International Media Gala to honor legendary Arab journalist Othman Al-Omeir

DUBAI: The legendary Arab journalist, Othman Al-Omeir, will be honored tomorrow at the first International Media Gala (IMG), organized by Arab News.
Al-Omeir is the former editor in chief of the Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper and founder of Elaph, the Arab world’s first online newspaper. He has been working in the media industry for almost 50 years.
He will be honored at the invite-only IMG, to be held on Tuesday night in partnership with the Arab Media Forum (AMF), publisher Mediaquest, and polling company YouGov.
Faisal J. Abbas, the editor in chief of Arab News, said Al-Omeir was one of the true greats of journalism.
“We would like to mark Othman’s immense, and ongoing contribution to journalism,” Abbas said. “With almost 50 years of experience in the media, and having launched the Arab world’s first online newspaper, he is a true pioneer in his field.”
Al-Omeir, who was born in 1950 in Riyadh, started his career in journalism as a junior sports correspondent for a Saudi newspaper. He quickly established a name for himself and in 1980 was named editor in chief of Al-Yaum newspaper, becoming the youngest editor in chief in the history of Saudi Arabia.
He also held various posts at Al-Jazirah newspaper, as well as editor in chief of Al-Majalla magazine and Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper. In 2001, he set up Elaph.com, which quickly became one of the leading Arabic news portals.
Al-Omeir has interviewed many world leaders including former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.