Thirty years!” That’s the copyright of a colleague of mine to emphasize the experience of achieving near perfection in his day’s work. It also signifies the dedication and experience needed to dovetail as a unit in an ever-changing world.

Many of us at Arab News have been hearing these two buzzwords well before the leading Saudi English-language daily reached this milestone, and we connect it to the experience of producing a near perfect paper for three decades.

It also symbolizes a commitment of its workforce to be adept and also adapt during a technological revolution that has come at a fast clip. And the phases and faces that have witnessed these changes in the 30 years of the paper’s vibrant existence is what Arab News is all about.

The evolution of the paper has always been dictated by times. It has always stayed, or at least tried to stay, in step with the times. This needed economic courage, advancement in technology and responses to competitive pressures.

The progress of Arab News technologically has been geometrical. And those who have straddled the three phases of printing, from hot metal to cold type to full automation, bear testimony to this fact.

From laboriously setting the paper character by character on a Linotype or Ludlow machine, employees today are bouncing signals of satellites so that newspapers can be printed simultaneously all over the world. This dizzying advance in technology is in stark contrast to the slow pace of publishing a paper three decades ago.

But each phase had its day in the sun. The days of the molten lead, the clickety-clacks of the lino and the buzz of the people combining their efforts to put out a paper had its own old-world ambiance.

Then came the shift to computers in its infantile form with the operators typing out the news in reams of data in small strips of coded tapes, which in turn was transferred to bromide paper as bits of news. These were then cut and stripped on to the page to produce the paper. It also ushered in the age of cold type, setting the stage for the current age of desktop publishing.

Several generations of presses and machinery have come and gone till today when the editor and the presses are in direct communication with the press of a button.

These changes, as winds of change mostly do, blew away many middle stages in the process of printing. But it also brought about a key ingredient that is hallmark of every newspaper today — quality.

Even as technology continues to change the face of journalism and its developments continue to influence the ability of those in the industry to meld words and visuals, it is the skill, in the end, of the wordsmith to make words worth.

This effort, albeit a daily grind at the millstone, by a dedicated team over 30 years in every facet of the paper has been the dynamics behind Arab News’ success story.

Today Arab News is firmly established as the paper with a voice of its own and as the former chairman of the group, of which Arab News is one of the many titles, the late Prince Ahmad ibn Salman succinctly put — its reach is global.

“The success of Arab News is due to the fact that it served both the Saudis and the residents by introducing them to each other by publishing news of Saudi Arabia, the region and different countries of the globe as well as interesting features. This Arab News did, and is doing, without prejudice to the most important news of the day wherever it may happen,” Prince Ahmad had said when the paper had completed two decades.

Because of its success Arab News has been developing in every way, including financially, which has helped maintain its integrity and independence, the late prince had said.

The seed of the success story was sown on April 20, 1975. And on that day the dreams of two brothers Hisham and Muhammad Ali Hafiz came true. Both of them foresaw that the Kingdom was on the threshold of an economic boom and that it would need large number of expatriates to carry out the gigantic nation-building programs.

To quote the brothers, “we discussed the need for an English language newspaper of a fairly high standard to meet our requirements. The idea began to take shape in 1974 and we received great encouragement from various sources and decided to go ahead.”

That small step, to use the analogy of Astronaut Neil Armstrong’s famous words on moon landing, proved a giant leap for English-language journalism in Saudi Arabia. Small indeed, it was, as the first paper that hit the streets on this day 30 years ago was a tabloid. And all 3,000 copies that were printed were sold out — setting a trend that has led to today’s “green” paper to still being the pace-setter.

The first phase of the paper had its share of birth pangs. For setting up any business has its sum of difficulties. But the major hurdle, according to the Hafiz brothers, was that there was no trained Saudi staff in English media.

Like every other barrier, they surmounted it. They brought in experienced bilingual staff from the region and people, schooled in the different facets of media, from other parts of the world to make up a successful mix under the stewardship of the first Editor in Chief Ahmad Mahmoud.

Housed in a ground floor garage in Sharafiyah district, the publishers, editors, advertising representatives, administrators, machinists and the printers all rubbed shoulders while figuratively joining together to apply the shoulder to the wheel.

It is that combined hard work of a combative unit that turned the wheels of fortune. Looking back at the humble start, the underlining strength of Arab News was built on that day. To work hard, to work with commitment and to work as a unit.

Many of the pioneers, who are not with us today to celebrate the 30th anniversary, have relived this beginning over their years. And like a good story is still being passed down to the newer generation of workforce like lore.

Mahmoud recalls the early trials and the surprise at being offered the top post in 1975. “One fine morning in 1974, I got a call from Muhammad Ali Hafiz to meet him and his brother. At that time I was with Al-Madinah newspaper. They told me about their project and in the same breath, offered me the post of editor in chief. That took me completely by surprise.” Mahmoud says that he never really got a chance to think it over as the Hafiz brothers said the paper would start within six months. “I did accept the offer, but I made it clear that I had no experience in English journalism,” he said.

Mahmoud also states that the answer he got was “when one is a journalist, one’ll always be a journalist”.

That’s true, for it is the experience in ferreting out news from a morass of words, be it in any language, that makes a journalist. A good journalist combines his love for words with this experience.

Like every baby, Arab News too had its teething troubles. Following the dummy runs, Mahmoud, with Farouk Luqman, an experienced journalist in English media assisting him, came face to face with all the niggling problems of putting to bed, daily, this novel venture.

“There were challenges and trials, but with youthful determination and zest we gave our best to overcome them,” Mahmoud recalls.

“Arab News came out in difficult circumstances. Being the first of its kind, we had to face up to the fact of limited news sources, dearth of photographs, inadequate manpower and poor printing quality,” Mahmoud said. “Despite all this, surprisingly, the paper was well received.”

Mahmoud returned to Arabic journalism soon, and two editors succeeded him — Muhammad Ali Hafiz (1976) and Zuhair Al-Fakeeh (1976) as the paper slowly established itself as a window to the world. Evolution continued as the paper grew, and it was in the switchover from the 1970s to the 1980s, that the paper emerged as a broadsheet, providing a wider perspective of news to the amalgam of people working in the Kingdom. Also technologically, the paper had reached the satellite age. The facsimile enabled Arab News to reach out to a wider audience — at a faster pace. The paper was being simultaneously printed in the three main regions of the Kingdom.

In this new phase came a new face to the post of editor in chief in 1981. Muhammad Al-Shibani, who worked as the first correspondent for the paper in Riyadh, brought with him a new dynamism to the paper. He was just 24 at that time and had already worked as a newsman and in administrative capacities, both in the Central and the Eastern regions.

“The paper still had its share of difficulties. But the enthusiasm of the team spilled over on to the paper,” Shibani reminisced. It was also during this period that the paper got its distinctive look.

Always on the lookout to add a new dimension to the paper, Shibani concentrated on developing the distribution, advertising, readership and quality. And to this he gave a makeover to the paper. Though color printing had already taken hold in the industry, the prohibitive costs of going color put paid to the small and medium size papers going color. Already in the cold type stage, the paper’s decision-makers hit upon the idea of giving the readers a taste of color at least.

It was the phase when Arab News, from the regular white print, donned on the green jacket. What seemed to be a instinctive move was a well thoughtout marketing plan.

And it proved to be an instant success. Arab News’ coat of green made it stand out from the other papers on the newsstand, and it became known universally as the “green paper”. Apart from this the paper adopted the six column display to make it further stand apart.

These tweaks and the clever mix of content led Arab News to a new peak. By now Arab News had slowly stepped out into the global arena as the Kingdom began it phenomenal growth as a world player.

Just a year later, still in the building from where the paper had come out, two Saudis, of whom one was the editor in chief, walked into the cramped editorial room with all the editors hard at work and went toward the only cabin in which Shibani sat.

The time was about six in the evening. The waste basket in the cabin was already full of the crumpled news bits from the ticker tapes that were thrown away by Shibani. All in the room gave this action no second thought, till Shibani held the other Saudi gentleman’s hand and guided him to the editor in chief’s seat.

All perked up. And like all newsmen sensed a change in guards. That’s how the staff got their first glimpse of the new man at the helm — Khaled Almaeena for his 11-year first stint.

The seamless change of command in 1982 also brought about a seamless shift in the direction of the newspaper. Farouk Luqman, who had left briefly for two years, was back in Arab News as the senior editor and was to become a perfect foil to Almaeena.

Even today, Almaeena, who is playing a second innings from 1998, fondly recalls those days. “Farouk’s passion and my caution proved an ideal blend. It was a recipe for some great moments.”

There was change in more than one ways, as Arab News shifted to its plush office on Madinah Road that also housed the most modern offset printing machines of the time. It heralded an era of embracive journalism. Both Almaeena and Luqman were voracious readers and their varied tastes brought about conflicting ideas. Mix this with the collective thoughts from a veritable United Nations, as Almaeena still fondly calls it, of a staff and you had an explosive mix for content.

Almaeena zeroed in on two areas for expansion — economy and sports. He felt that with the boom in Saudi Arabia, readers would be more interested in the economy. And with the growing expat workforce and their interest in sport, this was a section that had to be developed.

The repartees, the constant encouragement, the even-handed rewards, a nod of appreciation and the occasional reprimand all were elements of management that he brought into play subtly. And it was this that brought out the best in everybody.

During his tenure, the paper grew exponentially in content and progressively in technology. With a growing accent on local reporting, he steered Arab News to new paths. The paper was published simultaneously in London, Washington, Atlanta and other major centers while traveling with the “Saudi Arabia: Today and Tomorrow” expo. It also introduced the concept of tackling a subject in depth by bringing out supplements. The Top 100 Saudi Companies which he piloted is today’s yardstick for businessmen.

He also headed the paper at one of its most demanding moments — the Gulf crisis. At a time fraught with challenge, Almaeena and the paper rose to the occasion by providing information from a variety of sources. This was the moment when Arab News truly went global. Its balanced coverage during the battle for Kuwait gave it an international standing which it still commands following the post-Sept. 11 events.

In 1993, Almaeena and Arab News parted ways and Luqman was elevated to the editor in chief’s post for a brief period.

The next man to take charge was Dr. Abdul Qader Tash in 1994. Dr. Tash, who died of cancer last year, took over at a time when Arab News had been rattled by the exit of two strong personalities. He brought about a steadying influence to the paper at a time when breakthroughs in communications were bringing about new challenges. He oversaw the introduction of desktop publishing and shifted the dynamics of the paper to combat the ever-growing influence of the electronic media. He also brought about modular layout to the paper, giving Arab News a new style to its already crisp content.

He left Arab News in 1998 to start Iqra channel, paving the way for Almaeena’s second knock. While he was content to allow the paper to grow in his earlier stint, he harnessed all his energies into putting out a near-perfect paper in his current knock. “Typos, inconsistencies, and blandness are the bane of a newspaper. We should avoid it like a plague,” he says. “Also after the Sept. 11 events, more people are looking at us for news and we should play our role,” he adds.

The introduction of the Arab News website, going color and its growing popularity will be his enduring legacy to the paper. For he has opened it to the eyes of the world.

The driving philosophy of Arab News could well be rounded out by philosopher Herberet Spencer’s thoughts: “No matter how great the author’s wisdom or how vital the message or how remarkable the printer’s skill, unread print is merely a lot of paper and little ink. The true economics of printing must be measured by how much is read and understood and not by how much is produced.”

That’s what Arab News has striven for over the years to make it a people’s paper, and it is a daily battle. Well, tomorrow is another challenge, another battle.

(Coordinating Editor L. Ramnarayan has been and is an integral part of the newsroom since 1981.)