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Al Jazirah (newspaper)

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Al Jazirah
TypeDaily newspaper
FormatBroadsheet
Owner(s)Mutlaq bin Abdullah
Founder(s)Abdullah Ibn Khamis
PublisherAl Jazirah Corporation for Press, Printing and Publishing
Editor-in-chiefKhalid bin Hamd Al Malik
Founded1960; 64 years ago (1960)
Political alignmentConservative and pro-Islamic; pro-government
LanguageArabic
HeadquartersRiyadh
Sister newspapersAl Masaiya
WebsiteAl Jazirah

Al Jazirah (Arabic: الجزيرة; The Island)[1] is a daily Arabic newspaper published in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Its sister newspaper is Al Masaiya, which is the only afternoon newspaper in the country with limited influence and readership.[2]

The paper is published in broadsheet format[3] with 48 pages, both colour and black and white contents.[4][5] It has more than thirty national and international branches.[6]

History and profile

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Al Jazirah was established in 1960 by Al Jazirah Corporation[5][7] which was owned by Abdullah Ibn Khamis.[8] It was started as a monthly publication.[8]

The chairman of the newspaper is Mutlaq bin Abdullah.[9] Othman Al Omeir who owns the liberal Arabic e-newspaper Elaph was a member of the paper's board of directors.[10] Furthermore, he was a sport correspondent in the early 1970s and later, London correspondent of the paper.[11] In 1977, Abdel Rahman Al Rashid was appointed editor-in-chief of the daily, who also served as a correspondent and as its Washington bureau chief from 1981 to 1985.[12] As of 2013 the editor-in-chief of the newspaper was Khalid bin Hamd Al Malik.[13][14]

Al Jazirah is considered by Anti-defamation League as very conservative as well as pro-Islamic.[1]

Circulation

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The paper is said to have a limited circulation and is not widespread in contrast to the other Saudi papers.[1] However, it is widely distributed in Saudi Arabia and in other Arab and European countries.[6] Global Investment House reported the market share of the paper as around 6.0% in November 2009.[15] In 2008, Al Jazirah became the first Saudi daily which reported its subscription numbers and sales.[16] It is also the first Saudi newspaper to announce its circulation figures quoting the National Distribution Company, a third party company owned equally by Saudi newspapers.[7] The paper underwent its first circulation audit in November 2009.[17]

Al Jazirah sold 4,500 copies in 1975.[18] The paper had a circulation of 85,000 copies in 2001.[19] The daily's circulation was given as 93,000 by Western media observers in 2002.[20] The estimated circulation of the paper in 2003 was 80,000 copies.[21] In 2007 the paper sold 110,000 copies according to the report by World Association of Newspapers.[22] The confirmed circulation of the paper was more than 131,000 copies in June 2008.[7][16] The circulation of the daily, which was confirmed by the BPA, was 125,415 copies for the last six months of 2011.[23] For the first six-month period of 2013 the paper sold 123,097 copies.[24]

Influence and awards

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It is argued that Al Jazirah is one of four leading Saudi daily newspapers along with Al Watan, Al Riyadh and Al Madina.[1]

The paper was awarded the best print prize in Asia by IFRA in Manila in 2007,[25] and its website was awarded the digital excellence award by the Saudi Ministry of Communications and Information Technology the same year.[16][26] In addition, the editors of the paper were invited by the World Association of Newspapers to its 2007 conference held in South Africa.[16] It was the first invitation of the association for a Saudi daily.[16]

Content

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Al Jazirah usually publishes reports and interviews concerning national, Arab and international issues. The paper is mostly known for its daily supplements on different topics such as economy, sports, culture, computers, medicine and science.[27] It also has a weekly supplement, Telecom and Digital World,[26] and carries cartoons.[6][28]

The Arab Press Network states that the paper extensively covers the activities of the ruling Saudi family and adopts an uncritical approach towards the government's policies on most of its 60 daily pages. It is further discussed that its columnists and the debate they initiate are both weak.[28] The minister of health Ghazi Al Gosaibi's poem written for King Fahd, entitled "A Pen Bought and Sold", was published on the front page of the paper in 1984.[29] In the poem, Al Gosaibi indirectly accused the ruling elites, including Prince Sultan, then minister of defense, of corruption and Saudi Oger of improper tender activities regarding the public hospitals.[30][31] King Fahd fired him after reading the poem.[31]

On 7 February 1999 Al Jazirah published a rare interview with a senior Saudi royal woman, Haya bint Saad Al Sudairi, who was one of King Abdulaziz's spouses, as part of the centennial celebrations of Riyadh's capture by him.[32] In the interview she said "whatever has been and will be said about the King [Abdulaziz] cannot reflect the [whole] truth."[32]

On 3 and 10 January 2002, a commentary entitled "Why Pork Is Forbidden?” by Muhammad bin Saad al Shuwayir was published in the paper. The author said that the transformation of the Jews into apes and pigs was a punishment "because monkeys and pigs were considered among the lowliest of animals, in nature and manners". He further stated that Jews always represent the human lowness, as expressed in Quran.[33] Al Jazirah was among the pro-Saudi publications such as Al-Hayat, Asharq Al-Awsat and Okaz which uncovered the position of Saudi Arabia concerning the potential invasion of Iraq by the United States in 2002. These media outlets advised Iraqi President Saddam Hussein either to abdicate or to commit suicide to avoid the American invasion.[34]

Jasser Abdulaziz al Jasser, a columnist of Al Jazirah, criticised Russia, especially Sergey Lavrov, for supporting Assad regime's Alawite minority rule over a Sunni majority in Syria on 24 March 2012. Al Jasser argued that the same tactics used by Russia to oppress Muslim majority in Chechnya, and the Caucasus were employed by Assad to oppress Sunni majority in Syria.[35] Al Jazirah's front page on 17 June 2012 was entirely in black and white, showing photographs of King Abdullah and Crown Prince Nayef, who died in Geneva on 16 June 2012.[36]

Controversy

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In September 2008, a reporter of the paper, Fahd Al Jukhaidib, wrote an article in which he described frequent power cuts in Qubba in northern Saudi Arabia. The article also informed the readers about a protest in front of the government-owned electricity company as a result of power cuts experienced. Upon publication of his article, he was sentenced in October 2008 to two months in prison and 50 lashes for inciting the public to protest against a series of electric power reductions. He was free on appeal in 2009.[37]

Innovation

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Al Jazirah seems not to be conservative in terms of using technology to provide advanced technological platforms to its readers. The paper is the first Saudi daily in launching online website that was formed in 1996.[7][38] It is also the first daily paper in the Middle East to launch mobile phone application which had more than 50,000 users in 2013.[5] In addition to these technological innovations, Al Jazirah is also innovative in launching first online women's daily covering female achievements in Saudi Arabia, latest developments and other topics related to women.[9]

In 2013, the daily cooperated with Goss International for press upgrade, refurbishment and relocation venture.[5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Arab media review. Anti-semitism and other trends" (PDF). Anti-Defamation League. July–December 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 January 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  2. ^ Anders Jerichow (1998). The Saudi File: People, Power, Politics. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 209. ISBN 978-0-312-21520-0.
  3. ^ "Saudi publisher Al-Jazirah embarks on vast Goss Lifetime Support project". Goss International. 19 March 2013. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  4. ^ Anthony Shoult (2006). Doing Business with Saudi Arabia. GMB Publishing Ltd. p. 277. ISBN 978-1-905050-67-3.
  5. ^ a b c d "Saudi publisher Al-Jazirah embarks on vast Goss Lifetime Support project to boost print capacity and flexibility". WAN IFRA. 19 March 2013. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
  6. ^ a b c "The press in Saudi Arabia". BBC News. 13 December 2006. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
  7. ^ a b c d "Al Jazirah Company". Al Jazirah Company. Archived from the original on 1 May 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  8. ^ a b Terki Awad (2010). The Saudi press and the Internet: how Saudi journalists and media decision makers at the Ministry of Culture and Information evaluate censorship in the presence of the Internet as a news and information medium (PhD thesis). University of Sheffield. p. 25.
  9. ^ a b "Saudi Arabia to have first online 'women' daily". Emirates 7/24. 27 September 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  10. ^ Sam Morris (17 January 2012). "New Nomination List for 2012 Media Awards". The Next Century Foundation. Archived from the original on 31 May 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  11. ^ "UAE media men win awards". Karma Tourism. 27 April 2007. Archived from the original on 8 August 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  12. ^ "Abdel Rahman Al Rashid". The Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research. Archived from the original on 26 September 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  13. ^ " "Saudi Newspapers Editors-in-Chief to SANA: Syrian-Saudi summit gave a strong momentum for developing bilateral relations". Syrian Arab News Agency. 8 October 2009. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
  14. ^ Who's Who in the Arab World 2007-2008. Beirut: Publitec Publications. 2007. p. 71. ISBN 978-3-11-093004-7.
  15. ^ "Saudi Research and Marketing Group" (PDF). Global Investment House. November 2009. Retrieved 28 May 2012.
  16. ^ a b c d e Moussa Ahmad (6 July 2008). "For the first time in Saudi press history Al-jazirah newspaper announces subscription, sales numbers". Business Intelligence. Saudi Arabia. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
  17. ^ "Arab Media Outlook 2009-2013" (PDF). Dubai Press Club. 2010. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
  18. ^ Bilal Ahmad Kutty (1997). Saudi Arabia under King Faisal (PDF) (PhD thesis). Aligarh Muslim University. p. 140.
  19. ^ "World Press Trends" (PDF). World Association of Newspapers. Paris. 2004. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  20. ^ "Saudi Arabia". Press References. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  21. ^ William A. Rugh (2004). Arab Mass Media: Newspapers, Radio, and Television in Arab Politics. Westport, CT, London: Praeger. p. 61. ISBN 978-0-275-98212-6.
  22. ^ "Saudi Arabia. Media market description" (PDF). World Association of Newspapers. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  23. ^ "BPA Worldwide 2nd for the six-month period ended 31 December 2011 Concurrent Release Data for the Middle East" (PDF). BPA Worldwide. 23 May 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
  24. ^ "BPA Worldwide Concurrent Release Data for the Middle East" (PDF). BPA Worldwide. 31 October 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
  25. ^ "Saudi daily discloses circulation figures". Trade Arabia. 6 July 2008. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
  26. ^ a b "Al Jazirah Newspaper website is the best". Topix. 11 November 2007. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
  27. ^ "Al Jazeera". Cityscape. Archived from the original on 21 May 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
  28. ^ a b "Saudi Arabia". The Arab Press Network. Archived from the original on 28 May 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
  29. ^ Hanna Labonté (23 August 2010). "Saudi Man of Letters and Cautious Reformer". Qantara.de. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  30. ^ Mordechai Abir (April 1987). "The Consolidation of the Ruling Class and the New Elites in Saudi Arabia". Middle Eastern Studies. 23 (2): 150–171. doi:10.1080/00263208708700697. JSTOR 4283169.
  31. ^ a b "Saudi reformer courted the king's attention with a poem". Brisbane Times. 30 August 2010. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  32. ^ a b Elie Podeh (2011). The Politics of National Celebrations in the Arab Middle East. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 279–280. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511734748. ISBN 978-1107684997.
  33. ^ "Arab countries 2003-4". Stephen Roth Institute. 2003. Archived from the original on 13 May 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  34. ^ Louisa Dris-Aït-Hamadouche; Yahia H. Zoubir (2007). "The US-Saudi relationship and the Iraq War: The Dialectics of a dependent alliance". Journal of Third World Studies. 24 (1): 115. JSTOR 45194355.
  35. ^ H. Varulkar (4 April 2012). "Rising Tensions between Saudi Arabia, Russia on Backdrop of Syrian Crisis". MEMRI. No. 820. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  36. ^ Angus McDowall (17 June 2012). "Saudi king to bury Crown Prince, find successor". Reuters. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  37. ^ "Attacks on the Press 2010: Middle East and North Africa Developments". Committee to Protect Journalists (CPR). February 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
  38. ^ Fayez A. Alshehri (July 2000). Electronic newspapers on the Internet (PDF) (PhD thesis). University of Sheffield.
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Official website

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