The economic information forum, which is being organized by the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) under the motto “The media and the economy – an integrated relationship,” is scheduled to begin its deliberations on Sunday under the patronage of Dr. Abdul Aziz Mohieddin Khoja, Minister of Culture and Information. Leading personalities from local media are scheduled to participate in the deliberations. Through a number of working papers, the participants will discuss several economic issues from an information perspective and the means for dealing with them. Abdul Rahman Bin Ali Al-Jeraisi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of RCCI, sounded optimistic that the forum would realize it goals so that the media can carry out its message in supporting the national economy and achieving constructive integration to serve society. The participants will discuss the details of the way the local media have dealt with the global financial crisis through analyzing the contents of a working paper to be presented by Jasser Al-Jasser under the title “The way the media have dealt with the global financial crisis.” It will focus on whether the media have succeeded in conveying the real picture as a whole or partially on the crisis and the extent of the availability of the required information dealing with the crisis. Also, he will present the problem of the hegemony of some unprofessional elements including their impressions and personal factors in dealing with the details of the crisis. Dr. Muhammad Al-Qenaibit will participate with an open discussion on “The current state of the economic media and the mechanisms for developing it” during which he will chair an open discussion with the major speakers, participants and attendees on the current state of the economic media in the Kingdom. Dr. Abdul Mohsin Al-Dawood will speak on a number of obstacles facing the mass media as a result of the shortage of specialist journalists and its effect on the information content presented to the audience and the possibility of this leading to sending a media message that is confused and incomplete. Fahd Al-Ajlan will shed light on the thorny relations between economic information on the one hand and public relations and advertising on the other. This is what Al-Ajlan terms the ‘economic triangle' and he will discuss its effect on economic reality and the attempts to disengage these factors in order to create a healthy interactive framework for society. Sultan Bin Abdul Rahman Al-Bazei will deal with the role of public relations as a tool for achieving the strategic goals through his paper titled “Economic information – integrated relations”. He will strive to explain the misunderstanding resulting from the relationship between public relations administrations in private sector facilities and the media. Dr. Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Delaigan, Managing Director of the Prince Ahmad Bin Salman Institute for Applied Journalism, will present a working paper titled “Developing the specialist media as a strategic objective for press organizations”, which will focus on the need for professional specialist journalism in local press organizations and the strategy for the employment and development of press organizations in the economic information sector.
