Al Ittihad newspaper turns 45

The National’s sister paper unveils a look into the future.

Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed, right, discusses the newly designed Al Ittihad with Mohamed Al Mahmood, chairman and managing director of Abu Dhabi Media, centre, and Mohammed Al Hammadi, editor-in-chief of tShow more

ABU DHABI // Al Ittihad newspaper marked its 45th anniversary on Monday with the unveiling of a new, high-tech newsroom and a visit from Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamdan, the Chairman of Al JAzira Club.

The Arabic-language sister newspaper of The National will be published with a new design, said editor-in-chief Mohammed Al Hammadi. The newsroom will utilise a computerised, smart system that eliminates paper from the editing process.

“From writing the news piece to its publishing, it will all be computerised,” he said.

The newspaper will also have a new, red masthead that has been based on the original when it was first published in 1969.

Mr Al Hammadi said the content would also be revamped.

“Our readers will soon enough notice the development of the content. We will publish different stories and different sections and the writing style will also be different,” he said. “We will be writing in an intensive way to portray the story and we will focus more on pictures.”

The newspaper's slogan has also been changed to "Masdaruk Al Awal", which translates as "Your First Source for Arabic".

"In an era of technology and evolution, once we develop our technological skills we aim to become the first source, but not only of news. We want all information, pictures and news to reach the reader, we want them to come to Al Ittihad first," he said.

"More importantly, Al Ittihad in the 1960s used to be the first source in the UAE when there was no other newspaper. We built on the past to reach the future."

The new smart room has 12 screens that show various news sources, such as state news agency WAM and CNN.

It also has two screens with maps displaying breaking news from within the UAE, and two others showing trending social media topics.

“The room is the first of its kind in the region,” said Mr Al Hammadi. “The aim of it is to receive breaking news fast, as the search engine will allow us to view all news articles.

“Also, if we have a specific search word, any typed keyword in the system will allow us to see the new articles.”

The screens are controlled by newsroom staff who can enter a topic and then see a list of news articles from around the world about the subject.

"Anyone who comes to the Al Ittihad newsroom will realise we are working on the future. We are proud of Al Ittihad's past 45 years, but we are now working towards the future. "

A small cafe has also been opened within the newsroom to create “a comfortable social and professional environment” from the sometimes fraught work of newspaper journalism, said Mr Al Hammadi.

Also attending the ceremony at the Abu Dhabi Media offices were Mohamed Al Mahmood, chairman and managing director of Abu Dhabi Media, and Rashid Al Oraimi, the former editor-in-chief of Al Ittihad.

A copy of the new paper was shown to Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed, the National Security Adviser and deputy chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Council, by Mr Al Mahmood and Mr Al Hammadi.