Al Madina (newspaper)

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This article is about the Saudi daily newspaper published in Jeddah. For other uses, see Medina (disambiguation).

Al Madina
TypeDaily newspaper
Owner(s)Al Madina Establishment for Press and Publishing
Founder(s)Al Madina Establishment for Press and Publishing
PublisherAl Madina Establishment for Press and Publishing
Founded8 April 1937; 87 years ago (1937-04-08)
LanguageArabic
HeadquartersJeddah
CountrySaudi Arabia
Websitewww.al-madina.com

Al Madina (Arabic: المدينة, lit. 'The City') is a newspaper published in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The paper is one of the oldest newspapers published in the country.[1][2]

History[edit]

Al Madina was founded as a weekly publication, under the name of Al Madinah al Munawarah (Arabic: Madinah the Radiant) by Hisham Hafiz's uncles, Othman and Ali Hafiz,[3] as a weekly newspaper.[4][5] Its first issue appeared on 8 April 1937.[6] Later, it became semi-weekly.

The publication of the paper was ceased during World War II which resumed following the war.[3][7] The paper was renamed as Al Madinah in 1958,[3][8] and its headquarters was moved to Jeddah in the early 1960s.[6] On 18 January 1964 Al Madinah was banned by the Lebanese Information Ministry due to its reports which were considered to be harmful to Lebanon's reputation and national consciousness.[9]

It has offices in Dubai and Cairo, in addition to 18 branches inside Saudi Arabia.[10] In 2001, its circulation was 60,000 copies.[11] The estimated circulation of the paper in 2003 was 46,000 copies.[2]

Political approach and contents[edit]

Every issue of Al Madina begins with the invocation of the name of the God.[8] It is one of the pro-government newspapers in the country. However, Al Madina publishes critical coverage of non-political local news, such as social, health and educational issues and has relatively critical columnists, despite restraint in reporting or commenting on national politics.[12] Some modernist or reformist columns have been published in the paper. For instance, writing in April 2010, Basma bint Saud said that she could not find Qur'anic, or other Islamic historical, basis for a state institution undertaking to promote virtue and prevent vice and that the arrests and beatings by religious policemen contribute to incorrect impressions about Islam.[13]

Al Madina's article about Avicenna dated 1964 caused a diplomatic crisis between Saudi Arabia and the Imperial Iran due to the fact that he was described by the paper as an Arab thinker.[14] On 2 August 2017 the newspaper criticized many Arab states said to maintain relations with Israel but deny it, [although] these ties can hardly be denied given the existence of embassies, and of 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".[15][16]

Prominent columnists[edit]

Hisham Hafiz and Khaled Almaeena served as the chief editors. Mohammad Ali Hafiz also served in the post between 1961 and 1964.[17] Another former editor-in-chief of the paper is Ghalib Hamza Abulfaraj, a Saudi businessman.[17] As of 2012 Fahd Al Aqran was the editor-in-chief.[18] As of 2012, the general manager of Al Arabiya TV, Abdulrahman Al Rashed was one of the paper's senior columnists.[19]

Status and awards[edit]

The publishing house Al Madina Press, which is the owner and publisher of the paper, is one of the most prominent companies in Saudi Arabia.[1][10] Al Madinah was awarded two major prizes in Saudi Arabia in 2010: Makkah Prize of Distinction and Asir Prize "Al Muftaha".[20]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "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. ^ a b William A. Rugh (2004). Arab Mass Media: Newspapers, Radio, and Television in Arab Politics. Westport, CT; London: Praeger. p. 59. ISBN 978-0-275-98212-6.
  3. ^ a b c David E. Long (2005). Culture and customs of Saudi Arabia. Westport, CT; London: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 84. ISBN 978-0313320217.
  4. ^ Aarti Nagraj (26 March 2013). "Revealed: 10 Oldest Newspapers in the GCC". Gulf Business. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ a b "Company History". Al Madina Printing and Publishing Company. Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
  7. ^ Abdulrahman S. Shobaili (1971). An historical and analytical study of broadcasting and press in Saudi Arabia (PhD thesis). Ohio State University. ISBN 9798658527567. ProQuest 302622210.
  8. ^ a b William L. Ochsenwald (August 1981). "Saudi Arabia and The Islamic Revival". International Journal of Middle East Studies. 13 (3): 280. doi:10.1017/S0020743800053423. JSTOR 162837. S2CID 159997594.
  9. ^ "Chronology December 16, 1963 - March 15, 1964". The Middle East Journal. 18 (2): 218. 1964. JSTOR 4323704.
  10. ^ a b Hisham Zahid (May 2006). "ProCurve Networking by HP is good news for prominent Saudi media group" (PDF). ProCurve Networking. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 January 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  11. ^ "World Press Trends" (PDF). World Association of Newspapers. Paris. 2004. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  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. ^ Banafsheh Keynoush (2016). Saudi Arabia and Iran. Friends or Foes?. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 79. doi:10.1007/978-1-137-58939-2. ISBN 978-1-137-58939-2. S2CID 156413085.
  15. ^ "Saudi Columnist Slams Arab States' Hypocrisy on Israel Ties". Algemeiner.com.
  16. ^ "Saudi Writer: Arab States Should Stop Hiding Their Relations With Israel". MEMRI.
  17. ^ a b Publitec Publications, ed. (2007). Who's Who in the Arab World 2007-2008 (18th ed.). Beirut: Publitec. pp. 48, 355. doi:10.1515/9783110930047. ISBN 9783598077357.
  18. ^ Amal Baqzai (29 March 2012). "The trouble with official spokespersons in Saudi Arabia". Asharq Al-Awsat. Archived from the original on 10 May 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  19. ^ "Speakers". International Public Relations Association - Gulf Chapter (IPRA-GC). 2012. Archived from the original on 11 May 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2012.
  20. ^ "Al Madina". Folded Up. Retrieved 3 June 2012.

External links[edit]

Official website

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