Morocco Confab delegates recommend strategies to revolunise news agencies

Morocco Confab delegates recommend strategies to revolunise news agencies
By Muhammad Suleiman Tola
Strategies
Rabat (Morocco), March 28, 2018 (NAN) Delegates to the Morocco conference on news agency journalism have recommended new strategies to revolutionse their operations.
Nigeria and 11 other countries participated in the two-day meeting that commenced on Monday in Rabat.
The participants agreed at the end of the forum that there was urgent need for news agencies to employ the new or social media to remain relevant in the industry.
However, the meeting advised news agencies to consider their various peculiarities in adapting the social media.
They also resolved to change their marketing strategies in line with modern digital trends to boost their reach and revenue base.
Besides, the delegates underscored the need to equip and sharpen the skills of reporters, editors and technical staff through regular training and provision of cutting technologies.
In addition, the delegates agreed to share information and exchange programmes to strengthen their bond of operations.
Earlier, the Director-General of the Moroccan News Agency (MAP), Mr Khalil Hashimi Idrissi, charged African news agencies to fashion out ways to ward off the challenges posed by the social media.
Idrissi, represented by the Director of News of MAP, Mr Rashid Mamouni, noted that news agencies were threatened daily by the social media worldwide.
According to him, the challenges and threats posed by the social media are reducing news agencies and the traditional media to irrelevance.
He advised news agencies to adopt strategies to overcome the challenges to increase their visibility and relevance in society.
The meeting which was jointly hosted by MAP and the Alliance of Mediterranean News Agencies (AMAN), was facilitated by the Atlantic Federation of African Press Agencies (FAAPA).
The meeting was anchored by two young digital media entrepreneurs, Abderrahman Khomsi and Soufiane Moudden.
They made presentations on developing social media strategies and building social media strategies through trends watching as well as managing and growing a community.
Appraising the tools to efficient reporting and performance monitoring as well as the keys to efficient publishing were other issues discussed at the forum.
The meeting was attended by Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Cote D’Ivoire, Liberia, Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt.
Algeria, Albania, Cyprus, Spain, Palestine and the Middle East News Agency (MENA) were also represented. (NAN)
MST/SH
Edited by Sadiya Hamza