Towards A New Era of Digital Storytelling in the Arab World
Moving from a professional environment that focuses on news production to another one that adopts the idea of training on news production is not an easy decision. I have been in the news business for the past 15 years. I can say, working with CNNArabic in Dubai has been one of the best things I have done in my life; managing editorial shifts, writing daily news stories, conducting interviews with a wide range of guests, and the list goes on. But on the other hand, I have developed a passion to teach others and train them on best practices and steps to write and pitch ideas. That is why when they opportunity to join Google in Dubai as their News Initiative Teaching Fellow came, I could not resist!
The Arab world has many stories, in many fields, conveying so many emotions and feelings. I always found that intriguing. Probably that was one of the reasons I fell in love with Arab Cinema at an early age. Today, technology is presenting the younger generation with new tools and experiences that could take the concept of storytelling to another level. Unfortunately, most of newsrooms in the Arab World are using the basic tools for digital publishing and distribution.
There are so many tools out there, be it launched by Google or by third parties, that could make the experience of reading a story more immersive for the audience. Good examples are Google Earth and Google Maps, which we usually use on our daily commute to check the best route to take, or we use on our travel to explore the area we are staying in. These tools can actually be a big part of the newsroom, employing them to generate visual elements that help journalists present breaking news, for example, in a very subtle way.
This is the first article in a series that will focus on the use of technology in newsrooms in the Arab world. We all have our smart phones that are equipped with big screens, excellent resolution cameras, different apps, and a easiness in usability. Journalists and newsrooms should start adopting new ways to tell stories of their communities. With the existence of smart and interactive technologies, this challenge will no longer be there!