Journalists' freedom a must for fair media

(MENAFN-Arab News) dubai: media cannot be free without journalists feeling free and safe, said princess rym ali of jordan at the 9th annual wan-ifra middle east conference on wednesday

The conference was inaugurated by sheikh maktoum bin mohammed al-maktoum, deputy ruler of dubai. over 200 journalists and government officials from around the world have been attending the two-day conference that will discuss topics related publishing world including the shift toward the digital media

?freedom of speech was one of the main demands in uprisings in places like egypt and tunisia, rym added. she explained the positive and negative aspects of arab spring and pointed out that governments in many areas are finding it hard to let go and are still interfering with press freedoms

?a free press is not just a few tweets, but a whole culture of democracy,? she stressed

Wan-ifra chief executive officer for france, vincent peyregne said that credible news and information is essential for decision-making. ?people are looking for reliable and credible source of information ? and newspapers are the voice of the society,? said vincent peyregne.

?we need more innovation and creativity. we do not have a clear road map to tackle the challenges and therefore, we need to experiment,? said dhaen shaheen, ceo of publishing sector in dubai media inc. and editor-in-chief of al-bayan daily.

Saleh alhumaidan, managing director of al-yaum media house, dammam, stressed the importance of the event for the region's publishing industry

On thursday, mohammed fahad al-harthi, editor in chief of arab news, sayidaty and al-jamila will speak on ?powerful strategies to turn your online reach into powerful business.??