Saudi Arabian daily newspaper
| Field | Value |
|---|
| logo | شعار صحيفة الجزيرة السعودية.png |
| type | Daily newspaper |
| format | Broadsheet |
| owners | Mutlaq bin Abdullah |
| founder | Abdullah Ibn Khamis |
| publisher | Al Jazirah Corporation for Press, Printing and Publishing |
| chief_editor | Khalid bin Hamd Al Malik |
| founded | |
| political_position | Conservative and pro-Islamic; pro-government |
| language | Arabic |
| headquarters | Riyadh |
| sister_newspapers | *Al Masaiya* |
| website | [*Al Jazirah*](http://www.al-jazirah.com/) |
Al Jazirah (Arabic: الجزيرة; The Island)
The paper is published in broadsheet format with 48 pages, both colour and black and white contents.{{cite book
History and profile
Al Jazirah was established in 1960 by Al Jazirah Corporation{{cite web|title=Al Jazirah Company
The chairman of the newspaper is Mutlaq bin Abdullah. Furthermore, he was a sport correspondent in the early 1970s and later, London correspondent of the paper. In 1977, Abdel Rahman Al Rashid was appointed editor-in-chief of the daily, who also served as a correspondent and as its Washington bureau chief from 1981 to 1985. As of 2013 the editor-in-chief of the newspaper was Khalid bin Hamd Al Malik.{{cite news|title=Saudi Newspapers Editors-in-Chief to SANA: Syrian-Saudi summit gave a strong momentum for developing bilateral relations|access-date=19 May 2012
Al Jazirah is considered by Anti-defamation League as very conservative as well as pro-Islamic.
Circulation
The paper is said to have a limited circulation and is not widespread in contrast to the other Saudi papers. However, it is widely distributed in Saudi Arabia and in other Arab and European countries. Global Investment House reported the market share of the paper as around 6.0% in November 2009.{{cite web|title=Saudi Research and Marketing Group|publisher=Global Investment House
Al Jazirah sold 4,500 copies in 1975.{{cite thesis|author=Bilal Ahmad Kutty|title=Saudi Arabia under King Faisal|url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/144512812.pdf|location=Aligarh Muslim University|date=1997|degree=PhD
Influence and awards
It is argued that Al Jazirah is one of four leading Saudi daily newspapers along with Al Watan, Al Riyadh and Al Madina.
The paper was awarded the best print prize in Asia by IFRA in Manila in 2007,{{cite news|title=Saudi daily discloses circulation figures|newspaper=Trade Arabia|date=6 July 2008
Content
Al Jazirah usually publishes reports and interviews concerning national, Arab and international issues. The paper is mostly known for its daily supplements on different topics such as economy, sports, culture, computers, medicine and science.{{cite web|title=Al Jazeera|url=http://www.cityscapeabudhabi.com/_Admin/2012-Exhibitor-List/Al-Jazeera/|publisher=Cityscape|access-date=20 August 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120521041621/http://www.cityscapeabudhabi.com/_Admin/2012-Exhibitor-List/Al-Jazeera/
|archive-date=21 May 2012}} It also has a weekly supplement, Telecom and Digital World, and carries cartoons.
The Arab Press Network states that the paper extensively covers the activities of the ruling Saudi family and adopts an uncritical approach towards the government's policies on most of its 60 daily pages. It is further discussed that its columnists and the debate they initiate are both weak. The minister of health Ghazi Al Gosaibi's poem written for King Fahd, entitled "A Pen Bought and Sold", was published on the front page of the paper in 1984.{{cite news|author=Hanna Labonté|title=Saudi Man of Letters and Cautious Reformer
On 7 February 1999 Al Jazirah published a rare interview with a senior Saudi royal woman, Haya bint Saad Al Sudairi, who was one of King Abdulaziz's spouses, as part of the centennial celebrations of Riyadh's capture by him. In the interview she said "whatever has been and will be said about the King [Abdulaziz] cannot reflect the [whole] truth."
On 3 and 10 January 2002, a commentary entitled "Why Pork Is Forbidden?” by Muhammad bin Saad al Shuwayir was published in the paper. The author said that the transformation of the Jews into apes and pigs was a punishment "because monkeys and pigs were considered among the lowliest of animals, in nature and manners". He further stated that Jews always represent the human lowness, as expressed in Quran. Al Jazirah was among the pro-Saudi publications such as Al-Hayat, Asharq Al-Awsat and Okaz which uncovered the position of Saudi Arabia concerning the potential invasion of Iraq by the United States in 2002. These media outlets advised Iraqi President Saddam Hussein either to abdicate or to commit suicide to avoid the American invasion.
Jasser Abdulaziz al Jasser, a columnist of Al Jazirah, criticised Russia, especially Sergey Lavrov, for supporting Assad regime's Alawite minority rule over a Sunni majority in Syria on 24 March 2012. Al Jasser argued that the same tactics used by Russia to oppress Muslim majority in Chechnya, and the Caucasus were employed by Assad to oppress Sunni majority in Syria.{{cite news|author=H. Varulkar
Controversy
In September 2008, a reporter of the paper, Fahd Al Jukhaidib, wrote an article in which he described frequent power cuts in Qubba in northern Saudi Arabia. The article also informed the readers about a protest in front of the government-owned electricity company as a result of power cuts experienced. Upon publication of his article, he was sentenced in October 2008 to two months in prison and 50 lashes for inciting the public to protest against a series of electric power reductions. He was free on appeal in 2009.
Innovation
Al Jazirah seems not to be conservative in terms of using technology to provide advanced technological platforms to its readers. The paper is the first Saudi daily in launching online website that was formed in 1996.{{cite thesis|title=Electronic newspapers on the Internet|author=Fayez A. Alshehri|degree=PhD|date=July 2000
|access-date=16 May 2012|date=27 September 2011}}
In 2013, the daily cooperated with Goss International for press upgrade, refurbishment and relocation venture.