More than 25 media professionals, from the region of Asir concluded a course entitled "Writing for news sites". The course is organized by the Media Center at King Khalid University last Monday, and was held over three days.

The session was presented by the Associate Professor, Department of Media and Communication at the University, Dr. Jamal Alzern. It has dealt with themes including: the differences between the journalists in the past, the present and the future, and aspects of professional practice in the traditional, written press, novelties introduced by the new technologies on the profession of journalism such as the changes of the press view in dealing with the new vessels and the transition from the periodicity of reporting the news to the live news, the transition from the media message that is formed by only one symbol or two symbols to multiple symbols message, and the transition from the printed text of fixed space to the hypertext and hyperlink that is connected to other texts, in addition to the radical transformation in the quality of the relationship with the audience and readers from being a negative recipient to be an interactive partner who has a legitimate role in the formulation of the message the media .

Alzern cited Jazeera and Al Arabiya channels, which have their news sites that publish media written materials that match what is published by the newspapers.

In the comparison between the traditional media and the new one, Alzern said, "the new media is born from the bowels of the old one", in reference to electronic journalism as extension of the written press and not a substitute for. In the same context, he pointed at the transition from print paper press to electronic one "is not just change in the pot as the owners of newspapers think, who put an electronic version on the Internet, identical to the original paper."

The course included a practical workshop for writing a story to a website. The workshop showed how to write a headline and sub-headings, and an introduction for e-news, the body and the background of the news, the length of the text, and the means to breathe life into the story, in addition to the factors that serve the text and attract the reader, web information and the importance of appropriate sources in electronic journalism and the principles and values ​​of the site, such as balance, independence, accuracy, and truth.

In this regard, the Head of the Department of Media and Communication at University and the supervisor of the Media Center, Dr. Ali bin Shuweil Al-Qarni clarified, at the end of the course that it comes in accordance with the recommendations of the President of the University, Prof. Abdul Rahman Bin Hamad Al-Dawood during his last meeting with the Media Professionals of the region. His Excellency stressed on providing training courses for them, which proves the belief of the University role in community service.

Al-Qarni said, "This course will be followed by a number of courses, through the partnership between the Media Center and the Department of Media and Communication at the University". He added, the center welcomes suggestions and ideas that serve and support the media and the media Professionals in the region.

Then, Al-Qarni delivered certificates to the participants in the course, and they took group photos.