This Monday evening, the independent media platform and channel “Al-Fanous” launched its work with a package of journalistic materials that are closely related to people’s lives, and as stated in the platform’s definition on its website, it is a community media platform, with an investigative, investigative nature, starting in its work from people’s concerns and pains. The daily newspaper searches for forgotten and overlooked issues, and also seeks to raise people's awareness and strengthen their culture about many negative phenomena.

Regarding the importance of the idea and the new things that “The Lantern” will present, the platform’s founder and editor-in-chief, the well-known journalist Jamal Haidara, says, “The importance of the idea lies in the need for professional, objective, independent community journalism that keeps pace with events and developments, apparent speeches and slogans, and surrounds people with backgrounds, hidden motives, and future repercussions, and provides space.” To discuss, raise opinions and questions, and promote a culture of coexistence, tolerance and peace.”

Regarding the meaning of the name, Haidara explains, “The name derives its meaning from the most important functions of the media, which is enlightenment, in addition to the close historical and cultural connection of the lantern to the lives of peoples. We seek to connect the past with the present in a modern way, with a living human language, and our focus is always the citizen.”

The “Lantern” platform appeared in a different artistic form than what is prevalent among most Yemeni websites and platforms, as it includes nine tabs: beginning with the “Daily Concerns” window, which is a group of visual reports that shed light on people’s suffering and daily concerns, and the “Event and Discussion” window. It is an analytical window that subjects events and news to careful professional analysis, and explains with experts and officials their backgrounds, goals, and repercussions. The “Options” window discusses with the elites their options and visions on many crucial issues, and the “In-depth Reports” window, which are reports of an investigative nature that searches for corruption in the agencies. The state follows its focus and its local and external connections with objectivity, professionalism, and impartiality. The “Black Smokes” window is a space for climate and environmental issues, the “Vulnerable Groups” window is a space for issues of women, children, the marginalized, and people of determination, and the “Monitoring and Documentation” window is dedicated to monitoring and documenting violations of various types, and transferring them to local organizations. And the “Citizen Journalist” window is a window that encourages citizens to prepare and share various journalistic materials, as well as being a platform for the citizen through which he expresses his daily concerns.

Yemeni and Arab journalists had expected that the “Lantern” platform would constitute a distinguished addition to the Yemeni media arena, especially since it had chosen societal aspects, and placed in its list of priorities the citizen, and all the concerns and challenges he faces, in addition to the fact that it consists of an elite group of journalists from Experienced in the field of investigative journalism.

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