KUWAIT LICENSES FIRST NEW NEWSPAPERS IN 30 YEARS

UNCLAS KUWAIT 004558

SIPDIS
CORRECTED COPY - CAPTION AND MARKINGS
SENSITIVE
STATE FOR NEA/ARP (BJACKSON),NEA/PPD (DBENZE, DFOLEY),NEA/P,
NEA/PA, MEPI, DRL

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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC KPAO KMDR PHUM KU

SUBJECT: KUWAIT LICENSES FIRST NEW NEWSPAPERS IN 30 YEARS

REF: KUWAIT 768
KUWAIT 804


1. (SBU) Summary and comment: Fifteen Kuwaiti companies have
received licenses to date to begin publishing daily newspapers, the
first new such licenses granted in Kuwait in more than 30 years.
They result from the coming into effect in October 2006 of a press
and publications law that paved the way for the licensing of new
print media in Kuwait. However, of the 15 approved newspapers, only
three or four are likely to actually hit the streets. Sources
speculate that the majority of the applicants are Kuwaiti
businessmen who wish to hold the license as a hedge for a future
operation, but with no immediate plans to launch a daily newspaper.
Two of the licensees are Kuwaiti Shi'a Muslims. None of the newly
authorized papers have backers known to be strict conservatives or
Islamists. Thus, the overall tone of the Kuwait media landscape is
for the near future expected to remain as it has been -- less
critical of the U.S. than other Arab media, generally
pro-government, though often willing to criticize within certain red
lines, and less socially conservative than many Islamists would
like. End summary and comment.

Fifteen Newspapers Authorized to Publish
--------------

2.(U) Fifteen Kuwaiti companies to date have received approval from
the Ministry of Information (MOI) to begin publication of new daily
newspapers since the Ministry began accepting applications this
summer. These are the first new daily news publications to be
authorized in Kuwait since the mid-1970s. They are a result of the
coming into effect in October of the country's new press and
publication law, a portion of which establishes criteria for the
establishment of new daily newspapers.

3.(U) Approximately 125 applications have been received at the MOI
since it began accepting dossiers this summer. The requirements for
new licenses are outlined clearly in the new press and publication
law. The key criteria include Kuwaiti ownership, start-up capital
of at least USD 100,000, and a viable editorial and managerial
staff. The MOI's role in the authorization process is that of
reviewer only, ensuring that the applicant has met all the
requirements of the law. The head of the review committee at the
MOI stressed to EmbOff the transparency of the review process and
noted that no political considerations enter into the licensing
decision and that the list of approved applications is released to
the media.

Wealthy Businessmen Seek Licenses
--------------


4. (SBU) Of the 15 applications approved, 13 are for new papers.
The existing Arabic-language daily "Al-Rai Al-Aam" received a
renewed license under the new name "Al-Rai" since it had been
operating without a current permit. The current weekly newspaper
"Al-Shahid" was licensed to begin daily publication. Nearly all of
the applicants are Kuwaiti businessmen with interests in, among
other things, the press, printing or advertising fields. Among them
are several billionaires, members of established publishing
families, members of parliament and two members of the ruling
family. Notable among them are: Badr Nasser Al-Khorafi, a wealthy
businessman and nephew of the Speaker of the Kuwaiti National
Assembly; Mohammed Jassem Al-Saqer, a wealthy, liberal member of
parliament; Saleh Ahmed Hasan Ashour, a moderate, Shi'a MP; Imad
Jawad Bukhamseen, a wealthy, Shi'a businessman; and Marwan Marzouq
Boodai, owner of Jazeera Airlines and brother of the editor-in-chief
of "Al-Rai" newspaper Jassem Boodai.

Few Licensees Expected to Actually Publish
--------------


5. (SBU) Media contacts and sources in the Ministry of Information
forecast that at most only three or four of the 13 approved new
papers will actually be published. Many of the approved
applications come from businessmen who sought the license as a hedge
for a possible future publication, but who have no plans to launch a
daily paper in the near term. Once approved, licensees have one
year to publish after which the license expires. One applicant,
business executive Ahmed Jabr Al-Shimmery, is reportedly planning to
establish a daily titled "Alam Al-Yom" ("Today's World") only to
sell the newspaper for a profit at the first opportunity. Kuwaiti
media mogul Jassem Boodai told EmbOff that the application of his
brother Marwan Boodai was submitted as a "hedge" in the event
Boodai's current newspaper "Al-Rai" were for some reason unable to
publish. (Note: Boodai recently was acquitted on charges of
defaming the ruling family. The charge stemmed from statements he
made in a private interview that later turned up on the Internet).
The sister of the editor-in-chief of the Arabic-language daily
"Al-Anba'a" likely submitted her application for the same reasons, a
license "insurance policy" for the family newspaper run by Bibi
Marzouq.


6. (SBU) Kuwait will likely see the following four new daily
newspapers in the coming three to six months. Ahmed Al-Shimmery's
"Alam Al-Yom" ("Today's World") already has staff in place and a
printing deal with an existing daily. "Al Dhow," (a traditional
Kuwaiti sailing ship),is backed by wealthy liberal MP Mohammed
Jassem Al-Saqer, who has the necessary funds to successfully launch
a newspaper. "Al-Sahafa" ("Journalism") from businessman Salah
Al-Wazan also is viewed as having enough financial backing to
launch. And "Al-Shahid" ("The Witness"),from Sabah Mohammed Saoud
Al-Sabah, a businessman and member of the ruling family, is already
an established weekly publication that will go daily.


7. (SBU) Four other new papers have backers with adequate financial
resources to possibly begin publishing in the coming year:
"Al-Nahar" ("The Day") from wealthy businessman Imad Jawad
Bukhamseen; "The Daily News," an English-language paper from Badr
Nasser Al-Khorafi, another wealthy business executive; "Al-Mowatin"
("The Citizen") from Saleh Ashour, a pro-government Shi'a MP; and
"Wetnec" from Sabah Mohammed Al-Sabah, an entrepreneurial ruling
family member. Media commentators, however, question whether this
group is motivated enough to actually begin operations.

Insufficient Printing Machines to Meet Demand
--------------


8. (SBU) Media contacts and businessmen tell EmbOff that launching
a newspaper costs millions of dollars and that daily expenses for
full-time staff and printing set a high barrier to entry into the
field. One of the principal hurdles to any new paper would be the
printing equipment itself. Most newspapers in Kuwait have their own
presses, which cost millions of dollars. Any newcomers to the field
would have to either buy a printing press or make arrangements to
use another printer in Kuwait. Existing presses are limited. Most
of the daily newspapers have their own and few other private presses
are available for other publishers. Leasing time on any of these
existing printing machines to meet morning delivery of a daily paper
would be a challenge because most presses are already occupied
printing existing newspapers.

Comment
--------------


9. (SBU) A small market of just 3 million (only 1 million of whom
are Kuwaiti) limits the number of newspapers that can be sustained
successfully in Kuwait. Already there are five Arabic- and three
English-language dailies with a combined circulation of
approximately 385,000. The print media in Kuwait is privately owned
and dependent on advertising dollars for profitability. Given
limited readership and advertising sources it is unlikely that the
Kuwaiti market could absorb more than three or four additional daily
newspapers let alone the 15 that received new licenses so far. One
commentator worried that Kuwaiti journalism standards would go down
because new dailies would spread the limited pool of competent
journalists thin and make the newspapers compete for readership by
appealing to sensationalist material (ref B).


10. (SBU) While Islamist and conservative columnists are given
editorial space in the press and most points of view are covered,
the Kuwaiti media in general can be categorized as secular and
generally pro-government, though it will be critical of the
government within certain red lines. Most editors support the
government of Kuwait and a long-term strategic relationship with the
U.S. Thus, Kuwait does not have a daily newspaper that is
singularly dedicated to conservative or Islamist points of view,
although there are three weeklies that publish along these lines --
the Islamic Constitutional Movement's "Al-Haraka," the Social Reform
Society's "Al-Mojtama," and the Salafi's "Al-Forqan." Among the new
licensees none is backed by individuals known to espouse hardcore
conservative views or anti-U.S. sentiments. Two of them, "Al-Nahar"
and "Al-Mowatin," are backed financially by Kuwaiti Shi'a. Should
these papers materialize, the Shi'a population in Kuwait could have
a stronger voice in the community through these new vehicles.
Overall, for the time being, the general tone of the Kuwait media
will remain predominantly pro-government, pro-reform, and supportive
of the U.S.-Kuwait relationship, if not U.S. policies in the region
generally.

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For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit:
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Visit Kuwait's Classified Website:
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LEBARON