Adapting to digital press highlighted

Tunis, June 11 (BNA): Deputy President of Bahrain Journalists Association (BJA), Rashid Nabeel Al Hammer, stressed that the traditional press institutions face serious crises due to the increasing presence of social media and smart phone applications, and that in some cases the matter reaches the struggle for existence. In a statement to the Middle East News Agency on the sidelines of his participation in the 30th Congress of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) held in Tunis, Al Hammer said the press institutions have become aware of the significance of the challenges that threaten their existence, therefore they have adopted a series of actions to adapt to the new world and to transition from traditional press institutions to comprehensive media institutions benefiting from all modern technology. He said the traditional press institutions must continue even with the emergence of the social media and modern technologies, and that they are capable of creating a comprehensive media content, moreover they consist of journalists, writers, analysts, photographers, designers and producers, therefore they can make an effective, impressive and legit contents. He said the continuity of the traditional press institutions and their capability to face challenges depend on two factors, firstly coping with modern technological development and secondly the support and protection they receive from information ministries and authorities overseeing information and communications affairs. With regard to the Bahraini-Egyptian cooperation, he said it is solid in various fields, and that joint workshops and the exchange of expertise among the press institutions of the two countries have constantly been going on.