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LoginGulf Radio and Television Corporation Director General to QNA: Print Journalism Faces Major Challenges but Will Endure
Doha, June 18 (QNA) - Modern technologies have revolutionized the global media sector, driving a rapid structural evolution that has fundamentally reshaped the media landscape and precipitated a decline in traditional print journalism, which continues to leverage digital tools to maintain market relevance.
In an interview with Qatar News Agency (QNA), HE Director General of the Gulf Radio and Television Organization of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Dr. Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz Al Hazzaa stated that while print journalism faces severe headwinds, it will not disappear entirely. He emphasized that survival depends on optimized strategic planning, targeted content curation, enhanced reader engagement, and diversification, noting that a dedicated segment of society remains structurally reliant on physical print editions.
Al Hazza, who led a seminar titled "The Craft of Media Messages in the Digital Age" on Wednesday at the Qatar Press Center, underscored that the critical inquiry facing the industry is no longer whether print newspapers are on the path to extinction, but rather the qualitative value of the content they produce.
Commenting on the state of the press across the GCC and the wider Arab world, HE Dr. Al Hazzaa stated that a sophisticated press infrastructure is boasted by the Gulf region. It was noted that multiple established publications are possessed by every member state, which have historically served as powerful channels for state-citizen communication. He added that the challenge of delivering public messages with complete frankness and transparency has been successfully navigated, and this path continues to be followed. Furthermore, it was emphasized that by keeping pace with technological shifts, legacy print practices have been effectively synthesized with new digital mediums by many regional newspapers, allowing core readerships to be successfully retained.
Evaluating the performance of Gulf news agencies and their integration of modern media technologies, the Director General remarked that his relationship with news agencies spans decades, dating back to when paper was manually processed from telex machines using the three-letter code (Q-N-A) for the Qatar News Agency. Today, regional entities, including the Saudi Press Agency and other Gulf news agencies, are united under a shared mandate to serve the region and its people. It was affirmed that operations have been successfully digitized in the modern era to align with global technological shifts.
He added that viewable and browsable content is now provided by each of these agencies at the touch of a button, where sequential news feeds are found at the fingertips of users, supported by clear references and advanced search mechanisms.
HE Dr. Al Hazzaa began his career as a news editor at Riyadh Radio before advancing through senior leadership roles, including Director General of News at Saudi Television, and Assistant Deputy Minister of Information for Television, Radio, Internal Media, and International Cultural Relations, respectively. In 2012, he was appointed President of the Saudi Broadcasting and Television Corporation. (QNA)
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