Dubai
Every month I write about our community reporters and the impact their effort has on society and the need for people to come forward to be part of the positive change. Today, I want to talk about our readers.
The Reader’s Desk was set up nearly a decade ago to offer a single point of contact for our consumers.
For the longest time, newspapers failed to understand that readers needed to be part of content planning. As the world changed and technology advanced, so did the way people consumed editorial content. Suddenly the broadsheet or for that matter television wasn’t the primary source. The internet, followed later by Twitter, Facebook, chat apps - all paid a role in information dissemination. Also, young readers were failing to pick up the newspaper. This forced newspapers to rethink their strategy and the way they connected with their readers.
Gulf News saw this curve well in advance and set up a section focused on reader interactivity and engagement, in a platform agnostic manner. We connected through print and digital channels and built layers as readership evolved.
What it means very simply is that we respect our readers, what they have to say and teach us. Community Reports is one such layer of that engagement.
Coming to our winners for last month, first place goes to Dona Varghese, for her report, “Food wastage needs to be stopped now”. It was published on March 30. A student based in Dubai, she wrote about people discarding food, including littering. In a world striving to cope with global hunger, such lack of civic sense is sad to see. I hope that the report encourages readers to take heed.
Second place goes to the report, “Streetlights must be installed in Sharjah”, by Pragna Vasupal, which was published on March 14. The focus was on the lack of adequate street lighting in the Abu Shagara area of Sharjah, which has been raised by several of our readers in the past. This becomes an issue especially for women, children and the elderly.
Third place goes to M.N. Vivekanandan for his report, “Careless attitudes major cause of accidents on UAE roads”, published on March 3. The picture with the article shows a child looking out from the sunroof. An extremely dangerous practice and an unfortunate display of lack of awareness, especially at a time when the authorities are doing their very best to promote road safety and best driving practices. Children should always be strapped in and in a child seat, it is for their own safety and for the safety others.
We hope the three winners inspire other readers to file community reports and continue to participate in this effort.
PROFILES:
First: Dona Varghese
Published on March 30, 2016
Dona Varghese, a student based in Dubai, wrote to Gulf News for the first time after coming across the Community Reports column.
She said: “I think this is an excellent way of bringing important issues to the public view.”
The Indian national loves to read, but never thought of writing a report about something that was a concern to her. But, when she came across food that had been wasted in her community on more than one instance, she decided it was time to raise her voice.
She said: “I was deeply saddened by this sight and I don’t understand how people can be so uncivilised about food. I thank Gulf News for publishing my report.”
Second: Pragna Vasupal
Published on March 14, 2016.
Pragna Vasupal, a student based in Sharjah, raised concern over the lack of streetlights in the Abu Shagara area of Sharjah.
She said: “It was a great pleasure to see the area after the used car market had moved out. It felt so spacious and now looks like a residential area.”
Through her report, she hopes that she has raised awareness and the authorities take note of the situation.
She said: “When the used car market moved, it left a dark space behind. I hope the authorities look into the issue and install lights on the streets in this area.”
Third: M.N. Vivekanandan
Published on March 3, 2016.
M.N. Vivekanandan, a student based in Dubai, loves to read books and write.
He said: “I believe that community reports are a good platform to pass messages across to people in a fast pace. Whenever I come across anything of concern, I think about writing to Gulf News. After all, man is a social being; we live together, grow together, work together and share together. It is everyone’s duty to care about others.”
He volunteers his time towards charity and environmental campaigns.
