Arab representatives tackle disruptions brought by digital media transformation and media legislation and its impact on sustainable development at the Saudi Media Forum on Feb 19. JAN YUMUL/CHINA DAILY
Veteran media representatives from the Middle East and North Africa region called for better regulation amid the flood of information in a rapidly changing landscape as the lines between a journalist and media professional blur, a Saudi forum heard on Feb 19.
They also emphasized the need to regulate the digital media.
In the panel "To Lead in a Changing Media Landscape" at the 2025 Saudi Media Forum, Karim Hammadi, president of the Iraqi Media Network, noted that in the current media landscape, traditional leadership was no longer the way to operate, but rather a strategic management in the rise of new challenges, including artificial intelligence. He underscored the importance of media leaders' understanding and adapting to the changes.
Ahmed Al-Muslimani, chairman of the National Media Authority in Egypt, said as the world was fast-changing with fast-growing economies, driving change on culture and values, the burden on media leadership had doubled compared to the past.
One of his areas of concern was the "citizen journalists" that digital transformation had produced around the world "with zero cost to be a journalist".
"We have this dictatorship of influencers. They are not elected by the people and professionals. They have not been put under the test. We have this kind of flattery to influencers…I would like to conclude that this kind of media penetration has posed a risk to the entire societies," he added.
Jibril Abu Dayyeh, a senior broadcaster on Saudi television and the session's moderator, said the discussions were not about against influencers as influencers "have their legitimate right as part of their freedom", but a flood of information needed to be filtered if they were talking about topics, which they have no knowledge to talk about.
Saad bin Tafla, former minister of Information of Kuwait, said during his time as minister, they created the media board of commitments because they were "in the advent of the media revolution", which changed the landscape, pre and post digital revolution.
"And creating this kind of team or media crisis was required. Today, you can do these kinds of discussions virtually or through WhatsApp. As a matter of fact, the game completely changed," said Tafla, adding that the changes created a "necessity challenge".
He said those who need to impact others "should cope with the advancement of technology and how to handle fake news and rumors".
At another panel, titled: "Media Legislation and Its Impact on Achieving Sustainable Development", Muammar bin Mutahhar Al-Eryani, minister of Information, Culture and Tourism of Yemen, said digital media has been the driving force and has radically transformed the digital space.
"There is a need to regulate the digital media to cope with the huge transformation of digital media. We need to balance between the freedom of media, the national interests and the rights and obligations of media professionals," said Al-Eryani.
Ramzan bin Abdullah Al-Noaimi, minister of Information of Bahrain, said they have three key pillars as parameters of performance of any media agency in the country. They are infrastructure, media infrastructure and tech infrastructure because "it has some media production".
He noted that the Gulf Cooperation Countries – Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar – have massive investments in these sectors, including 5G technology.
But he said the difficulty is distinguishing digital media and conventional media.
"This should be taken into consideration as today, the video which is posted on social media, uses the same cameras in TV production, in e-print journalism as well."
He believes they need to enhance and drive the legal environment, which can also drive innovation and creativity.
Ahmed Rashid Khattabi, assistant secretary-general for Communication and Media Affairs at the Arab League, highlighted the role of media in advancing sustainable development.
He said the League of Arab States has established a dedicated department for sustainable development and integrating its principles across 13 specialized ministerial councils.
Considering rapid advancements, he urged for the necessity of leveraging new media and harnessing social media platforms to address pressing development challenges in the Arab world, a comprehensive approach where citizens, the governments and civil society institutions serve both as drivers and beneficiaries of development.
