On Jan. 4, 2013, as the newspaper was being put to bed, the newly-appointed editor in chief scrutinized the Front Page. The lead story was about Iraq, another on the Palestinian issue, and an anchor about American employment data. The rest of the Front Page was taken up by stories about Patriot missiles in Turkey and Haj and Umrah revenues.
Editor in Chief Mohammed Fahad Al-Harthi was visibly unhappy. He called in all the senior editors and reporters and issued a sharp diktat: “We need to focus on what’s happening here and now, in this country. We are this country’s window to the world. We want the Arab News Front Page to reflect on events happening in Saudi Arabia.”
That was the start of what we now call in the newsroom the “new look, new direction.” That was the last day we had a Front Page dominated by international stories. Since then, as a rule, the Arab News Front Page has had mostly local stories, a decision warmly welcomed by our readers and begrudgingly followed by our competitors.
The reasoning is simple. If an Indian reader wants to know what is happening in his country, he would not wait for Arab News to tell him. He would instead log on to an Indian newspaper’s website or tune into Indian television channels.
This applies to Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi, and all other expatriates. When they open an edition of Arab News, they want to have news about what is happening around them, how the new labor laws are going to affect them and their families, and information on inflation and the impact on their finances. And most important, they want to know what Saudi men, women and young people think about events and issues in the own country and abroad.
There are several important areas all expatriates want to know about: What kind of developments are taking place inside Saudi Arabia? How will those massive projects in Makkah and Madinah make life easier for Umrah and Haj pilgrims? When will the trains start running between the various cities? They want to know about laws and regulations affecting the education of their children at community schools, and how teachers can hold onto their jobs in the face of the new Nitaqat rules.
Arab News had to reorient its thinking. In the past, we took ourselves very seriously as an international newspaper. Our local coverage was confined to Page 2, or at the most Page 3. The primary focus was on stories generated by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the country’s official news agency. There was all the news about ministries and government departments. And then we had news about community events: Filipinos and Sri Lankans had their own labor and other issues, while Pakistanis and Indians had their poetry gatherings and reports about school management committees. This all changed drastically under the new philosophy of thinking globally and focusing locally.
Under this new orientation, the newspaper expanded its local coverage. The number of pages was justifiably increased. More reporters were hired. More translators and copy editors were pressed into service to get the most out of what the local Arabic newspapers were reporting. There was a constant effort to get follow-up stories being reported in local media.
Increasingly, Arab News started competing with local Arabic newspapers. As a result of this sustained focus on local issues, Arab News remained the benchmark for Nitaqat stories. There was nothing that we did not cover. The issues that diplomats faced at the Passport Department to get their nationals fingerprinted were reported on our Front Page. The problems that illegal workers faced on their way back home were widely highlighted. The response from the government and other agencies was also highlighted with a view to keeping our expatriate readers informed about the latest rules and regulations.
At a meeting in Jeddah of various diplomats at the height of the Nitaqat campaign, the one common refrain about all the issues under discussion was: “This has been reported by Arab News, that was reported by Arab News.” We remained the primary source of news for diplomats and ordinary readers alike. During the period covering the Nitaqat system’s enforcement, our sales jumped dramatically, because people wanted to know. If there was a rumor circulating in the community, our readers would come to us for clarification. And Arab News was there, acting as a bridge between the English-speaking expatriate communities and government departments.
In the newsroom, the whole reporting dynamic has changed. In the past, we could sit on a story forever. We would take our time in confirming it by trying to contact officials. However, with Facebook and Twitter, journalists came under intense pressure to deliver news in real-time. News as it broke. The challenge for Arab News was to maintain its credibility and deliver authentic information. Information that our readers have come to expect from us. The new tools of information dissemination were like a double-edged sword. We had instant reactions to stories but at the same time, the challenge was to verify if the accounts were genuine. There is so much false and uncorroborated information on the Internet.
The advantage of Twitter and Facebook is that we instantly know about the breaking stories, and what people are thinking about them. In the past, reporters had a hard time getting the contact details of experts. Now, it is just a matter of searching for the Twitter handle or the Facebook page of the right person and you can have his reaction in no time.
At Arab News, there is now robust local coverage. Crime stories, social events, campus developments, community events, diplomatic activities, and business dealings. Everything is covered in an in-depth way. In this day and age, we have ensured that the language is simple, so that there is no room for misunderstandings.
The new elements that you will come across in this newspaper in the coming days will give you an idea of what direction we have taken, and why. It is simply an attempt, backed by much planning and thought, to provide a window into the heart of Saudi Arabia.