Manama: The Head of the newly formed Bahrain Media Authority has pledged to support the local press in Bahrain.
"We will support the Bahraini media and will look after Bahraini journalists in various ways to ensure that they assume their noble responsibilities with ease and within a high level of freedom," Shaikh Fawwaz Bin Mohammad Al Khalifa said. "We want our media to be closely connected with the aspirations, ambitions and concerns of our people. We will rely on Bahraini nationals who have repeatedly displayed high competence levels," he said.
Shaikh Fawwaz, the former Head of Youth and Sports, was, on Thursday, put in charge of the Bahrain Media Authority, an entity created after the Ministry of Culture and Information was dissolved. A separate Ministry for Culture was created and is headed by the former Culture and Information Minister, Shaikha Mai Bint Mohammad Al Khalifa.
"As we take special pride in the Bahraini nationals working in the media field, we look forward to them being in the core of our attention and we will work on enhancing their aptitudes and boosting their skills," said Fawwaz, 44.
Several Bahrainis have repeatedly complained about high wages given to non-Bahrainis working in the radio and television corporation and about the perceived marginalisation of Bahrainis, a charge that the ministry repeatedly rejected as lacking credibility.
"I call upon all Bahrainis to work together to improve the performance of the media sector, especially in light of the local, regional and international significance of media," he said.
