QNA: 49 years at forefront of media landscape

Nearly half a century old, the Qatar News Agency (QNA) continues on its mission with a renewed commitment to advancing forward, remaining true to its patriotic, national, and humanitarian message, while at the same time adopting objectivity, professionalism, and high standards.Established on May 25, 1975, by Amiri Decree No 94 of 1975, the QNA marked its 49th anniversary this week.Backed by its successful strategic plans and well-thought-out strategies, the QNA stands confident at the forefront of Qatar's media scene, supported by the support of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, the Qatar government, and Qatar's free media environment, along with the dedication of QNA staff.Among the main tasks of QNA's accredited correspondents is to follow Qatar's participation and activities on the global stage, on which they produce reports and coverage, in addition to conducting interviews with Qatari officials abroad, including Qatar's ambassadors in various world countries.In recognition of digital media's central role in today's world, the QNA has embraced social media, artificial intelligence (AI), and the latest technologies in order to reach and serve all segments of society.The QNA has also adapted to the challenges that face traditional media outlets as a result of developments in the digital realm, being convinced that the future is for digital media, which is why the agency no longer just provides simple text; it started employing all sorts of multimedia to stay up to date with contemporary trends and technological developments.As a result, digital media has become the QNA's beating heart, given its ability to disseminate news and reach local and international audiences directly, allowing for the use of an array of multimedia, be it text, images, videos, or info-graphs.The QNA has extended its reach on social media platforms to include Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, Telegram, Snapchat, WhatsApp, and YouTube.Aside from its Arabic and English ones, the QNA started offering its news bulletin in French, German, and Spanish, along with launching a simultaneous translation service to 26 international languages.The agency also started providing a new service for persons with disabilities on its website and smartphone application, as part of its commitment to inclusivity.The QNA also created an account on X dedicated to sports news.The QNA's News Department comprises the Arabic Editorial Section, the Foreign Editorial Section, the Economic Section, the Local News Unit, the Sports Section, the Cultural Section, the Editorial Photography Section, and the Research and Documentation Section.Last year the QNA inaugurated the QNA Training Hall at its headquarters, in line with its vision to constantly enhance the skills and know-how of its employees, offering them specialised training.The QNA Training Hall also offers training to journalism, media, and communication graduates in Qatar who wish to join the agency, as well as state institutions interested in training their employees on media, communication, and public relations.On October 23 last year, the agency introduced its first journalism training courses, organised in co-operation with the Al Jazeera Media Institute.In August last year, the heads of Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) member state news agencies agreed in principle on a proposal made by Qatar to create a single application that would encompass all GCC country news agencies, which would facilitate easy access to news for GCC citizens.During their 22nd meeting, the heads of GCC news agencies entrusted the QNA and relevant committees with the task of materialising this application, which would also enable GCC state citizens to watch and tune in to live Gulf TV and radio channel broadcasting, access photo and video archives, and follow the social media accounts of each of the Gulf news agencies.In March this year, the Arab Union for Tourist Media awarded the QNA the best Arab news agency award for tourism news, during the 2024 Arab Tourism Media Awards at the International Tourism Exchange (ITB) show which took place in Berlin, Germany.The QNA obtains its news from ministries and official entities, from reporters on the ground covering local events, and from a body of accredited correspondents in major Arab and foreign capitals, along with news provided by Arab and international news agencies with which the QNA has signed agreements.