Doha: As the global media sector undergoes rapid and transformations, maintaining professionalism and credibility has become closely tied to media institution's ability to modernise their technological tools and adapt to the evolving digital environment. This is especially important amid the growing reliance on online platforms, the expanding presence of multimedia content, and the accelerating integration of AI technologies into media operations.
According to Qatar News Agency, the evolution taking place in the media industry today extends beyond simply changing publishing tools or strengthening digital presence. It also encompasses how news is produced, processed, and presented to audiences, at a time when media organisations are increasingly required to strike a delicate balance between speed and accuracy, and between leveraging modern technologies and preserving editorial and professional standards.
In this context, Ph.D. Abdulrahman Al-Shami, Department of Mass Communication at Qatar University, said that Qatar News Agency is among the few news agencies in the Arab region that has successfully undergone a major transformation toward a fully integrated digital media environment. Through its modern platforms and professional use of multimedia tools, the agency has been able to offer a rich media experience combining text, images, video, and interactive content, providing users with a comprehensive communication experience.
He added that this transformation reflects the QNA's ability to keep pace with rapid technological developments in the media sector and continuously enhance its digital tools in line with the evolving media landscape and changing audience expectations.
For his part, media technology expert and Associate Professor in Journalism at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies Dr. Walid Al-Saqaf, explained that genuine success in developing the digital environment is not solely linked to producing visual content or upgrading platforms, but also to building secure infrastructure capable of supporting and protecting these tools.
He noted that Qatar News Agency has made significant progress in transitioning toward multimedia journalism, with infographics and video becoming integral parts of its digital presence. More importantly, however, he emphasised the importance of having preventive mechanisms and strategic safeguards to ensure that content is not only fast and visible, but also verified and protected against manipulation and cyberattacks, particularly amid rising geopolitical tensions and the growing risks of misinformation in the digital sphere.
Regarding artificial intelligence, Al-Saqaf described the technology as a double-edged sword. While it offers significant potential to improve the efficiency of journalistic work, it also opens new avenues for misinformation. He suggested that Qatar News Agency could utilize AI for proactive verification of news and data, and for identifying cases that require immediate fact-checking, rather than limiting its use to writing summaries, instant translation, or conventional editorial tasks.
He further stressed that AI should not be confined to generating summaries, translation, or routine editorial functions. Instead, it can be employed to build systems capable of comparing incoming information with verified archives and rapidly assessing data credibility at speeds beyond human capability. Such an approach, he noted, would position AI as a tool that supports journalists rather than replaces them, while ensuring that final editorial decisions remain in the hands of newsroom professionals in accordance with established editorial policies and procedures.
Meanwhile, Associate Dean for Languages, Communications and Translation at the College of Arts and Sciences at Qatar University (QU) Dr. Seeta Naqadan Al Athba stressed that the next phase requires media institutions to strike a careful balance between benefiting from modern technologies in areas such as speed, analysis, archiving, and multilingual content production, while preserving the core principles of journalism based on verification, context, and professional and ethical responsibility.
She explained that artificial intelligence can serve as a supportive tool for journalism, but it cannot replace the conscious editorial mind or human expertise in interpreting news and assessing its impact.
In turn, Director of Al Jazeera Media Institute Eman Al Amri pointed out that technological transformations have significantly changed the nature of skills required in journalism. She said that the profession is no longer limited to traditional news writing, but now also includes producing multi-platform content, handling data, and utilizing AI tools for gathering and analyzing information.