Media Figures Stress Importance of FANA 39th Conference

Doha, November 20 (QNA) - Participants at the 39th edition of the Federation of Arab News Agency (FANA) General Assembly's conference on Sunday on Sunday said this event has become an important platform for dialogue on means of promoting the Arab news agencies' capacities to meet international professional standards. This year's event is being held in the context of the various developments taking place in the Arab and internationals arenas, participants told Qatar news agency (QNA) on the sidelines of the conference due to kick off here on Monday. The Arab news agencies have shown respect for objectivity as one of the main principles of journalistic professionalism while covering these recent events, they added. They noted in this regard the high professionalism and respect of the principles of media objectivity by the Arab news. For his part, FANA Secretary-General, Fred Ayar said the conference will discuss a number of issues on how to develop collaboration between the various Arab news agencies and organize training courses and workshops. In response to a question about the contribution of Arab revolutions in the improvement of Arab news agencies performance, Dr. Farid Ayar said this talk is premature because the movement is still ongoing and when mobility is under way we have to wait for the result and then we can decide what will happen. He stressed that Arab news agencies do not fail to report news with objectively from all countries, whether countries that are witnessing an Arab Spring as it is termed now, or countries that are stable at present. He explained that Arab news agencies are the mouthpieces of their countries and affiliates of political power in the Arab countries, therefore they reflect the opinion of that authority. I believe that there is a change in their policies at the present time, which at any rate are not hostile to their people, but it follow a quiet path to ensure the stability of Arab peoples, Dr. Ayar said. He pointed out that most of the Arab News Agencies now change course from government news agencies to state news agencies. This issue should be discussed to expose it to the Arab people, he said expressing belief that the agencies that are still moving in a certain direction at the present time will change course in the near future.