embrace information and use it properly is to embrace life itself."
During this year's two-day summit titled 'The Age of the Audience', local and international speakers have come together to discuss how news media companies are responding to the changes relating to global digitisation.
Calling media houses the "universal means of connecting people", he said that while there are challenges in today's tech-driven world, it has also given the global audience a bigger voice; none more so than the media.
"The challenges facing the news industry are constantly changing. Social media has connected the world like never before but it has also blurred the lines of credibility. It has opened up a world beyond belief and has allowed the world to join a community conversation."
Making reference to his own speech, Sheikh Nahyan gave an example of how the media play a pivotal role in influencing a global readership. And that influence can be both positive or negative.
"Through the Internet and other digital means, it may be that right now I am speaking to more people than I can see in this room. Twenty tweets may already have been posted about what I'm saying. I may well be on my way to being labelled a hero on stage or a mad man. That is the power of this new world of social media and digital publishing. It gives each of us, as a connected person, the ability to consume almost all the ideas in the world and promote them how we see them. It gives us the ability to contribute our own ideas, too."
The debates and discussions about the impact of the future on the news industry show a "commitment to keeping media in our lives", he said.
"Your role in the modern world is indispensable. You highlight, illustrate, explain and vividly reveal that our global quest for peace and understanding is, unfortunately, still fraught with danger and challenges. What you, the media do, is help us understand the strength of people and how they can make a difference. The UAE leaders value these attributes."
With the UAE marking 2019 as the Year of Tolerance, Sheikh Nahyan said that while it is true that bad or sensational news sells, it is the media's responsibility to promote positive news.
"If you focus only on the negative, you run the risk of promoting hatred, bigotry. That will lead to a disconnected world. I am confident you will inspire the next lot of media professionals in modern societies to embrace digitisation in the right way," he said.
Among the speakers on day one of the conference included Majed Al Suwaidi, managing director, Dubai Media City, Dubai Studio City and Dubai Production City, and Mechthild Schimpf, director Middle East, Wan-Ifra, Germany.
kelly@khaleejtimes.com
 

• Dubai