RIYADH, Sunday, April 27, 2025 (WNP): Saudi Minister of Media, Salman bin Yousuf Al-Dossary on Sunday launched a new media dialogue initiative under the “Year of Impact” program, aiming to establish a sustainable platform for communication and collaboration among media professionals.

The initiative seeks to spotlight development opportunities, address industry challenges, strengthen local partnerships among government agencies, private sector players, and individuals, and promote knowledge exchange to advance the media and communication landscape in the Kingdom.

As part of the program, the initiative will feature regular dialogue sessions between the Minister and a diverse range of media practitioners, including podcast creators, talk show hosts, gaming content producers, social media account managers, media company officials, sports commentators, YouTube creators, producers, directors, opinion writers, and journalists.

The inaugural meeting was held at “The Stage” theatre in Riyadh, gathering Minister Al-Dossary, senior media executives, and over 30 podcast specialists. The event featured presentations on media projects and initiatives, particularly focusing on the growing podcasting sector in Saudi Arabia, along with key data and services provided by the General Authority of Media Regulation.

During the session, Al-Dossary announced two new initiatives from the Saudi Media Academy tailored for podcasters. The first offers intensive training programs for beginners, covering areas such as content presentation, editing, script preparation, lighting, audio engineering, entrepreneurship, and marketing. The second is designed for experienced podcasters and will provide advanced development programs in collaboration with local and international institutions to further refine their skills.

Participants welcomed the initiative, praising the effort to strengthen professional networks, facilitate the exchange of ideas and expertise, and create a constructive forum for discussing the future of Saudi media.