Saeed Al-Khotani Saudi Gazette RIYADH — The Ministry of Culture and Information will conduct a one-day training workshop for over 50 spokesmen of various government departments at King Fahd Cultural Center here on Saturday. The spokesmen from ministries, general directorates and other government agencies along with experts in mass media and public relations are expected to attend the workshop, the second of its kind, to be organized by the MCI following the first one in December under the theme, “The spokesman – reality and hopes.” The current workshop entitled, “Official spokesman and media men – the shared responsibility,” will address the following issues: what the official spokesman wanted from media people and vice versa, the boundaries of the relations between the media people and government departments, and the challenges and obstacles facing both parties — the spokesmen and media men. The workshop aims at developing the capabilities of government spokesmen to effectively deal with media personnel, to determine the most important challenges and obstacles facing both parties, and to deal with them appropriately. The current workshop and the previous one came on the heels of a Cabinet decision eight months ago in which all government departments, in particular those dealing directly with the public, were asked to appoint spokesmen in their headquarters and, if needed, in their branch offices to deal with the media. This move by the government came as a measure to curb an increasing tendency to publish inaccurate reports in a section of the media about services offered to public by some ministries and government departments. The Cabinet decision defined the role of the spokesmen as providing information, explanations and clarifications to the media on issues of public interest relating to his ministry or department, as well as responding to inquiries from media personnel.
