A Media Research Centre will be set up as part of the Mohammed bin Rashid School of Communication (MBRSC) at the American University of Dubai, according to a top official.
Ali Mouin Jaber, Dean of MBRSC, told Emirates Business that the Media Centre will hold global conferences and publish books, offer training for faculty and master classes for professionals.
He said the proposed Media Centre will house several other centres, each with its own discipline, leadership, funding and fellowship.
Both the MBRSC and the Media Centre will be on the same campus, allowing the two entities to benefit from each other's resources.
Jaber said the Media Centre will also be a conduit to fund media and communications research thereby helping society.
"At the University of Southern California, with which we have a tie-up, there is such a media centre, where they look at, for example, entertainment in TV or cinema. They select a programme such as Grey's Anatomy and conduct research on it. For example, it was found that 65 per cent of African Americans get their medical information from TV.
"Such information can be provided to writers. For example, the team could research a rare and exotic ailment. It could then provide reliable and accurate information to writers to create a show or film about it," Jaber said.
He said Dubai Media Inc (DMI) produces 20-25 per cent of all Arab TV content.
"We can provide information where we can input key messages that can be beneficial to society," said the MBRSC Dean, adding that no one has so far studied Arab media in depth – such as the effect of the phenomenon of channels like Al Jazeera or MBC that shape public opinion from both the news and entertainment perspectives.
"Experimentation is at the heart of the creative process. Trial and error is very important, but nobody is studying the trends to allow other entrepreneurs to benefit. At the Media Centre, we hope to study them and once the models are in place, great amounts of investments can be rationalised," Jaber said.
He referred to Noor the Turkish produced TV series that is in colloquial Syrian.
"It is highly popular. Everyone is watching it. But why is it successful, especially in the Gulf? Did anyone try and find out? We will.
"We are not just about journalism, we aim to create a vibrant media scene. We will see how we can help and benefit society while preserving the entertainment value.
"We will transform the state of Arab communication scene and take it to a better and more serious level. The renaissance that Dubai is witnessing is sustainable," the MBRSC Dean added.