Minister of Culture and Information Iyad bin Ameen Madani said Friday that the Ministry's National Center for Media Documentation with universal standards is using modern mechanisms and techniques in the processes of documenting and analyzing media information. In a statement to Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Madani said that the main challenging points are the huge range of information and its diversity so it is impossible to deal with them through the traditional known ways, for example the millions of pages relating to information and media on the Internet as well as thousands of daily news bulletins and programs telecasted by local, regional and global TV channels in different languages. He also added that the project of the National Center comes at a time when the sources of information are numerous and diversified as well as these are mostly from unknown or unreliable sources which might prompt to reach inappropriate and incorrect conclusions. "Therefore, it was necessary for the ministry to opt for a clear methodology for documenting press information and linking this in order to reach the required accuracy and authenticity in press works." He also pointed out that the idea is based on establishing a central body in which all information of Arab and global media sources are available. Also, it will provide a central media archive by which researchers and specialists in information can obtain what they want immediately. "Work on the center will be based on two phases: the first is documenting printed information and the second is documenting audio and visual information, but they are still in the phase of study and development," Madani said. He concluded his statement by saying that the center is considered one of the few centers in the region that provide similar services and offer services to government bodies and public.
