The founding committee of the Jeddah Club for Media and Culture is sending an official letter to Jeddah Gov. Prince Mishaal bin Majed about their first meeting at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) on Tuesday. The letter will also explain the aims and objectives of the club.
According to the Anaween news website, the governor had questioned the “establishing” of the club without official authorization.
“The club is not yet officially established,” said founding member Jamal Banoun, who is also director of the Saudi Center for Studies and Media.
A copy of the letter will also be sent to Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal.
Once news of the club got around, many media people asked to be among the founding members. The main objective of the club is to support journalists in Saudi Arabia, protect them and offer them necessary training.
Membership of the Jeddah-based club will be open to men and women of all nationalities. The club aims to serve the whole of the Kingdom.
Most Saudi journalists, particularly women, do not hold degrees in journalism. It is a relatively new field of study for women journalists at Saudi universities, and there are still no specific journalism courses.
There is currently only one official body for journalists in the Kingdom, the Commission of Saudi Journalists.
“We are not here to compete with the commission nor any other body,” said another founding member, Saud Kateb, who is also the new-media professor at the King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah.
“We are here to complement their work and focus on whatever is lacking. We lack knowledge in media ethics, online media and journalistic skills.”
Journalism students lack knowledge of the new types of media. The media is evolving, as it now includes the new media of multimedia journalism, digital media, interactive media and blogging, as well as online newspapers.
“Students lack the basic knowledge of new media and technology. Through this club, we aim to expand their knowledge in media and journalism,” said Kateb.
The committee agreed to form three main subordinate committees at their meeting.
They include a legal and administrative committee, consulting committee and an aims and vision committee. Responsibilities will be divided among them.
The committee intends to send a complete report of the club’s agenda to the Ministry of Culture and Information.
The establishment of the club comes at a time when the Minister of Culture and Information Abdul Aziz Khoja has implemented many changes in the Saudi media and demonstrated a special interest in new and online media.
He has spoken to journalists and listened to their feedback. He has also implemented many of their suggestions, such as having a presence on the social networking website Facebook.
The club’s founding members come from different backgrounds. Some are academics, businessmen, officials from the Ministry of Culture and Information, as well as the JCCI.
“The project is still an idea now. Our major concern now is to get official approval for the club. We are still brainstorming and exchanging ideas,” Kateb said.
