The National has been recognised for its digital excellence at an awards ceremony in Dubai.
On Wednesday, the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers WAN-IFRA handed The National the award for the Best Use of Online Video in the Middle East.
As part of The National's relaunch last July, under the ownership of International Media Investments, particular emphasis has been placed on increasing multimedia capacity and reach. Online video, social video, Facebook Lives and motion-graphics have all been used as storytelling tools to deliver the news and engage a wider audience.
In addition to extensive coverage in the United Arab Emirates, our video and multimedia journalists have travelled to a number of locations, including Malawi, Lebanon, the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Jordan, Uganda and Saudi Arabia.
The jury noted The National's "well shot, and nicely edited" video content.
"The videos felt solid and engaging. Lots of interesting footage," the jury said. "This is great and the National is doing world class video here.
"Taking a lead from Facebook video trailblazers like AJ+ and NowThis, this is a well executed video strategy with clever selection of content with relevance to an international audience."
Editor-In-Chief Mina Al Oraibi said: “We’re delighted that our investment in talent and technology has been recognised by our peers in the industry. Video is an integral part of compelling news coverage and storytelling. We are dedicated to reaching our readers and viewers, in the UAE and beyond, across a variety of platforms.”
Multimedia Editor Emmanuel Samoglou said: “We’ve been given a strong platform, and through the support of the newsroom, we’re able to experiment and produce video content that has resonated with our audience. We’re able to collaborate with a newsroom of journalists that are eager to advance the medium.”
The National will now go on to represent the Middle East in the Best Use of Online Video category at the World Digital Media Awards later this year.
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