Dubai: For news lovers who really can’t wait to know, Gulf News today launches its latest offering, the breaking news SMS service which aims to be indispensable.
The news offering, which is available to du and etisalat customers — as part of Gulf News celebrations of its 34th anniversary — will use SMS to push breaking stories directly to its subscribers. Suggested bulletins will come from journalists across the newsroom, and then filtered with only the most important headline news sent out by the SMS team.
“Breaking news can come from across the globe, and be hard news, business, and culture or even from the world of sport,” Mohammed Al Mezel, Managing Editor of Gulf News said. “But there will be a unifying theme: It will be the kind of news that matters to a UAE audience; it will be the kind of news you will want to share.
Stories that do make the cut will be sent out to the Gulf News SMS service even before they make the Web. “SMS allows us to push stories to subscribers where we think it will be valuable. Users do not need to come to us — we can inform them directly. This is a service for those people where being up-to-date with the most local, regional, and global stories really matters. SMS is a perfect medium for this.”
Because it is a breaking news service the Gulf News SMS team says the news itself will drive the agenda. What is received, and the number of messages, will depend on the news of the day.
The SMS team says the type of news that will be sent will vary depending upon proximity to the UAE. Local news can be anything from the announcement of holidays to major accidents, while international stories will be the kinds of stories that you see on the cover of the newspaper — only you’ll get them as they’re happening.
