UAE | Media

'We were one of the first Mideast papers to go online'

September 1 marks the 10th anniversary of gulfnews.com. As the website celebrates 10 years of metamorphosis, senior web producer and pioneering staff Patrick Masahud reveals everything there is to know about gulfnews.com.

  • By Daniel Bardsley, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 23:34 May 3, 2009
  • Gulf News

  • gulfnews.com senior web producer Patrick Masahud says that the latest version of the website is dynamic and up-to-date.
  • Image Credit: Hadrian Hernandez/Gulf News

Dubai: There is one person who knows almost everything there is to know about gulfnews.com - senior web producer Patrick Masahud.

The 35-year-old Filipino is the only staff member who has worked on the site since its humble beginnings a decade ago.

Back then, looking after the website was just a part-time distraction from Masahud's main job working in the Gulf News library. Today, he is part of a 10-strong team.

"We were one of the first newspapers in the Middle East to go online. It was just a few months after Etisalat launched the portal."

"The website was very basic to start with, but even then it was considered an advanced website considering the technology available," he said.

Masahud and one colleague from the library would upload the stories in the morning and then leave it at that until the next day. On Fridays the site would not get updated at all.

'Very interesting'

"It's totally different now sometimes we can deliver the news while it's still going on. It's very exciting."

"There was a very different attitude towards the website to start with. We didn't update it with stories before they had appeared in the paper because people feared the website would compete with the paper."

"Now we try to update the website immediately with breaking stories. If you are behind by 10 minutes, everybody will have got their news from another website," he said.

Most of Masahud's time is spent preparing pictures for the site before they are added to existing stories to improve the package.

He works from the mid-afternoon to late night, when the website gets its main update with the news that will appear in the following day's paper.

"Every day there is something different. Also as well as the news changing, you also try to present things in a different way from before to make the site more interesting."

 

 

Your comments


It took talent, integrity and strength of purpose to climb the steepest mountain. It was your belief in the dream that led you to the top. Congrats!
Lilaq
Dubai,UAE

The endeavours of the Gulf News kept the world connected to the UAE. Kudos to the entire staff.
Marge
Rak,UAE

So proud! Keep it up!
Geneve
Manila,Philippines

My day is incomplete without going through the online Gulf News. If due to any reason, I am not able to read it, then I always feel that I am missing something.
Lalit
Sharjha,UAE

I salute to my co-Filipino Mr. Masahud. You share your knowledge. Iba talaga ang "PINOY"
Ofelia
La Union,Philippines

Keep it up, great news.
Shaji
Mumbai,

Congratulations. Hardwork and effort has made him reach a new mile stone in his career. Best wishes.
Purushotham
Sharjah,

I visit your site almost every hour. Since I was brought up in Dubai I can now glimpse Gulf News online.
Lukmanul
Cochin,

Congratulations to a complete decade of published online news. Keep it up! Best wishes.
Anwer
Karachi,

I'd like to congratulate the Gulf News web staff for a job well done. As a former resident of Dubai, it is great to be able to log on at any time and check out the goings on in one of my favourite cities.
Arif
San Dimas, California,

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