Al Arabiya hosts first in a series of business roundtables

The event was held in Dubai and was a first in a series of roundtables organized by Al Arabiya News Channel to engage the regional media community on issues relevant to the industry.

Representing Al Arabiya were program editors, department heads and business journalists who discussed various issues of business programming with a number of journalists from specialized magazines throughout the GCC. Topics ranging from the historical development of business media in the Arab world to the importance of business programming for regional economics in the setting of globalization were discussed, producing enlightened debate and lively interaction amongst participants.

Al Arabiya presented its business programs and emphasized its focus on Arab markets with the aim of providing specialized and practical analysis to the Arab viewer. Moreover, the channel announced the launch of Al Arabiya's online business programs as a further reflection of the channel's plans to expand its coverage of Arab and international markets.

The business roundtable comes a few days following the launch of its new business programming format. Jamil El Hage, Al Arabiya's Head of Business News, stressed the main role all financial and business players should have in the process of developing a specialized Arab business media in the Arab world.

Launched in 2003, Al Arabiya News Channel, a member of MBC media group, has quickly become one of the major news broadcasters in the Arab world lauded for its professional best-practices and work ethics. Al Arabiya has been at the forefront of speedy - yet accurate - field reporting, maintaining a clear distinction between news and opinion, in addition to its considered and sober news and current affairs analysis.