Ajman government departments have embarked on a plan to regulate and refine media relations with various media players.
This was initiated with a roundtable discussion among media representatives and officials from Ajman Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Ajman Municipality. The one-day forum, entitled 'The Media Partner - Rights and Obligations', was held to mark the World Press Freedom Day at Ajman Chamber and was attended by various government departments.
Dr Noora Al Marzooqui, Director of Media and Public Relations Department, Ajman Municipality and Planning Department, stressed the importance of adopting a system that would facilitate the work of both sides: the media and the government departments.
As the media's role is to highlight issues of the society and concerns of the readers, transparency and accuracy are required from both media representatives and officials, she said. "We will take inputs from media representatives who participated in the forum and prepare a framework that will help government departments to better deal with the media and facilitate their work," she added.
Highlighting the role of media, which is sometimes misunderstood by public relations officers of government departments, Fadeela Al Muaini, Head of Investigation Section at Al Bayan newspaper, said: "Our job is not to praise a certain department or an official as what they do is part of their duty. Our role is to shed light on issues that are of public concern with the aim to draw the attention of officials."
While agreeing with the statement, Ibrahim Al Hammadi, Assistant Director-General for Institutional Affairs, Ajman Municipality, however said that some achievements and initiatives of a government department should be highlighted by the media as they directly affect the public.
Talking about the difficulties that public relations sections at government departments face, Eman Al Soom, Public Relations Officer, Ajman Executive Council, said that officials should realise the importance of transparency when dealing with the media. She said that talking about negative aspects or responding to problems raised by the public through the media should not be considered as an aggressive attitude of a newspaper.
"A change in the attitude of officials when dealing with the media is needed. Constructive criticism and highlighting shortcomings should be accepted and actively responded to," said Al Soom.
Media representatives called on public relations departments to respect exclusivity and provide immediate response, especially in emergencies such as fires, accidents, rains and floods.
The forum also agreed that a reporter working on an investigative report should give two days for an official response. Should the relevant department fail to give its comments, then it is a newspaper's prerogative to publish the report without an official comment.
By Eman Al Baik
© Emirates Business 24/7 2010
