Saudi Television must change: Al-Khodairy

Saudi Television is not a charitable society, said Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Al-Khodairy on Sunday, demanding quality TV programs to change the perception about the state television.
In his first meeting with TV program producers in Riyadh in his new role, Al-Khodairy said: “We want total change in culture, media and education. Ours is a ministry of production and not that of social insurance.”
Al-Khodairy presented his vision to strengthen the Saudi Television. “Forget about the past. Let’s us focus on the future.”
He told producers from different parts of the Kingdom to come up with a comprehensive view to develop Saudi Television. He also called for joint work among producers to ensure quality and creativity.
Al-Khodairy was impressed by the proposals made by young Saudi producers. He urged the producers’ society to collect ideas and proposals from all its members to draw a new roadmap for the development of Saudi Television.
Badr Almotawa, a Saudi analyst, welcomed Al-Khodairy’s strategic move to develop Saudi Television and called upon the minister to adopt practical steps to realize his vision. He said Saudis are not happy with the state television’s performance, as most of its programs are unimpressive.
“The minister has given a clear message to employees and beneficiaries of Saudi Television. I hope those who work for the television including producers would take it seriously and exert efforts to bring about qualitative improvement,” Almotawa told Arab News.
He also urged the ministry to improve the content of the Qur’an and Sunnah channels, meeting the requirements of the country’s expatriate community as well as Muslims all over the world.
He expressed optimism that Al-Khodairy would change the television’s pathetic situation.