Few regions consume media as enthusiastically as the Arab world. With growing internet penetration rates, a market for video-on-demand subscription services worth more than $1 billion and millions of young people getting their daily news and information on their smartphones, the Middle East is at the forefront of evolving media trends.
It is little wonder then that this week’s Arab Media Summit in Dubai has brought together more than 300 speakers and 6,000 participants, among them Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Grand Imam of Al Azhar Dr Ahmed El Tayeb and British media personality Piers Morgan. They joined many other notable voices – from influencers to editors – across journalism, digital content creation and communications, all seeking to chart a future for the region’s media.
It is a future that is exciting and bright but also challenging. For many years, the Middle East been portrayed in a one-dimensional fashion. Outdated tropes about unending conflict and militancy have arisen time and again in news reports, TV series and feature films, often side-lining the voices of the region’s people. Therefore, it has been welcome to see the many discussions and insights arising from the summit reflect the vibrancy of media producers in the Arab world, from traditional outlets such as newspaper titles and TV channels to social media platforms and film production.
However, in challenging times this vibrancy must also be matched by responsibility, especially when it comes to news reporting. Speaking at the summit on Tuesday, Dr El Tayeb, who is also chairman of the Muslim Council of Elders, said Arab media “has the biggest role in disclosing and showing the injustices in Gaza and keeping the Palestinian cause at the front of nations' minds”. He is right to suggest that it is journalists from the Middle East who should be the ones setting the tone for how the region’s stories – good and bad – are told.
It is critical that media owners, journalists and content creators meet at events such as Dubai's Arab Media Summit to shape the conversation
To drive moves towards more holistic coverage of the Middle East, it is important for media outlets to dig deeper and focus on life in the region as it is lived, not as it is reported on from outside. Beshara, a weekly online newsletter published by The National, works to fulfil this mission by focusing on solutions-oriented stories, and positive developments, highlighting the work being done in the UAE and other parts of the Middle East to tackle some of society’s most pressing problems.
In a wider sense, the media has a social role to play. Speaking before the first day of the summit, Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed, Second Deputy Ruler of Dubai and chairman of the Dubai Media Council, called the media "a vital partner in development and a key driver of social awareness”. Well-informed societies tend to make better choices, and in an age of misinformation and widespread social media use – in essence, humanity having a real-time conversation with itself – it is important that media owners, journalists and content creators meet at events such as the Arab Media Summit to shape the conversation.
The five pillars of Islam
BRIEF SCORES:
Toss: Nepal, chose to field
UAE 153-6: Shaiman (59), Usman (30); Regmi 2-23
Nepal 132-7: Jora 53 not out; Zahoor 2-17
Result: UAE won by 21 runs
Series: UAE lead 1-0
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Scoreline
Liverpool 3
Mane (7'), Salah (69'), Firmino (90')
Bournemouth 0
ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025, Thailand
UAE fixtures
May 9, v Malaysia
May 10, v Qatar
May 13, v Malaysia
May 15, v Qatar
May 18 and 19, semi-finals
May 20, final
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How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
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Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
What drives subscription retailing?
Once the domain of newspaper home deliveries, subscription model retailing has combined with e-commerce to permeate myriad products and services.
The concept has grown tremendously around the world and is forecast to thrive further, according to UnivDatos Market Insights’ report on recent and predicted trends in the sector.
The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.
The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.
UnivDatos cites younger and affluent urbanites as prime subscription targets, with women currently the largest share of end-users.
That’s expected to remain unchanged until 2025, when women will represent a $246.6bn market share, owing to increasing numbers of start-ups targeting women.
Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.
Fourth Arab Economic and Social Development Summit
As he spoke, Mr Aboul Gheit repeatedly referred to the need to tackle issues affecting the welfare of people across the region both in terms of preventing conflict and in pushing development.
Lebanon is scheduled to host the fourth Arab Economic and Social Development Summit in January that will see regional leaders gather to tackle the challenges facing the Middle East. The last such summit was held in 2013. Assistant Secretary-General Hossam Zaki told The National that the Beirut Summit “will be an opportunity for Arab leaders to discuss solely economic and social issues, the conference will not focus on political concerns such as Palestine, Syria or Libya". He added that its slogan will be “the individual is at the heart of development”, adding that it will focus on all elements of human capital.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
