“FOR a country reputed to be dry and dull, Saudi Arabia is surprisingly awash with news. The good old broadsheet newspaper, dying out elsewhere, thrives. The kingdom boasts more than a dozen fiercely competing national dailies. The newest, called Mecca after the holy city where it is published, was launched this month. Not so long ago it was rare to find the front page of a Saudi paper unadorned with a picture of His Majesty King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Places, or at least of some lesser prince with an equally quaint title. Now, in the year 1435 by the Muslim calendar, the chronicling of princely doings, though still de rigueur, tends to be relegated to the inside pages, above advertisements promising cheap, reliable Asian workers or promoting scientifically proven erectile enhancement………………….”
Also sprach the Economist, a fatwa if you will. I wrote only last week that the once venerable The Economist is beginning to act/read/sound more and more like it has been bought by some Saudi princes. That it was now like Alarabiya, Asharq Alawsat (Crown Prince Salman), Al-Hayat (Prince Khalid Bin Sultan), and others owned by Prince Al-Waleed and many other potentates and their retainers.
Now The Economist asserts and seeks to prove that Saudi media is lively and thriving. Nay, it is almost wild and free (which reminds me of the naughty joke about the nervous bishop, the crazy nun, and her wild burro). Maybe fewer photos of the princes on the front page. That is probably because these are unstable times: they are not sure which prince is ascendant and which is on the way down each day. Besides, they are owned either by the princes or their partners, and they have rigorous pre-publication self-and-other censorship. It is like holding a gun to a thief’s head and calling him honest for not robbing the bank.
Cheers
mhg
