Damascus-SANA
Under the title “The Future of Print Press in Syria,” the Union of Journalists organized a panel discussion in which the editor-in-chief of Al-Watan newspaper, Waddah Abd Rabbo, and the former general manager of the Al-Wahda Foundation for Press, Printing and Publishing, Ziad Ghosn, and the former editor-in-chief of Tishreen newspaper, Muhammad Al-Bairaq, participated in the cultural center in Abu Rummaneh. .
This symposium is the first in a series of symposia that coincides with the Syrian Press Day, which falls on the fifteenth of this month, which will raise questions from media professionals and stakeholders who have an effective contribution to the Syrian press.
The attendees discussed the future of paper journalism, electronic digital transformation, and not stopping in front of technological progress and development by conveying the news through applications and social media platforms, with several interventions by the attendees who spoke about the most prominent problems that prevented the return of paper newspapers to the media arena.
Al-Bairaq raised several questions, including why the printed press did not return to what it was before the Corona pandemic... stressing that electronic newspapers and electronic media are a new method and not an alternative to the printed press. Heavy industry needs high financial and governmental support.
In turn, Ghosn spoke about the economic aspect of producing a newspaper at the present time in light of the emergence of social networks and electronic media, which led to a decline in the distribution of printed copies and a decrease in the number of its traditional audience globally.
He pointed to the reasons for the transformation of printed newspapers to an electronic version, such as technology competition and the high costs of printing, pointing out that well-known paper newspapers are still a reliable source for politicians to address public opinion, indicating the importance of a feasible media return to them in terms of activating their role in facing the chaos of social networks and supporting the skills of specialized media professionals.
For his part, Abd Rabbo explained that the problem facing the printed press is purely economic, stressing that this press is a circulating document that allows preservation, unlike the digital press.
He pointed out that in the event of the return of printed newspapers in the next stage, the focus should be on journalism of opinion and solutions, not news journalism, depending on the accuracy of the information and with the need for financial support for journalists under the current circumstances.
The symposium was attended by Mahdi Dakhlallah, member of the central leadership of the Arab Socialist Baath Party, Vice President of the Journalists Union Raeda Waqf, member of the union and member of the Executive Office of the Media Journalists Union, Muhammad al-Khidr, a number of editor-in-chiefs of some newspapers, and a group of journalists and media professionals.
Rasha Ibrahim
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