State Minister for Media Affairs Sakher Dudin on Thursday said the Jordan News Agency (Petra) is a reliable source of truthful information and stressed that the agency has played a key role in educating the public about the coronavirus pandemic and urging vaccinations.
The Minister made the remarks during a visit to the agency where he met with its Director-General Fayeq al-Hijazin, senior editors and other staff members. Dudin, who is also the government’s spokesman, said Petra has a mandate to convey the Jordanian state’s news and messages to the world.
He commended the agency for its wide and balanced coverage of local, regional and international affairs, in addition to providing in-depth and timely reporting. Dudin revealed that the government plans to set up a media content fund that will be launched under public-private partnership.
The minister explained that the fund will aim to provide sustainable financial resources, especially for papers, while upgrading the whole media landscape and content through training and development.
Speaking on local affairs, Dudin said the government aspires to have 3 million double vaccinated at the beginning of September, which, he added, would contribute to providing greater community immunity to limit the spread of the delta variant now prevalent in most countries of the world.
He reiterated that schools in the Kingdom are ready for the resumption of face-to-face education in the next academic. In this regard, Dudin called on the media to spread “hope and positive spirit” when circulating news and information, especially after the difficult period that citizens went through psychologically as a result of the repercussions of the pandemic.
In turn, Petra Director-General Fayeq al-Hijazin said that the agency is continuing its mission to provide the public and readers with information at the highest degrees of professionalism and credibility.
Al-Hijazin pointed out that the agency, and in order to preserve its archive of photos and news that documents important milestones in the history of the Jordanian state, started a photo archiving project in cooperation with the National Library Department and was able to document 10,000 photos in the first phase.
He noted that the agency, through the Directorate of Training and Institutional Development, offers a number of specialized training courses in the various domains of journalism, targeting staff, university students and public servants.
Source: Jordan News Gazette