A meeting was held for the subscribers of the SMS service (FBPAL)
Wadi Hilweh Information Center held a special meeting on Saturday for the subscribers of the SMS service (FBPAL) launched by the center last year. A number of subscribers attended the meeting as well as the Center’s Staff. Mahmoud Qaraeen who is responsible for the SMS service clarified that the meeting aims to discuss development mechanisms to improve the service to where it meets the subscribers’’ needs, and to discuss different ways to enhance the communication between the journalists in Jerusalem. Qaraeen said that Wadi Hilweh Information Center launched the service in March of last year and it now has 140 subscribers from all over the Palestinian territories (West Bank, Gaza Strip, and inside the Green Line) who are journalists, photographers, Diplomatic Personnel, legal organizations, local and International TV channels, and representatives from the emergency services, ambulances and fire department. Qaraeen added that between March 2012 and March 2013, the service sent around 2000 breaking news (in both Arabic and English), sending around half a million messages for the subscribers. Qaraeen confirmed that the center seeks to strengthen the spirit of cooperation between the Media crews with the provision of credibility and speed in reporting the news for the subscribers of the SMS service on one hand, and to cover all activities in Jerusalem and monitor and record the Israeli violations on another. He also noted that the center ensures the identity of the subscribers and their work location before adding them to the service, so as to ensure transparency and credibility. The participants thanked the Information Center for launching this service, which enabled the on-field journalists and photographers to quickly cover all the events with wider credibility. During the meeting, there was an open discussion between the Center’s Staff and the subscribers on ways to develop the service mechanisms, and they agreed to hold regular meetings for the service’s subscribers to discuss SMS related issues and evaluate it. They also agreed on forming Media emergency crews to cover activities in Jerusalem which occur in the late hours of the night or early hours of the morning as well as holding a meeting with the emergency and fire departments to enhance the cooperation with the journalists.
