“A news sense is really a sense of what is important, what is vital, what has color and life — what people are interested in. That’s journalism.” This quotation of Arthur Burton Rascoe, former editor and literary critic of the New York Herald Tribune, also applies to Arab News, the Kingdom’s leading English daily, whose news coverage has ranged from vital to the colorful aspects of life.
What has propelled Arab News to the forefront of English dailies in the Gulf is its comprehensive coverage of local news of four to five pages daily under the dynamic leadership of Mohammed Fahad Al-Harthi, our editor in chief.
This is aside from regional and international coverage of news and views, making it the preferred choice of expatriates, Saudi and other business executives, senior government officials and diplomats who look forward this newspaper for all types of news. No wonder, it has carved out its own space in terms of scoops and other major stories.
The following is a cross-section of some of the exclusive stories that were featured in Arab News in the chronological order in the recent past.
On March 29, 2014, the newspaper carried a front page story on the talks between Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and US President Barack Obama focusing on the Iranian nuclear deal, Syria’s three-year-old civil war and their repercussions on the neighboring countries.
They also dwelt on key bilateral and regional issues such as Gulf security, the Middle East peace process and Egypt.
“Washington and Riyadh are working together to address a number of critical bilateral and regional issues, including resolving the crisis in Syria, preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, counterterrorism efforts to combat extremism, and supporting negotiations to achieve Middle East peace,” said a joint statement issued later.
Then, this year’s visit of Crown Prince Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, to four countries-Pakistan, India, China and Maldives-was very comprehensively covered by Arab News.
This high-profile visit was rich in the contents of diplomacy and politics as Saudi Arabia looks to the East to forge closer ties in different domains other than business.
Prince Salman’s trip was preceded by the presentation of SR855 billion annual budget by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah.
Arab News was also on the forefront in reporting political changes taking place in the region as well as inside the country. It reported extensively the appointment of Prince Muqrin as second deputy premier, Prince Mishal as new Makkah governor and Prince Khaled as new education minister.
The coverage of the visit of French President Francois Hollande late last year was exceptional. He, like Prince Charles of the United Kingdom, performed a sword dance with top Saudi officials and shared lighter moments.
Arab News also interviewed on April 23, 2013 Mexico’s business tycoon Carlos Slim, the world’s richest man with a net worth of $73 billion.
He unveiled his plans to invest billions of dollars in some lucrative petrochemical projects in Jubail and other projects in undisclosed sectors.
Another exclusive on Jan. 9, 2013 was an interview with Hina Rabbani Khar, youngest and first female foreign minister of Pakistan, during her visit to Riyadh.
Among other top stories in 2011, Arab News had an interview with former US President Bill Clinton when he described small- and mid-sized private enterprises as a key to the Kingdom’s long-term job growth and prosperity.
He was speaking at the 5th Global Competitiveness Forum on January 26, when he cautioned nations across the Middle East and North Africa that there were no substitutes for good governance and opportunities for the uneducated and impoverished.
The former president was upbeat about the Saudi economy and praised the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority for its visionary 10x10 program, which sought to elevate the Kingdom’s global competitiveness to among the top 10 countries worldwide by 2010. Saudi Arabia is now ranked 11th, a significant increase since the program was launched a few years ago.
Another landmark event for Arab News was on November 14, 2006 in Riyadh.
In his presentation at the CIO Summit, Bill Gates discussed how improvements in the hardware and applications available in digital devices, combined with a much higher bandwidth and richer content, would help us organize information and consequently be more productive in our jobs.
Within five years, Gates predicted that improvements in speech recognition technologies would mean that people would use digital devices with speech as the primary input method, rather than a keyboard or touch screen for example. Speech would also be used for functionalities such as search.
Last but not the least, Arab News has also been playing a major advocacy role for Saudi women and for their empowerment.
This paper was the first to flash the news entitled “Women ready for top cabinet roles,” “Ministry for women empowerment urged,” and “Saudi demand laws to protect girls from domestic violence.”
These are some of the stories which testify to Arab News as a newspaper that readers, including decision-makers, look forward to at their breakfast table.
Pride: 4 decades of glorious journalism
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Today we are celebrating the 39th anniversary of Arab News, the first English-language newspaper in Saudi Arabia that was published in the early stages of the oil and economic boom. Arab News has gone through different stages to become the largest circulating English daily in the country and a pivotal source of information for diplomats, businessmen, businesswomen and international news agencies.
Arab News has been, and continues to be, the window for the outside world to witnesses the developments taking place in Saudi Arabia.
The newspaper maintains a high degree of professionalism, while its credibility and insistence on publishing the truth have made it popular among readers.
Arab News is, in itself, a school of English journalism in the Arab world and has impacted several English newspapers in Arab countries.
Journalists who were trained at Arab News have been promptly recruited by other newspapers and media organizations. This is a reflection of the professional aptitude and efficiency of its staff members.
We are celebrating this anniversary as a precursor of the relaunch of Arab News. We have initiated the relaunch process and we take this occasion as an opportunity to highlight the new changes some of which have been made and many more are under way.
The success achieved by Arab News can be attributed not only to its journalism and professional standards, but also thanks to the fact that it is part of the Saudi Research & Marketing Group, a reputable media company that combines all the essential components of the industry, including publications, press, a distribution firm and an advertising agency.
Arab News bore witness to major developments that have taken place in Saudi Arabia and other parts of the world. It presents news and views in a balanced manner, giving space for opposing opinions.
The parent group has given guidelines to its publications, instructing them to achieve a high level of professionalism and credibility.
The main reason for Arab News reaching new heights year after year is the contribution and guidance of the late Prince Ahmed bin Salman, Prince Faisal bin Salman (Madinah governor) and Prince Turki bin Salman during their respective periods of chairmanship of Saudi Research and Marketing Company (SRMG), the holding company of SRPC and certain other companies.
We, at Arab News, have constantly been translating this guideline into reality. I believe that our readers are the best judges to assess our progress and achievements.
I take this opportunity to express my appreciation for the great efforts made by previous chief editors by developing foolproof systems that helped the newspaper achieve remarkable success in the past.
The past chief editors have played a pivotal role in shaping what it is today. They are Ahmad Mahmoud, Muhammad Ali Hafiz, Zuhair Al-Faqeeh, Muhammad Al-Shibani, Khaled Almaeena, Farouk Luqman, Abdul Qader Tash and Abdulwahab Al-Faiz.
Arab News intends to bring about substantial change in terms of content and appearance on the basis of research studies and guidelines given by the Fox Group.
We have benefited greatly from the group’s views and suggestions. We have already begun implementing a development plan on the basis of these thoughts and ideas, following in the footsteps of successful newspapers in the world.
Establishing close contact with readers and understanding their interests and impressions have given the newspaper greater leverage in coming up with innovations, thus realizing the hopes and aspirations of readers.
Our editorial board has decided to carry on the development process gradually, incorporating new columns and sections. Our readers will have undoubtedly noticed those eye-catching changes during the past few weeks. We will continue this development process, taking our readers’ views and observations into consideration.
The opinion of readers and their proposals will no doubt further encourage us to make more innovative changes.
We will also work to further develop our digital media to achieve integration between our print and electronic editions. Interaction with our readers through social media has had a tremendous impact on getting our news and articles to millions around the world in no time.
We believe that the development process is a continuous journey.
We will continue to develop our print and electronic editions. We also intend to expand by publishing specialized magazines, supplements, new columns and sections.
The encouraging figures of the newspaper’s sales and ad revenues are a positive sign and will definitely encourage us to exert greater efforts to further enhance progress.
We are confident that whenever we develop our product and understand readers’ feedback, we come one step closer to success.
It is through our quest for excellence that we endeavor to achieve further success in the future and continue to live up to your expectations.
Mohammed Fahad Al-Harthi
Editor in Chief
After the start of the Saudi economic boom in 1973, there was an influx of expatriates into the Kingdom.
They came from many different countries and spoke different languages.
But the common language of communication between Saudi nationals and other nationalities was English.
At the same time, those expatriates were in great need of following local and international developments and most important, the news about their home countries.
In 1975, there were no quick means of communication like the Internet.
In 1975, Saudi Arabia had many papers that covered news, but, those were in Arabic.
So, there was a great need for an English-language newspaper in the Kingdom.
In addition, with massive development projects under way, people outside the country were very keen to read news articles about the Kingdom and the Saudi point of view.
So, in 1975, Mr. Hisham Ali Hafiz and Mohammed Ali Hafiz came up with the brilliant idea of launching the first English newspaper in Saudi Arabia. And their dream became a reality.
Today, Arab News is one of the 29 publications produced by Saudi Research & Publishing Company (SRPC), a subsidiary of Saudi Research & Marketing Group (SRMG).
The paper was an instant hit from day one. It was a window on the world.
While professionals were involved in the making of its track record, the newspaper provided a training environment for many Saudi nationals and others in the field of journalism.
Arab News was one of the best public relations platforms for Saudi Arabia during the biggest economic boom and it highlighted the nation’s rapid progress to the outside world.
The newspaper gave extensive and in-depth coverage to important events that happened in the Kingdom and the region.
An example is the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Extensive coverage was given by Arab News of both Desert Shield and Desert Storm operations. After the terrorist attack of 9/11, Arab News was rated as one of the most authentic sources of balanced news about the region and Saudi Arabia.
At the end of the day, Arab News was a vital news source for millions of expatriates who work, live and travel to the Kingdom.
It is being used as a source of information for many foreign missions and companies.
My association with this paper has been since its launch in 1975. I used to read Arab News while on vacations in the Kingdom between 1975 and 1983 when I was attending schools in the US.
From that day I wanted to be part of it, but, I only decided to write for this newspaper after my retirement from the Saudi Royal Navy a few years ago.
At that time, the editor in chief was Khaled Almaeena who is considered as one of the leading media managers not only in the Kingdom, but the whole Arab world.
After he left, the Arab News had Abdulwahab Al-Fayez as its editor in chief. Abdulawahab Al-Faiz gave the paper a different approach.
And later on Mohammed Fahad Al-Harthi became the editor-in-chief, an experienced journalist.
After I started writing for it, I was overwhelmed with joy of the wide scope of readers the newspaper has. I have seen many articles from Arab News being republished and translated in many countries.
In other words, the Arab News became the window for Saudi Arabia.
And in a few months after its foundation, Arab News became the main source of reference to many think tanks because of its extensive coverage and analysis of events.
The most positive impact that Arab News has on Saudi society and millions of expatriates is that it promotes open dialogue between citizens and foreigners.
The newspaper became the voice of millions of expatriates. It provided a platform for them to express their appreciation and grievances.
It helped in the solution of many cases of expatriates and the issues were initiated by writers and readers of Arab News.
Some of the expatriates were even given the chance of reading part of the newspaper, written in their native language.
And most importantly, Arab News helped in healing the homesickness of many expatriate workers when they arrive in the Kingdom for the first time.
Arab News was and still is a very successful newspaper even in the era of Twitter and Facebook.
The amount of responses received reflects its popularity among readers from all over the world.
Now, 39 years have passed since Arab News was founded and it is still adapting to the many changes that are affecting the media industry.
Just a few years ago, it launched state-of-the-art new facilities at its main headquarters in Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam.
We wish Arab News, the first English Saudi newspaper, and its staff many successes ahead.
Email: almulhimnavy@hotmail.com
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