ShareKUWAIT: Bringing together a diverse range of talks, panels, and workshops, Kilmitain event, powered by Khaleejesque, explored the pivotal role of creativity and innovation across the realms of media, journalism, business, and advertising. Entrepreneurs, visionary founders, and creative professionals gathered to address crucial topics relevant to today’s fast paced world. Drawing from their personal success journeys, they shared invaluable insights, empowering attendees with strategies and tactics crucial for amplifying creative business and achieving new heights.
Given the significant impact of technological changes and evolving consumer behavior on the news industry, Kuwait Times and Kuwait News, along with Prismic Media Agency collaborated to host a panel discussion at Kilmitain event. With Hawrah Al-Yakoob, Marketing and Advertising Manager at Kuwait Times and Kuwait News, serving as the moderator of the panel, the discussion explore the impact of recent trends on the media landscape and how journalism is evolving to succeed in the digital era.
Jana Alnaqeeb, Public Relations and CSR Manager at Kuwait Times, Kuwait News, shed light on the primary challenges facing the news business. In a world where all entities, brands, channels are fighting for audience attention, bombarding them with an abundance of information around the clock, she emphasized the short attention spans of viewers as a significant obstacle. Consequently, she added that news agencies must adapt by reshaping their content to match the preferences and behavior of their audiences. She advocated for more journalists to master the skill of visual storytelling, which she considers a game-changer. “News is boring. So, we need to make it interesting,” she remarked.
The transformation that Alnaqeeb spoke about involves embracing new trends and utilizing tools such as search engine optimization and Meta technologies to broaden their audience’s reach. Alnaqeeb also spoke of the importance of embracing Artificial Intelligence (AI), providing a real example of ‘Fedha,’ the first AI-generated news presenter recently created by Kuwait Times and Kuwait News, which gained global attention.
Youssef Abu-Ghazaleh, a content creator at Kuwait Times and Kuwait News, believes that journalism will always be fundamental and necessary in the digital age. As he puts it, “it’s just simply about people telling stories to each other.” For him, the key consideration is how journalism can be used differently in the digital age. One aspect he insists, should never be overlooked in journalism is freedom of speech, especially in the era of social media where it’s challenging to control people from sharing their opinions.
The rise of freedom of speech has led to a significant shift in the field of journalism, as highlighted by Omar Al-Othman, managing partner at Prismic Media. He contends that “anyone who can deliver news and change a perspective can be part of journalism.” This evolution has reshaped the traditional definition of journalism known for decades ago, where now, whether you represent an agency or run a personal Instagram account, if you offer reliable news, you are considered part of the journalistic landscape. “It’s also about ‘minimizing your personal biases and maximizing your audiences’ biases,” as Ghazaleh said, highlighting the importance of journalists maintaining objectivity and honesty when reporting news. This approach allows the audience to form their own conclusions.
