Media System in Saudi Arabi

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the largest Arab country of the Middle East. Saudi Arabia is located on the southeast part of the Asian continent, and can be located at 2500N and 4500E. It is estimated to have a land area of 2,240,000 sq km. Media system of Saudi Arabia is different as compared to the media system of the US or other developed countries of the world. In Saudi Arabia the royal decree and government owns the media sector in this part of the world. Here the foreign journalists have a difficult time as there is considerable restriction of movement and information. The media system of Saudi Arabia, like that of every country, is rooted in its particular history.

Print Media

Although the print media in Saudi Arabia is privately owned, the monarchy's control over what may be published is totally pervasive. There are no formal licensing procedures instead; all newspapers and periodicals in Saudi are created by royal decree.   Newspapers are privately owned but are subsidized and regulated by the government. Newspapers may only be created by royal decree. Because the Basic Law states that the media’s role is to educate and inspire national unity, most popular grievances go unreported in Saudi Arabia. In recent years, however, the government has allowed some critical stories to be written by selected journalists. Although self-censorship continues to be a method of self-preservation for the nation’s media outlets, government censorship seems to be decreasing, especially on journalistic inquiries into crime and terrorism.

  The first newspaper of Saudi Arabia was “al Hijaz” which was published in 1908. There are 13 dailies which are being published in both English and Arabic language and 200 non dailies. Ar-Riyadh, Al-Jazirah and Riyadh Daily are the leading papers in Saudi Arabia. In 1992 a total of ten daily newspapers, all privately owned, were published in Saudi Arabia. Seven were printed in Arabic and three in English. The most widely read Arabic dailies were Ar Riyadh (circulation estimated at 140,000), published in Riyadh, and Al Jazirah (circulation 90,000), and published in Jiddah. Smaller-circulation papers were published in both cities. The cities of Ad Dammam, Mecca, and Medina also had daily newspapers. All three English-language dailies were published in Jiddah. The largest of these was Arab News with an estimated circulation of 110,000. The smaller Saudi Gazette (circulation 17,400) and Saudi News (circulation 5,000) were specialized publications that emphasized economic news and press releases from the state-owned Saudi Press Agency. In addition to the daily papers, there were fourteen weekly magazines, of which eight were published in Arabic and six in English, and twelve periodicals.

The press in Saudi Arabia

    * Al-Watan - Abha-based daily

    * Al-Riyadh - Riyadh-based daily

    * Okaz - Jeddah-based daily

    * Al-Jazirah - Riyadh-based daily

    * Al-Sharq al-Awsat - Riyadh-based daily, English-language web pages

    * Arab News - Jeddah-based English-language daily

    * Saudi Gazette - Jeddah-based English-language daily

Broadcasting

The government owns and operates the radio and television companies in Saudi Arabia. Censors remove objectionable material deemed offensive by the standards of Islam, including references to pork, Christianity and other religions, alcohol, and sex. Saudi citizens, however, have greater access to previously banned television broadcasts than ever before. According to the U.S. State Department’s annual report on human rights practices, several million Saudis have satellite dishes that allow them to receive foreign television stations. There are 76 Radio stations in Saudi but only one is running successfully which is Saudi Radio. Apart from radio stations there are 146 TV station in Saudi. Saudi TV is a state run TV station which operates 4 networks, including news network Al-Zkhbariya. Recent estimates indicate there a range of four to 6.5 million radio receivers and four to five million television sets in use in Saudi. Saudi Arabia has one of the most tightly controlled media environments in the Middle East. For example, Private TV stations cannot operate from Saudi soil but the country is a major market for pan-Arab satellite and pay-TV. Saudi investors are behind some of these networks, which include Dubai-based MBC and Bahrain-based orbit. The state-run Broadcasting service of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia (BSKSA) operates almost all broad casting outlets.

Internet service In Saudi Arabia

Internet connection has been available in Saudi since 1994 but access was initially restricted to state academic, medical, and research institutions. Saudi citizens and residents with computers, modems and money were able to launch web sites on foreign servers and to purchase unauthorized Internet access through dial-up service to foreign ISPs in Bahrain, UAE, Europe and the United States. The long distance charges for the telephone calls to the foreign ISPs were, in United States dollars, $0.60-0.80 per minute to Bahrain and $1.70-$2.10 per minute to the U.S. and Europe. According to a recent survey done by Internet World Stats.com, there were 9.8 million internet users by June 2010. A comprehensive filtering regime is said to block some 400000 sites including those that tackle political social or religious issues. There are about 10000blogs in the kingdom.

Additionally, government censorship of the Internet has proved difficult. Although government officials monitor Internet sites for material deemed pornographic, politically offensive, or anti-Islamic, Saudi Internet users can gain access to most sites by simply connecting through an alternative server. The government recently created an appeals process by which citizens can request that particular websites be unblocked.

Ad Agency

Talaween Ad Agency and Esam Zainalabedin Ad Agency are the two leading Ad agencies in Saudi Arabia. Talaween Advertising Agency in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia distinct with its long experiences in the field of advertising for more than ten years, it occupies the leading position in this field through capabilities to be in touch with the consumer wherever it is available by promoting the products through adopting fast and easy ads methods.

Film and Music Industry

Saudi Music Festival in 2003

The film and music industry in Saudi Arabia is comparatively small than other Asian countries. Here only two feature films and one documentary film is released in an average. As Saudi Arabia is a very conservative country they don’t give importance to the Film industry. Keifal-Hal is Saudi Arabia’s first big budget film, which was shot in UAE and the film was lead by actress Jordanian who is the most known celebrity actress in Saudi. Some of the popular Saudi Films are Cinema 500km (2006), Dhilal alsam (2004), Keifal-Hal (2006), Three Men and women (2008). Traditional fundamentalists of Saudi Arabia believe music is sinful, but in major cities the music industry is growing by leaps and bounds. Original music is mostly done with simple rhythms because instruments were not always allowed to be used. The current music is influenced by western and traditional music such as pop music. Saudi’s most popular pop star is Abdul-Majeed Abdullah. Another famous singer, and originator of the Saudi National Anthem, is Tariq Abdul Haqim. Another influence on Saudi music is Egyptian pop music. Overall, Saudi Arabian music is influenced by MTW and VH1. Saudi traditional music is quite limited, however. The migratory lifestyle of the Bedouin militated against carrying excess baggage, including musical instruments. Simple rhythms, with the beat counted by clapping or striking together everyday implements formed the basis of the music. Instruments like the double-reeded Ney or the stringed rababa were sometimes used, after being obtained in cosmopolitan cities such as Basra, Baghdad, and Jeddah. Samri is a popular traditional music and dance. Rock music is very popular in Saudi. Some of the popular bands are The AccoLade, Sandstoned, Inversion, Immortal Pain, Rivers Running Red, etc