25 May 2023
QNA… 48 Years of Giving, Media Excellence
QNA_Bldg
Doha, May 25 (QNA) – Qatar News Agency (QNA) celebrates on Thursday its 48th anniversary since its establishment.
Founded on May 25, 1975, according to Amiri Decree No. 94 of 1975, QNA has been on a steady path of media professionalism, using modern methods and keeping up-to-date with the latest digital media developments to deliver accurate, distinguished, and comprehensive news to the audience as quickly as possible, becoming one of the most prominent and powerful among Arab and international news agencies.
Celebrating its 48th anniversary, HE Director-General of QNA Ahmed bin Saeed Al Rumaihi said that the agency is keen and determined more than ever to move forward on the path of excellence, achievement, and distinction, and be at the forefront of the Qatari media scene, thanks to its loyal cadres, productive competencies, and generous efforts.
In an exclusive statement to QNA, HE QNA Director-General affirmed that the march, full of bright stops, and the prestigious position that QNA reached would not have been possible without the unlimited support it and other Qatari media institutions received from HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, his wise government, Qatar’s media freedom, and the hard and sincere work carried out by the agency’s cadres in their various tasks and ranks, and their keenness to continuously develop QNAs services and departments, providing them with the latest technology. In addition to that, the continuous training, so that its outputs are distinguished by its professionalism and craftsmanship, so that QNA remains a symbol of media excellency, carrying Qatars name on all horizons and platforms.
The massive transformations in communication and social media have led to major changes in the production, distribution, and receiving of information and news materials, posing a major challenge to traditional media. As QNA realized this early on, it worked to expand its production department to provide more than just hard news, producing written and illustrated reports and presenting information to the audience in an easy and interesting format, HE added.
On QNA’s latest developments, His Excellency said that in March, the agency launched an instant translation service for its news in 26 languages, in addition to Arabic, to implement its plan to expand the provision of its news services in many languages. This new service gives the audience everything they want to know about the State of Qatar including its economic, social, tourism, and cultural policies in their native language so that the agency will be the gateway for them to get to know the country closely, HE added.
HE Ahmed bin Saeed Al Rumaihi stressed in his statement to QNA that the agency’s 48th anniversary is decorated with achievements and successes. Those in charge of the agency look forward to the future of this important media institution, constantly updating its various news services to keep pace with modern media and remain a leader among international news agencies.
During the past few years, the agency has made significant shifts and transformations to develop. It has launched its revamped website, kept pace with recent transformations in the communication and artificial intelligence fields, and developed its pages on social media, which greatly doubled the number of its followers in record time. The agency has also expanded covering national, regional, and international events, in a comprehensive manner, keeping pace with events, and aligning itself with the State’s general vision.
The agency succeeded in moving toward professional media work, thanks to the great support it receives from the wise leadership, and the efforts made by the agency’s employees in each department, to assume a prestigious position and be among international news agencies.
Last September, Qatar News Agency (QNA) launched its news services in three new languages French, German, and Spanish.
Currently, QNA provides its news services in five international languages Arabic, English, French, German, and Spanish. On Oct. 1, 2022, the agency launched its news services in French, German, and Spanish through its new smartphone application (QNA News2). In the same month, the agency also launched a new service for people with disabilities on the agency’s website and smartphone application, as part of QNA’s continuous efforts to communicate with various groups of society and to put local and international news and events right at the palms of their hands. The new service conveys the news to people with disabilities in audio and video.
In March, the agency opened QNA training halls at its headquarters in the Dafna area, in line with the agency’s vision to develop its media cadres and raise their efficiency by offering specialized quality training programs, using professional trainers and experts in the training field. These halls will train graduates of the press and media departments who wish to join QNA or other various state agencies that express a desire to qualify their cadres working in the media, communication, and public relations departments.
In February, Qatar News Agency (QNA) won the Federation of Arab News Agencies (FANA) Award for the best report for 2022, for its report entitled ‘Private Museums Enhance Cultural Vision, Community Awareness in Qatar’. In a message received by HE Director-General of QNA Ahmed bin Saeed Al Rumaihi, the FANA General Secretariat, represented by Secretary-General Dr. Farid Ayar, expressed its sincere congratulations on this win, wishing QNA all success and continued progress. QNA congratulated all its employees on this victory, especially in the news department, wishing to redouble efforts and intensify work so that QNA will always serve the State of Qatar and support the causes of its Arab and Islamic nations.
The news department is the beating heart of the agency, operating around the clock. It includes the Arabic editorial department, an important pillar of QNA, the foreign editorial department, the economic news department, which covers all local economic events and activities, and the local news department, which handle political and social activities and conferences, including health, education, work, and others. The local news department also handles reports, interviews with ministers and officials from Qatar and abroad, foreign ambassadors, and Qatari ambassadors abroad.
The agency’s Arabic editorial department is constantly keen, through all its staff, to raise its professional performance, diversify its news and reports, and develop the department’s media work by implementing plans that focus on improving the journalistic content of the news and its ease of access to the recipient, and what accompanies that in the news department.
In this regard, the news department continued to develop its services on Twitter, Instagram, Telegram, and Facebook, in addition to producing short videos about HH the Amir’s visits and meetings. Infographics were also added, which convey complex data, information, and concepts into digestible information using pictures and graphics, to their Twitter, Instagram, and website, and video clips were added to the agency’s interviews and coverage of events taking place in the country.
QNA’s digital media department keeps pace with important news and events in the State of Qatar and abroad through designs that highlight the most important news in a visually attractive manner. It focuses on summarizing information and highlighting the main points in an accurate yet visually pleasing manner. The department also covers festivals and events organized within the country and prepares videos that include exclusive statements by the news agency alongside the infographics and materials designed to keep up with current news.
As for the Arabic editorial department’s social media unit, it has continued to develop its services on Twitter, Instagram, and Telegram. In this context, a special Twitter for sports was created to include all the sporting events published on the agency’s bulletin and other important news prepared by the unit’s editor. The agency has also started publishing its news on Facebook and began publishing breaking news. The unit has developed its digital services through the incorporation of infographics, which were previously limited to the weather, the Cabinet, and the Stock Exchange, but now include economic, sports, and political news. The video service has also developed after previously being limited to HH the Amir’s activities to include coverage of local events. News published on Twitter and Facebook is now all accompanied by pictures and hashtags, whether sports or general. It has also started publishing the Cabinet’s infographic on Telegram.
The cultural section follows up on the various events in the country’s cultural sectors, conducts interviews with officials in the local cultural and artistic departments and centers, follows up all cultural, literary, artistic, and scientific conferences, festivals, and seminars, and keeps up to date with Arab and international agencies and sites concerned with culture to follow regional and international cultural and artistic activities and events.
The sports section covers all sports-related events, activities, championships, and competitions in the country and abroad. The State of Qatar has affirmed during the last period its sports leadership in the Middle East and continued to prove its worth as the capital of Arab and international sports by hosting and organizing many tournaments and various events. Doha has reached this unique international position in the region, especially after hosting the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
The News Department’s Research and Studies Section writes and prepares political, economic and various other reports, in addition to covering the country’s achievements and major events throughout the year, such as the National Day’s celebration. The Section’s reports also follow up on the most important and prominent issues, events, conferences, and international Arab crises.
As for the Photography Editing Department, it provides press coverage of all State institutions and activities such as conferences, exhibitions and meetings with important figures, in addition to filming events and meetings with Qatari officials or state guests from abroad. It also covers the official duties of a number of senior officials who have been assigned to visit or participate and attend regional and international conferences and meetings. The Department also works on a documentation project of the important and cultural landmarks of the State of Qatar, including documenting and photographing (stadiums – Lusail City – parks – Downtown Doha- Rail…).
The Agency obtains its news from several sources, mainly official authorities, ministries and institutions in the country, accredited correspondents in the most important Arab and foreign capitals, and field journalists who follow up the official and community activities in the country, in addition to the news exchange agreements between the Qatar News Agency and a number of Arab and foreign news agencies.
In order to present the media scene in a complete manner, QNA relies on a network of correspondents spread out in a number of Arab and international capitals, and they provide the Agency with important external news and events as they occur. They also cover major events and conferences that occur near them and provide the Agency with detailed and comprehensive reports on them. Correspondents also hold interviews with important figures in the countries in which they are present, as well as follow up on Qatari participations and activities abroad and make detailed reports on them, as well as conduct interviews with the Qatari figures responsible for them, and with the ambassadors of the State of Qatar present there.
Over the past years, QNA has accompanied the comprehensive renaissance of our beloved country, Qatar, and the various important political and economic events taking place in the country, and the growing role of the State of Qatar in regional, Arab and international forums.
QNA was also keen to carry the flag of the official media and was the honest and faithful mirror for the development and construction of Qatar. It was a witness to the nation’s achievements, activities, and initiatives in all fields and sectors, internally and externally. It also filled a large void for Qatari written and audio-visual media as the main source of reliable local news, in line with its media mission and national role. QNA contributed to transmitting and following up on important events and issues on the Arab and international arenas with professionalism and objectivity, and stood firmly on the side of just Arab, Islamic and humanitarian causes.
The Agency’s mission and tasks are to obtain reliable news from various internal and external sources and redistribute them locally and globally, analyze news and information, and prepare commentaries and studies of interest to local, Arab and international public opinion. It is also responsible for developing and implementing a strategy for foreign media, spreading media awareness, training workers in the media field, introducing the media to the State of Qatar, strengthening and documenting relations with various agencies and media figures abroad, organizing media visits to the country, following up on the implementation of media agreements to which the State is a party, and preparing reports on the results, observations and suggestions necessary in this regard.
In 2014, Amiri Decision No. (50) was issued to organize the Qatar News Agency, which consists of a number of administrative units: the Office of the Director-General, the Internal Audit Department, the Planning and Quality Department, the Legal Affairs Department, the Public Relations and Communication Department, the Shared Services Department, the Data Analysis and Documentation Department, the Editorial and Media Monitoring Department, the News Department, the External Information Affairs Department, and the Technical Affairs Department. (QNA)
