Al Madina (newspaper)

Al Madina
المدينة
Type Daily newspaper
Owner(s) Al Madina Establishment for Press and Publishing
Founder(s) Al Madina Establishment for Press and Publishing
Publisher Al Madina Establishment for Press and Publishing
Editor-in-chief Fahd Al Aqran
Founded 8 April 1937 (1937-04-08)
Language Arabic
Headquarters Jeddah
Circulation 185,000 (2016)
Sister newspapers Al Wasseet Weekly Free Distribution "Assayaraat magazine " "Tashieed Wa Momaar Magazine "
Website www.al-madina.com

Al Madina is an Arabic language newspaper published in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The paper is one of the oldest newspapers published in the country.[1][2]

History

Al Madina was founded as a weekly publication under the name of Al Madinah al Manawarah (Madinah the Radiant in English) in the 1930s.[3] Specifically, the paper was launched as a weekly newspaper by the Hafiz brothers,[4] namely Othman and Ali Hafiz, on 8 April 1937.[5] The founders of the paper were Hisham Hafiz's uncles.

Later, it became semi-weekly. Its publication was ceased during World War II and was resumed following the war.[3][6] And it was renamed as Al Madinah.[3] The headquarters of the paper was moved to Jeddah in the early 1960s.[5] The current printing sites of Al Madina are Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam.[5] The paper has also offices in Dubai and Cairo in addition to 18 branches in Saudi Arabia.[7]

At the beginning of the 2000s Al Madina had a circulation of 46,370 copies.[8] In 2001 its circulation was 60,000 copies.[9] The estimated circulation of the paper in 2003 was 46,000 copies.[2] The circulation of the paper increased to 60,000 copies in 2007.[1]

Political approach and contents

Al Madina is pro-government, its one of the most well known Saudi newspapers.[10] Its every issue begins with the invocation of the name of the God.[11]

Although Al Madina is considered to be a pro-government paper, it has a critical coverage of non-political local news such as social, health and educational issues. Al Madina has relatively critical columnists, though not when reporting or commenting on national politics.[12] In a similar vein, some modernist or reformist columns have been published in Al Madina. For instance, writing for Al Madina in April 2010, Basma bint Saud said she could not come across Qur'anic or Islamic historical basis for a state institution to promote virtue and prevent vice, and she further argued that the arrests and beatings by religious policemen lead to incorrect impression about Islam.[13]

On August 2, 2017 the newspaper criticized many Arab states that “maintain relations with Israel but deny it, [although] these ties can hardly be denied given the existence of embassies and mutual visits in full view.” It went on to call on Arab nations to end their hypocrisy in which they “maintain relations” with Israel but “don’t want anybody to know about them.”[14][15]

Prominent columnists

Hisham Hafiz and Khaled Almaeena were the former chief editors. Mohammad Ali Hafiz also served in the post between 1961 and 1964.[16] Fahd Al Aqran is the current editor-in-chief.[17] The general manager of Al Arabiya TV, Abdulrahman Al Rashed is one of the paper's senior columnists.[18]

Status and awards

The publishing house Al Madina Press that is the owner and publisher of the paper is one of the most prominent companies in Saudi Arabia.[1][7] Al Madinah was awarded two major prizes in Saudi Arabia in 2010: Makkah Prize of Distinction and Asir Prize "Al Muftaha".[19]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Saudi Arabia. Media market description" (PDF). World Association of Newspapers. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  2. 1 2 William A. Rugh (2004). Arab Mass Media: Newspapers, Radio, and Television in Arab Politics. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 59. ISBN 978-0-275-98212-6. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 David E. Long (2005). Culture and customs of Saudi Arabia. Greenwood Publishing Group. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  4. ↑ Aarti Nagraj (26 March 2013). "Revealed: 10 Oldest Newspapers In The GCC". Gulf Business. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 "Company History". Almadina Printing and Publishing Company. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
  6. ↑ Shobaili, Abdulrahman S. (1971). "An historical and analytical study of broadcasting and press in Saudi Arabia" (PDF). Ohio State University. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
  7. 1 2 Hisham Zahid (May 2006). "ProCurve Networking by HP is good news for prominent Saudi media group" (PDF). ProCurve Networking. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  8. ↑ "Saudi Arabia Press". Press Reference. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  9. ↑ "World Press Trends" (PDF). World Association of Newspapers. Paris. 2004. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  10. ↑ "The Saudi Press: Prolifes of individual papers". Wikileaks. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  11. ↑ Ochsenwald, William (August 1981). "Saudi Arabia and the Islamic revival" (PDF). International Journal of Middle East Studies. 13 (3): 271–286. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
  12. ↑ "Saudi Arabia". Arab Press Network. Archived from the original on 28 May 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  13. ↑ "Saudi Arabia. Looser Rein, Uncertain Gain" (PDF). Human Rights Watch. 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
  14. ↑ https://www.algemeiner.com/2017/08/10/saudi-columnist-slams-arab-states-hypocrisy-on-israel-ties/
  15. ↑ https://www.memri.org/reports/arab-countries-stop-hiding-relations-with-israel
  16. ↑ Who's Who in the Arab World 2007-2008. Walter de Gruyter and Publitec Publications. 1 January 2007. p. 355. ISBN 978-3-11-093004-7. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  17. ↑ Baqzai, Amal (29 March 2012). "The trouble with official spokespersons in Saudi Arabia". Asharq Alawsat. Archived from the original on 10 May 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  18. ↑ "Speakers". International Public Relations Association - Gulf Chapter (IPRA-GC). 2012. Archived from the original on 11 May 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2012.
  19. ↑ "Al Madina". Folded Up. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
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