ANTECEDENTES

Prior to the establishment of the current state of Saudi Arabia, the primary official version of mass media was the printed one, which appeared in 1924 during the process of unifying the Kingdom. The weekly journal Umm Al-Qura was launched from Makkah to be the first official journal owned by the government and aimed to publish the state’s decisions, and governmental statements that relate to the Saudi citizens: it continues to be published today. After the establishment, Sawt Al-Hijaz was the first non-official journal that was launched in April 1932 from Makkah; publishing twice a week and owned by two independent persons (KingSaud.org, no date). Ever since, other printed journals continued to appear respectively, for instance: Al-Bilad in 1932, Al Manhal and Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah in 1936, Al- Yamamah in 1953, Al-Fajr Al-Jadeed and Akhbar Al-Dhahran in 1955. Some discontinued while others continued to be published under the same or different names. Presently, there are more than 15 printed journals that are well known in Saudi Arabia. Some are issued in Arabic (e.g. Okaz, Al-Madinah, Al-Watan, Al-Jazirah), while others are issued in English (e.g. Arab

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News, Saudi Gazette). After the internet revolution, all these printed journals designed their own websites where they offered their audience easier access and a better opportunity to interact with the editorial team or other readers through comment spaces.

However, another turning point in the history of the Saudi media emerged in radio broadcasting. With a royal decree in 1949 that aimed to connect the Kingdom with the outside world and disseminate knowledge and information in the country, the official Saudi Radio was first broadcast from Jeddah. Another radio station broadcast from Makkah in 1952 and another from Riyadh in 1965 (Ministry of Culture and Information, 2016). Today, there are six official Saudi radio stations: Neda Al-Islam, Al-Quran Al-Kreem, Saudia radio, Riyadh radio, Jeddah radio and the international Saudi radios. There are other more popular FM radio stations, such as MBC FM, Rotana FM and Alif Alif FM. The unofficial FM radio stations are widely heard and attract large audiences for their renewed, modern and unconventional content; conversely, the official radio stations are less popular due to their repetitive traditional content.

In 1965, the television broadcasting started primarily from Riyadh and Jeddah; thus representing another important development in the Saudi media. The Saudi official channel was first introduced as the only TV channel to broadcast. Two years later, in 1967, the TV broadcasting involved Makkah and Taif, followed by Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah in the same year, Qassim and Dammam in 1968, Baha and Hail in 1969 and so on, until TV covered all regions of the Kingdom in 1971. ‘Saudi Channel 2’ was added in 1983; broadcasting in English and targeting non-Arab residents. During the prevalence of satellite TV channels in Saudi Arabia in the early 1990s, many people started watching non-official TV channels that attracted audiences from different social classes; because of the wide spectrum of choices they provide and probably the unprecedented openness they offer. However, many of those network channels were owned predominantly by Saudi tycoons (e.g. ART by Saleh Kamel, MBC by Waleed Al-Ibrahim) or members of the Saudi royal family (e.g. Rotana by prince Al- Waleed bin Talal). According to some western writers (Cochrane, 2007; Hammond, 2007; Neate, 2010), the Saudi strategy of dealing with media changed following the Gulf War in 1990; unlike before, Saudis now own and buy newspapers and other media institutions that publish or broadcast to all countries in the region, which formed a powerful Saudi media empire. In his book, Al-Jazeera: How Arab TV News Challenged the World, Hugh Miles

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indicates that between 40% to 70% of what is spent on advertising on other non-Saudi channels in the region comes from Saudi Arabia; thereby, imposing its prestige media and leaving these channels subject to its media pressure (2006). After a period, it was realised that these network channels are an extension of the official channels, enhancing the construction of the same image and the formation of the same governmental discourse. Currently, six channels comprise official Saudi TV, covering national, political, religious and cultural interests; in addition to sports and childrens’ channels.

In terms of the history of Saudi media, it is important to note that the press generally, whether governmental or not, were under the supervision of the State since the establishment of the‘General Directorate of Press and Publication’ in 1955. The radio commission was integrated within this directorate and its main role was; “The organization, coordination and supervision over all means of publication in the Kingdom” (King Saud Foundation, 2012). This enabled greater systematic governmental control and central censorship over the content delivered to the audience. Years later, as a result of the growing interest and responsibilities in media locally and internationally, the general directorate became the Ministry of Information in 1962. Later, like other mass media, when TV broadcasting begun, it was under the supervision of the same Ministry, which became the current Ministry of Culture and Information in 2003.

Overall, the Saudi journalistic experience produced for society a special journalistic narrative commensurate with the political traditions of the state, formed a specific language that has limits of acceptable critique as a convention among journalists. Although the public opinion is that mass media is controlled by the state and censored strictly, Saudi media succeeded in creating a traditional governmental mentality and a unified national official narrative among both elites and the public. Radio broadcasting played a historic role in the formation of this narrative, followed by TV. The latter continues to be regarded as the most influential medium in the formation of public mentality since the 1970s.