Profiled:
Rania Omiesh
Editor-in-Chief of Trendesign and Layali Amman
Email: [email protected] / [email protected]
Mobile: (+962) 795522640
Website: http://raniaomeish.com/
The journey begins
When Rania Omiesh started working in the media industry she never knew that she would have to carry the task of becoming the Editor-in-Chief of Layali Amman and Trendesign,
Both magazines are under the umbrella of Al Faridah for Specialized Publications in 2003.
“I studied English Literature and never studied anything to do with media,” said Rania.
It was by chance that she started working in Television by producing her own TV production on art, décor, and beauty but, was able to fit right at home when she started working for Al Faridah.
Omiesh looks over the run down of VIVMAG a lifestyle magazine, Trendesign a décor, art and interior architectural magazine and Layali Amman, a magazine that indulges in events occurring in Amman.
However, this changed after VIVMAG closed two years ago.
Above: Photographs were taken from the actual Facebook site of VIVMAG.
Al Faridah produces an array of different magazines such as Layali Amman (Arabic Magazine), Trendesign, and U Magazine.
Above: Each photograph was taken from the magazine website and social media platforms.
All of the magazines are published monthly.
However, this has not put a stop to the high number of issues the magazines have published.
“As Editor-in-Chief I oversaw 71 issues for Trendesign and over 200 issues for Layali Amman which, also includes issues under the old name Layalina.
Each magazine shows a different side of the Arabic culture in Jordan and focuses on some international exhibitions such as from Milan and London.
Omiesh said that each magazine is different and portrays a different side of Jordan.
“Each magazine has a different soul and that is what makes these magazines unique as they give an insight into our culture.”
A Day in the Life of an Editor-in-Chief
As Editor-in-Chief her daily schedule is always different but she enjoys the hustle and bustle of her office routine.
A normal day at the office consists of checking emails to see what is the latest in design, décor, art and interior before heading to check what Art Designer Yara Hindawi has created for this month’s magazine issue.
“I am always excited to see how they are doing, what pictures they have, how they worked with the picture, which pictures they are going to use in the article then we decide how many pages the article is going to consist of 4 to 8 pages.”
As a team, they sit down together talk about each event, and decide whether this is a proper picture to use for an event, what is the type of the of the event and if it is right to publish or not.
Moreover, events take over the afternoon as the team, work to cover the best angle to attract their audiences around Jordan.
These events range from art gallery openings to even festivals that feature local artists from around Jordan.
Omiesh said in order to get the best scoop the whole magazine needs to work together.
“We are always a team. It is either I and the editor or I and a photographer that head out to the event.”
They never interview the main artist or exhibitor at the same day of the event but they book an appointment to interview them on a different day in order to have time to have a photo shoot.
Digital-to-Digital
Above: AFDM Digital Marketing Executive Director Shatha Zhran.
Al Faridah is the sister organization to three radio stations and Al Faridah Digital Media (AFDM) which, is in charge of the social media and any digital aspects that contributes to the magazines and websites.
“We are all connected because of the internet and social media.”
They are in charge of making sure that the content placed in the print copies goes onto the social media accounts online and on their websites.
“We basically post everything that is in the magazine on certain issues whether it is in October, August, depends on the month. We also post articles daily and ads which, are in the magazine.” Said AFDM Digital Marketing Executive Shatha Zhran.
The most common social media platforms the magazine’s use are Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Above: Photographs taken from the magazine’s Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts.
Omiesh said that each social media platform is used for a different magazine due to the content.
“For some products, Twitter does not apply to them because it is wordier.”
As for the visuals, the magazine uses Instagram.
“We use Instagram for Trendesign because it is artsier and we can use visuals that contribute the magazine and it’s not wordy.”
Since 2003, Trendesign and Layali Amman have gained a large follower fan base since moving into the digital world.
Above: Bar chart consisting of data collected from the magazine’s social media platforms comparing follower numbers between Layali Amman and Trendesign.
How this strategy works is that each day the magazines have to publish in a timely manner. With the help of AFDM, this is doable as the staff shares the same offices.
“They support our websites and it is great because everyday twice a day we have to post something. Twice on Twitter, twice on Instagram, and update our websites,”
When there is an event the team would go out into the field and take the necessary photos and conduct interviews before heading back to their headquarters.
Once the photos are chosen and their assisting interviews and slogans are ready Zhran and her team place these into each relevant social media platform and publish them for their audiences to enjoy.
An example of this was when the team went to cover the HORECA an event that took place in Jordan two Sundays ago.
“The way we work when using social media is we take a picture, come back to the office and upload one post about this HORECA and we are going to Tweet one tweet because we do one thing at a time as we cannot do everything at once.”
The newsroom is also encouraged to promote the event on their own social media platforms as well as on the magazine’s platform.
Above: Photograph was taken from Rania Omiesh’s Instagram profile.
This becomes a different story when it involves live tweeting, especially for Layali Amman.
The events lend themselves by being applicable to being live tweeted and it can be online in a blink of an eye.
“It is perfect we are at the event and the other day we had Yani we had Qaem el Saher we had Rahmani and we did post live from the event.”
Other examples of events the magazine live tweets at are comedy shows, parties, and entertainment.
Above: Photograph was taken from Layali Amman’s Twitter account.
Moreover, to attract their targeted audience Zhran makes sure that a thorough study is conducted on which social media platform to use to gain the most followers for the magazine she is publishing work for.
“It comes with experience and you can actually tell from the posts you put what people are interested in certain ads or certain articles and you target them whether geographically or demographics, age, field of study or work.”
With the digital revolution taking flight it has been easier to move from digital to digital instead of print to digital.
Omiesh said that the content, photos, and text are already in an applicable format when moving from digital-to-digital.
However, she said this was not the case when it came to moving from print to digital.
A magazine is as strong as its digital footprint.
“These days they look at your social media and if you are not social they won’t take you seriously. You really want to start it now you have to start it yesterday.”
Wait, what about the website?
Above: Trendesign Art Director Yara Hindawi
The strategy for the website changes as it is looked over by Art Director Yara Hindawi.
She collaborates with all departments to make sure that the end result of the website is crisp and clear.
“These pages are usually themed by color or by season and I will be working on that or working on all the layouts for articles.”
With the website Hindawi selects different items that will help shape the outline of the magazine, giving birth to the end result readers get when they open the website.
“For the magazine, we would focus on seasonal things topics that are trending at the moment or events that will happen or have happened.”
Hindawi said that she looks for Shopping Items which, are trendy items in the Jordanian market and from there they add in the bits and pieces of information to go onto the website.
“We decide to put everything that is in the magazine onto the website. There is nothing we would exclude but it is the time that we actually put the articles makes a difference.”
This is useful as some Jordanians do not read their news through print media but, go straight to social media or the website to read their favorite articles.
The strategy here is different as the content is not placed on the website before a certain time.
Hindawi posts the articles on the website 15 days after the print edition of the magazine is distributed.
Part of what makes the website unique is that the articles placed there are translated into Arabic by Editor Anas Al Hirabni., as well as written in English to reach Jordanians who have not yet mastered the English Language.
Above: Screenshots of Trendesign’s website in English and Arabic.
What does the future hold?
With the assist from the online world and social media, Omiesh is able to help keep the magazine up to date on the latest news as well as bring in more readers.
Omiesh said that the most important aspect the magazine needs to have is the ability to make readers want to read the articles and be more interactive.
“We want to make it engaging for our audience so we talk about us being there, what we are doing, we support them, we say when the exhibition ends, what time they should be there, and if they ask us we sponsor them if we can.”
Zhran anticipates that in the near future the magazine will look into using other social media platforms such as Snapchat but, she said that for now, they are satisfied with using their three main platforms.
“Everyone at American University and around the world should check our websites. They are in English and they are really interesting. It is nice to know about Arab magazines that are being done in Jordan, produced in Jordan, written in Jordan.”
The magazines will keep on striving to become one of the best in Jordan.
