Al Madina (newspaper)

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This article is about Saudi daily newspaper published in Jeddah. For Israeli-Arab weekly, see Al-Madina (Israeli 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
Managing editors Ebtehaj Miniawy (for women section)[1]
Founded 8 April 1937; 87 years ago (1937-04-08)
Language Arabic
Headquarters Jeddah
Circulation 60,000 (2007)
Sister newspapers Al Wasseet
Website Official website

Al Madina is an Arabic language newspaper published in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The paper is one of the oldest newspapers published in the country.[2][3]

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.[4] Specifically, the paper was launched as a weekly newspaper by the Hafiz brothers,[5] namely Othman and Ali Hafiz, on 8 April 1937.[6] 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.[4][7] And it was renamed as Al Madinah.[4] The headquarters of the paper was moved to Jeddah in the early 1960s.[6] The current printing sites of Al Madina are Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam.[6] The paper has also offices in Dubai and Cairo in addition to 18 branches in Saudi Arabia.[8]

At the beginning of the 2000s Al Madina had a circulation of 46,370 copies.[9] In 2001 its circulation was 60,000 copies.[10] The estimated circulation of the paper in 2003 was 46,000 copies.[3] The circulation of the paper increased to 60,000 copies in 2007.[2]

Political approach and contents

Al Madina is pro-government and more religious than other Saudi papers.[11] Its every issue begins with the invocation of the name of the God.[12]

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.[13] 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.[14]

Prominent columnists

Hisham Hafiz and Khaled Almaeena were the former chief editors. Mohammad Ali Hafiz also served in the post between 1961 and 1964.[15] Fahd Al Aqran is the current editor-in-chief.[16] The general manager of Al Arabiya TV, Abdulrahman Al Rashed is one of the paper's senior columnists.[17]

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.[2][8] Al Madinah was awarded two major prizes in Saudi Arabia in 2010: Makkah Prize of Distinction and Asir Prize "Al Muftaha".[18]

See also

List of newspapers in Saudi Arabia

References

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