Criteria for standardization of magazines, e-news sites, social networks issued

The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) has just introduced newspaper criteria for magazines, e-news websites, and social networks to standardize themselves, plus signals of privatizing newspapers.

Accordingly, the criteria set details the format and content, professional activities, organizational structure and human resources, technical aspects of each mentioned media type in order to identify faults when those types are on their way to become more like a newspaper.

Lately, many magazines have operated and published news just like a real newspaper does. Certain e-news sites use newspaper-like format, assign their employees to report news and develop into a news piece or article just like a true e-paper. Some social network sites have users present their posts like the format of an e-newspaper, which is rather misleading.

On the contrary, some official press agencies have fully assigned certain pages, sections, programs of their newspaper to a representative office, group of journalists, or partners in a way that the leaders of these agencies fail to properly exercise their power and responsibility in monitoring and managing the content in exchange for their own benefits.

These are the reasons for the introduction of the criteria set by MIC. It is expected that this set can help press directing agencies, state press management agencies sited in local areas, governing bodies, press agencies, organizations, and individuals to monitor journalism activities for timely handling of wrong doings, in hope of creating a healthier environment for the modern media as well as proper support to journalists when needed.

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