"The future of media"

Just for a change, here's a plug for an event (we are not associated, contact Polaris for more info):

Digital Journalism: The future of media
Expert Panel Discussion

Date: Monday, 24th May 2010
Time: 7pm for 7.30pm start
Venue: Shelter, Warehouse 209, 318 Road, Al Quoz Industrial 4

The expert panel will include respected industry figures such as:

Mark Briggs--Visiting from the USA, Briggs is a blogger, journalist and authority on the media revolution. He is also the author of Journalism 2.0: How to survive and thrive in the digital age, and CEO of Serra Media.

Pia Heikkila--A freelance digital journalist at the forefront of the media revolution, and co-creator of the new SAE Institute Digital Journalism Course.

Nabila Usman--writer and journalist, business development executive at Newzglobe.com, an online portal that provides edgy, bold & quirky news from the region.

Khaled Khalifa - Head of Office, United Nations - Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN) Middle East and Asia Bureau.

The discussion will be moderated by Reg Athwal, Co-Founder and Chairman of online television platform onetvo.com.

“Wow! How did I reach that circulation?”

An impressive performance, if the Grand National's claims can be believed:

Two years after its launch, Newland has stepped aside to become editorial director and Fattah has become its editor. The paper's sales have doubled year-on-year with 20,000 paid subscriptions. Another 20,000 issues are distributed for free of charge - to encourage further subscription - while a further 20,000 are sold in retail outlets across the country. It has also proved to be popular amongst the local Emirati community as well as with expatriates.

Click here for a three page article on all the paper's many glories

Shock horror sensation: yes, it's a new thread at last

Unfortunately despite several very interesting suggestions we really cannot do posts on unsubstantiated and potentially defamatory rumours and allegations of corruption and sexual indiscretions among UAE media people, much as we might love to.

So while we await an exciting yet safe suggestion, how about your opinions on this thought-provoking anonymous reader comment:

We all know that all of you westerners working in the media in the UAE are good for nothing and will do anything just to suck the money out of any company you work for. I just hope one day the media industry will wake up and kick you all out back to where you belong.

Big shake up at The National

Sorry for the delay with getting a post up on this. Lots of people leaving, we're told at least fifteen staff have been fired or resigned over the past month:

Reporters/eds.
This is the best way I could think of to inform you all at once that I have handed in my notice and will be leaving The National to launch a media relations consultancy in Abu Dhabi.
My resignation is lodged and my last day of employment is to be March 31.
I'm really excited about my next move and will fill you all in on the details over the coming few weeks. It will come as no surprise to many of you that my partner in the business is my colleague Matt Slater, who will leave the company on the same day.
I just wanted to say thanks to everyone I have worked with over the past two and a half years as we launched and developed The National.
I will remain in my role until March 31 and Hassan and Laura will be announcing the next National Editor before then.
Thanks again for all your work,
Gregg Fray
National Editor
The National

UPDATE from a commenter below:

3 people were laid off a few weeks ago: two online editors and one woman who did some kind of unspecified work on multimedia. There was no notice and they were marched up to the human resources office and told to pack up and leave on the spot.

In addition to Matt Slater and Gregg Fray, another dozen people at least have left. We can count.

Deputy news editor Roland Hughes, arts reporter Jessica Hume, national reporters Rasha Elass, Jen Gerson and Tim Brooks, photographers Ryan Carter and Phil Cheung, Saturday foreign editor Cassie Biggs, deputy chief sub Bob Garton, copy editor Nick Stout and subeditor Luke Kummer. That makes 11 plus Slater and Fray and there are probably others.

The "emiratisation" of media

So much is absolutely fucking tragic about this article and in this article that I can't even be bothered to pick anything out to comment on. Read it and weep.

UAE editors back emiratisation of media

Dubai: The editors-in-chief of local newspapers endorsed a memorandum on emiratisation of the media sector in the UAE during their periodic meeting held at the Gulf News headquarters on Wednesday.
The memorandum, submitted to Saqr Gobash Saeed Gobash, Minister of Labour, Chairman of the National Media Council (NMC), for further perusal of the Cabinet, highlighted the real partnership and exemplary communication between the concerned public and private media establishments on one side and the government, represented by the (NMC), on the other.

Arab Media Group chief resigns

One of the shining stars of Dubai's media industry falls from the firmament:

Abullatif Al Sayegh on Sunday confirmed he had stepped down as CEO of the Arab Media Group (AMG) after nine years with the company.

“I am gone. This was on my own terms, with everyone’s approval, with everyone being happy. This is a company that I will be grateful to for the rest of my life. What an amazing opportunity I had – at this age to have all the knowledge that anyone would be dreaming (of having),” the 35-year-old told Arabian Business.

“I have been here since 2001, and I believe now I have completed nine years it is time to (move on). It is not about making more money, it is about...I have done quite enough, and I saw my role was not as effective as it used to be. I am a person who just wants to keep going and building and doing more, and right now everything is established,” Al Sayegh said.

Full article here

Media Week staff quit?

New post request:

Media Week’s editorial staff has left the building, it seems. The current roster of writers and editors have now either left, or are serving their last days today, leaving the Emirates Neon Group magazine without an editorial team, for the moment.

Although no-one’s saying as much on the record, AdNation understands the team quit over unpaid wages. Dues for some staff remain unpaid since the summer, we hear.

ENG publishing director Mike Orlov didn’t comment directly on the suggestion that ENG wasn’t paying its staff, but described the current employment situation as “volatile” and said ENG wished its former Media Week employees all the best.

“It’s a very difficult market situation. A very high number of companies are owed a great deal of money by their customers, which has led to problems with companies meeting their requirements, and ENG, amongst many other businesses, has suffered,” said Orlov.

Full story here