Saudi Gazette report

JEDDAH — About 200 Saudi journalists and media men have mobilized their efforts, potential and experience for voluntary work in all national, welfare and training activities in line with the Kingdom's 2030 Vision with the objective of reaching about a million volunteers.

The journalists and media men came together under the slogan "for the sake of the homeland".

Through the Saudi Media Club, the journalists and media men organized their second event in Jeddah on Tuesday to honor 10 of the media pioneers including Hashim Abdo Hashim, former editor-in-chief of Okaz, and Osama Ahmed Al-Subaie, former editor-in-chief of Al-Madina.

Deputy chairman of the Authority of Saudi Journalists, Fahd Bin Hassan Al-Aqran and board member Mohammed Fahd Al-Harithy attended the occasion.

The media men who represented the visual, audio, written and social media in addition to the PR establishments discussed the current changes in the field of media, the challenges confronting it and the financial issues facing the print media.

The meeting was held under the motto: "meeting of the partners and honoring of the pioneers".

Chairman of the club, Hassan Al-Sobhi, said they were aimed at reaching a million pioneers in this non-profitable sector against 11,000 at the present time.

He said the club strongly believes in the wise and professional media to circulate message to the public in complete credibility and transparency.

He said the club will organize a number of workshops to further qualify the young journalists and provide them with the required experiences.

Sobhi said they have agreed that all the works they will execute will be under the slogan "for the sake of the homeland".

The club was established in February last year. This was the second party it was organizing to honor some of the pioneer Saudi journalists and media men.

He said the personalities who were honored included all media sectors consisting of the press, television, radio, electronic newspapers, PR companies, cartoonists, press photographers and social media bloggers.

Speaking on behalf of honored journalists, Hashim Abdo Hashim thanked the club for its initiative and hoped that the honoring would cover all the Saudis who made tangible contraptions in the field of media.

Hamoud Al-Ghabeeni, deputy chairman of the Saudi Electricity Company for telecommunications and public relations, said the media was a vital tool in shaping up society's culture.

He hoped that such occasions would further boost the concept of the social responsibility and augment the journalistic code of ethics.