Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
91RIYADH3320
1991-04-06 05:50:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Riyadh
Cable title:  

THE SAUDI PRESS: PROFILES OF INDIVIDUAL PAPERS

Tags:  PREL PROP PGOV SA 
pdf how-to read a cable
R 060550Z APR 91
FM AMEMBASSY RIYADH
TO USIA WASHDC 9181
SECSTATE WASHDC 8774
INFO RUFHAD/AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI
AMEMBASSY ALGIERS
AMEMBASSY AMMAN
AMEMBASSY BEIRUT
AMEMBASSY CAIRO
AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS
AMEMBASSY DOHA
AMEMBASSY KUWAIT
AMEMBASSY LONDON
AMEMBASSY MANAMA
AMEMBASSY MUSCAT
AMEMBASSY NICOSIA
AMEMBASSY PARIS
AMEMBASSY RABAT
AMEMBASSY SANAA
AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
AMEMBASSY TUNIS
AMCONSUL DHAHRAN
AMCONSUL JEDDAH
AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
FBIS LONDON
FBIS NICOSIA
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 05 RIYADH 03320 


USIA

USIA FOR NEA, P/G, P/M, P/FW, P/PFN, R
STATE FOR NEA/ARP, INR

E.O. 12356: DECL: OADR
TAGS: PREL PROP PGOV SA
SUBJECT: THE SAUDI PRESS: PROFILES OF INDIVIDUAL PAPERS

REFS: (A) RIYADH 3311 (B) RIYADH 2749

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 05 RIYADH 03320


USIA

USIA FOR NEA, P/G, P/M, P/FW, P/PFN, R
STATE FOR NEA/ARP, INR

E.O. 12356: DECL: OADR
TAGS: PREL PROP PGOV SA
SUBJECT: THE SAUDI PRESS: PROFILES OF INDIVIDUAL PAPERS

REFS: (A) RIYADH 3311 (B) RIYADH 2749


1. CONFIDENTIAL--ENTIRE TEXT.


2. SUMMARY. THIS CABLE GIVES BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF
SAUDI DAILY NEWSPAPERS, THEIR INDIVIDUAL ORIGINS, SPECIAL
SLANTS, AND ESTIMATED CIRCULATION FIGURES. (ONLY
"AL-HAYAT," A SAUDI-CONTROLLED DAILY PUBLISHED IN LONDON
IS NOT INCLUDED). REF A DESCRIBED THE STRUCTURE OF THE
SAUDI PRESS ESTABLISHMENT, SOCIAL AND GOVERNMENTAL
INHIBITORS ON PRESS FREEDOM, AND THE POSSIBLE LOCAL
IMPACT OF THE INVASION OF SAUDI ARABIA BY THE FOREIGN
PRESS DURING OPERATIONS DESERT SHIELD/STORM. REF B
COVERED INCREASED SAUDI INVESTMENT, AND POSSIBLE EFFORTS
TO HAVE MORE EDITORIAL INFLUENCE, IN THE INTERNATIONAL
ARABIC PRESS. POST WILL PROVIDE STATE AND USIA MEDIA
ELEMENTS WITH A SEPARATE UNCLASSIFIED PROFILE, EXTRACTED
FROM THIS CABLE, FOR DESKTOP REFERENCE. END SUMMARY.


3. "AL-SHARQ AL-AWSAT" (SAUDI-OWNED, LONDON-BASED,
MODERATE, INTERNAL CIRCULATION: 100,000-125,000,
INTERNATIONAL CIRCULATION: 200,000-300,000). FOUNDED IN
1977, "AL-SHARQ AL-AWSAT" IS SAUDI ARABIA'S MOST
INFLUENTIAL PUBLICATION AND ARGUABLY ONE OF THE TWO OR
THREE MOST INFLUENTIAL NEWSPAPERS IN THE ARAB WORLD.
"AL-SHARQ AL-AWSAT" IS PRINTED IN RIYADH, JEDDAH, CAIRO,
DHAHRAN, CASABLANCA, LONDON, FRANKFURT, MARSEILLE, PARIS,
AND NEW YORK. OWNERS OF RECORD ARE THE AL-HAFIZ FAMILY,
BUT THE GOVERNOR OF RIYADH, PRINCE SALMAN BIN ABDUL AZIZ
AL SAUD (A FULL BROTHER OF KING FAHD) IS RUMORED TO BE A
MAJOR BEHIND-THE-SCENES INVESTOR IN THE PAPER. "AL-SHARQ
AL-AWSAT'S" INFLUENCE IS MORE RELATED TO THE GLOBAL REACH
OF THE PAPER THAN THE COLORFULNESS OF ITS EDITORIAL
WRITING, BUT A FEW WRITERS (NOTABLY SAUDI AMBASSADOR TO
BAHRAIN, GHAZI AL-GOSAIBI) HAVE DEVOTED FOLLOWINGS. THE
PAPER FREQUENTLY TAKES A MORE MODERATE STANCE ON
ARAB-ISRAELI ISSUES THAN OTHER SAUDI NEWSPAPERS
REFLECTING THE DIFFERING VIEWS AND MORE COSMOPOLITAN
NATURE OF ITS INTERNATIONAL READERSHIP.


4. "UKAZ" (JEDDAH-BASED, PRO-GOVERNMENT, ESTIMATED
CIRCULATION: 110,000-125,000). SISTER PAPER OF THE
"SAUDI GAZETTE." FOUNDED IN 1960, "UKAZ" IS THE MOST
POPULAR PAPER IN THE HIJAZ AND THE MOST WIDELY-CIRCULATED
DAILY IN SAUDI ARABIA DUE TO DECLINING COMPETITION FROM

OTHER HIJAZI PAPERS. IN MID-1980S, "UKAZ" WAS OFTEN
PERCEIVED AS A NEWSPAPER IN DECLINE DUE TO FAILURE TO
INVEST IN MODERNIZATION, BUT HAS INVESTED IN IMPROVED
PRINTING FACILITIES AND STEADILY EXPANDED CIRCULATION.
DURING NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 1990, THE SAUDI PRESS LURCHED
TOWARDS SENSATIONALISM AND YELLOW JOURNALISM IN SMEARING
STATES PERCEIVED AS PRO-IRAQI. "UKAZ" WAS GENERALLY
VIEWED AS THE MOST AGGRESSIVE AND SENSATIONALIST IN
PRINTING SUCH STORIES, PARTICULARLY STORIES DIRECTED
AGAINST YEMEN AND PRESIDENT SALEH OR THE OCCASIONAL
"INSPIRED LIE," SUCH AS A RECENT REPORT OF THE DEATH OF
SADDAM. LIKE PULITZER AND HEARST OF YORE, THIS POLICY
PAID FINANCIAL DIVIDENDS AS "UKAZ" GRABBED MARKET SHARE
AND INCREASED ITS CIRCULATION VIS-A-VIS OTHER SAUDI
DAILIES.


5. "AL-RIYADH" (RIYADH-BASED, PRO-GOVERNMENT, ESTIMATED
CIRCULATION: 100,000-120,000). SISTER PAPER OF THE
ENGLISH "RIYADH DAILY." FOUNDED IN 1964, "AL-RIYADH" AND
"AL-JAZIRA" COMPETE FIERCELY FOR INFLUENCE IN NAJD AND
EACH CLAIM TO BE A LARGER AND MORE INFLUENTIAL PAPER THAN
THE OTHER. (WE GIVE THE EDGE TO "AL-RIYADH" BY A SLIM
MARGIN.) COMPARATIVELY PROGRESSIVE FOR A SAUDI
NEWSPAPER, "AL-RIYADH" WAS THE FIRST SAUDI NEWSPAPER TO
OPEN A WOMEN'S BUREAU. ITS LITERARY PAGE IS DEEMED TO BE
BY FAR THE BEST IN THE KINGDOM. ITS EDITOR, TURKI
AL-SUDAIRI, IS GENERALLY REGARDED AS ONE OF SAUDI
ARABIA'S BEST WRITERS AND ENJOYS A MEASURE OF
ANTI-ESTABLISHMENT RESPECTABILITY HAVING ONCE BEEN BANNED
FROM WRITING DUE TO A PARTICULARLY BITING DENUNCIATION HE
WROTE OF THE MINISTRY OF INFORMATION IN THE MID-EIGHTIES,
THOUGH SUDAIRI IS FIRMLY IN THE CAMP OF GOVERNMENT
LOYALISTS. USIS RELATIONS WITH THIS PAPER, ALTHOUGH
CORRECT, HAVE NEVER BEEN CLOSE. DESPITE OUR BEST
EFFORTS, WE HAVE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO GET "AL-RIYADH" AS
INVOLVED IN USIS PROGRAMMING AS OTHER PAPERS.


6. "AL-JAZIRA" (RIYADH-BASED, PRO-GOVERNMENT, ESTIMATED
CIRCULATION: 95,000-110,000). FOUNDED IN 1963 AND SISTER
PAPER OF "AL-MASA'IYA." AS NOTED ABOVE, "AL-JAZIRA" AND
"AL-RIYADH" COMPETE FIERCELY AGAINST EACH OTHER. USIS
RIYADH ENJOYS A CLOSER RELATIONSHIP WITH THIS PAPER THAN
ANY OTHER. (IN 1986, THE PAPER COYLY SUGGESTED THAT
QADDAFI MAY HAVE GOTTEN WHAT WAS COMING TO HIM WHEN THE
U.S. BOMBED LIBYA IN 1986 IN COMPARISON WITH THE
UNIFORMLY NEGATIVE REACTIONS OF OTHER SAUDI PAPERS).
MANAGING EDITOR, JASER AL-JASER, WRITES THE ONLY DAILY
EDITORIAL DEVOTED TO POLITICAL COMMENTARY IN THE KINGDOM
AND IS WIDELY FOLLOWED, ALTHOUGH, IN THE VOLUME OF HIS
PRODUCTION, QUALITY SOMETIMES SUFFERS. (AL-SUDAIRI AT
"AL-RIYADH," BY CONTRAST, PRODUCES ONLY A WEEKLY COLUMN).


7. "AL-MADINA" (JEDDAH-BASED, PRO-GOVERNMENT, MORE
RELIGIOUS THAN OTHER SAUDI PAPERS, ESTIMATED CIRCULATION:
75,000-80,000). FOUNDED IN MADINA IN 1936, "AL-MADINA"
IS SAUDI ARABIA'S OLDEST PAPER. IN THE EARLY 1980S, THE
PAPER LED "UKAZ" IN CIRCULATION, BUT HAS BADLY STUMBLED
IN RECENT YEARS ALLOWING "UKAZ" TO ESTABLISH A COMMANDING
LEAD IN THE HIJAZI MEDIA MARKET. THE PAPER IS THOUGHT TO
BE IN FINANCIAL TROUBLE.


8. "AL-YOM" (DAMMAM-BASED, PRO-GOVERNMENT, ESTIMATED
CIRCULATION: 75,000-90,000). THE PAPER ENJOYED A
REPUTATION IN LATE 1970S AS A PAPER OF MILD NASSERIST
SYMPATHIES LEADING TO A CRACKDOWN IN 1981-1982 WHICH
RESULTED IN THE DISMISSALS OF SEVERAL JOURNALISTS,
INCLUDING THE PAPER'S CHIEF EDITOR. UNDER NEW EDITORSHIP
AND WITH NO POLITICAL AXES TO GRIND, "AL-YOM" MAKES NO
PRETENSIONS TO BE ANYTHING OTHER THAN A LOCAL PAPER
CATERING TO EASTERN PROVINCE AUDIENCES, ALSO CIRCULATED
IN BAHRAIN, QATAR, AND ABU DHABI. IN THE EARLY 1980S,
THE PAPER DREAMED OF ESTABLISHING AN ENGLISH EDITION, BUT
THESE PLANS SEEM FIRMLY SHELVED.


9. "AN-NADWA" (MAKKAH-BASED, RELIGIOUSLY CONSERVATIVE,
ESTIMATED CIRCULATION OF 25,000-30,000). "AN-NADWA'S"
SMALL CIRCULATION MASKS THE IMPORTANCE AND INFLUENCE OF
THIS PAPER WHICH IS A REDOUBT OF RELIGIOUSLY CONSERVATIVE
OPINION IN THE KINGDOM. THE PAPER'S EDITOR, YUSUF
DAMANHOURY, IS ONE OF SAUDI ARABIA'S MOST RESPECTED
JOURNALISTS AND ENJOYS A REPUTATION AS AN EDITOR WILLING
TO TAKE RISKS AND MAKE PRINCIPALLED STANDS. FOR EXAMPLE,
"AL-NADWA" WAS THE ONLY SAUDI PAPER WHICH CONDEMNED THE
IRAQI INVASION OF KUWAIT BEFORE THE SAUDI GOVERNMENT
ADOPTED AN OFFICIAL POSITION ON THE ISSUE. THE PAPER
ALSO USED TO BE KNOWN FOR ITS STRONG SUPPORT OF THE
PALESTINIAN CAUSE, AN EDITORIAL LINE FREQUENTLY
ATTRIBUTED TO A LARGE NUMBER OF PALESTINIAN STAFFERS AT
THE PAPER. RECENTLY, HOWEVER, THE PAPER HAS SWITCHED 180
DEGREES ON ITS SUPPORT FOR THE PLO AND HAS BEEN THE MOST
OUTSPOKEN OF SAUDI PAPERS IN CRITICIZING ARAFAT'S
LEADERSHIP, INCLUDING CARRYING EDITORIALS CALLING ON
ARAFAT TO STEP DOWN AND QUESTIONING WHETHER THE PLO IS
INDEED THE "SOLE LEGITIMATE REPRESENTATIVE" OF THE
PALESTINIAN PEOPLE. SEVERAL STAFFERS AT THE PAPER ARE
ALSO EMPLOYED BY THE MUSLIM WORLD LEAGUE. THE PAPER'S
LOCATION IN MAKKAH INHIBITS USIS CONTACTS WITH THE PAPER
DUE TO THE INABILITY OF NON-MUSLIMS TO TRAVEL TO THE HOLY
CITY, ALTHOUGH WE HAVE CONTACT WITH ITS CORRESPONDENTS IN
RIYADH AND JEDDAH.


10. "AL-BILAAD" (JEDDAH-BASED, PRO-GOVERNMENT,
ESTIMATED CIRCULATION: 25,000-30,000). FOUNDED IN 1959,
IT IS GENERALLY AGREED TO BE ONE OF THE WEAKEST OF SAUDI
ARABIA'S DAILIES. ITS CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD IS AMIN
ABDULLAH KARKORI, WHO, ALONG WITH A CADRE OF BUSINESSMEN
AND LOCAL WRITERS, ARE THE MAINSTAYS OF THE PAPER'S
EDITORIAL STAFF. THE PAPER EMPLOYS FEW REPORTERS AND
RELIES HEAVILY ON WIRE SERVICES FOR ITS NEWS COVERAGE.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ABDUL AZIZ NAHARI IS A UNIVERSITY
LECTURER WITH M.A. AND PH.D. DEGREES FROM THE UNITED
STATES. THE PAPER IS PROBABLY NOT A MONEY-MAKER.


11. "ARAB NEWS" (JEDDAH-BASED, PRO-GOVERNMENT, YET
LIBERAL IN THE SAUDI CONTEXT, ESTIMATED CIRCULATION:
75,000-80,000. ALSO PUBLISHED IN CAIRO). SISTER PAPER
OF "AL-SHARQ AL-AWSAT" AND FOUNDED IN 1975. BY FAR, THE
MOST PROFESSIONAL OF THE ENGLISH-LANGUAGE PAPERS IN SAUDI
ARABIA. ITS EDITOR, KHALID AL-MAENNA, IS WELL-KNOWN IN
JEDDAH FOR HIS SENTIMENTS FAVORING GREATER POLITICAL
PARTICIPATION IN SAUDI ARABIA AND, IN NOVEMBER 1990,
OPENLY ADMITS TO HAVING TESTED THE ACCEPTED BOUNDARIES OF
SAUDI PRESS CENSORSHIP BY CARRYING STORIES ON THE ROLE OF
WOMEN IN SAUDI SOCIETY AND HIGHLIGHTING COVERAGE OF THE
PROCLAIMED KUWAITI COMMITMENT TO DEMOCRATIZATION. SAUDI
AUTHORITIES WERE REPORTEDLY NOT AMUSED, TOLD AL-MAENNA TO
STOP FLIRTING WITH THE REGULATIONS, AND AL-MAENNA HAS
RELUCTANTLY COMPLIED. THE PAPER HAS SEVERAL WESTERN
REPORTERS ON ITS STAFF TO ENSURE THAT EDITORIAL COPY
REFLECTS PREVAILING ENGLISH SPELLING AND GRAMMAR.


12. "SAUDI GAZETTE" (JEDDAH-BASED, PRO-GOVERNMENT,
ESTIMATED CIRCULATION: 25,000-35,000). SISTER PAPER OF
"UKAZ." FOUNDED IN 1976, THE "SAUDI GAZETTE," WAS PERHAPS
THE MOST ANTI-U.S. OF SAUDI PAPERS PRIOR TO DESERT
SHIELD/STORM AND OCCASSIONALLY IS STILL SNIDE ABOUT U.S.
POLICIES IN THE REGION. ITS FLAMBOYANT EDITOR IS RIDAH
LARY, A SAUDI CITIZEN OF PERSIAN ORIGIN, NOTED FOR
WRITING SOME OF SAUDI ARABIA'S LONGEST EDITORIALS WHICH
EVEN ARABS CONCEDE FREQUENTLY GO ON AND ON WITHOUT EVER
COMING TO THE POINT. THE "SAUDI GAZETTE'S" CHIEF
CARTOONIST, ABDEL RAHIM ALIREZA, HAS A THIRD GRADER'S
TALENT FOR ART AND HAS A PARTICULARLY STRONG ANTI-U.S.
STREAK TO HIS CARTOONS WHOSE POINT IS FREQUENTLY
INCOMPREHENSIBLE. (ONCE IN THE MID-1980S, A PARTICULARLY
PIQUED USIS PAO REFUSED TO INCLUDE "SAUDI GAZETTE"
EDITORIALS IN HIS USIS MEDIA REACTIONS STATING THAT HE
DID NOT BELIEVE THEY WERE REFLECTIVE OF MAINSTREAM PUBLIC
OPINION IN SAUDI ARABIA.) ALTHOUGH STILL SAUDI ARABIA'S
SECOND LARGEST ENGLISH PAPER, THE NEWSPAPER HAS SUFFERED
QUALITATIVE DECLINES THROUGHOUT THE EIGHTIES AND
REPORTEDLY SUFFERS FROM DECLINING READERSHIP. AS KHALID
AL-MAENNA, THE EDITOR OF THE COMPETING "ARAB NEWS" ONCE
REMARKED, "I HOPE RIDAH LARY STAYS EDITOR OF THE PAPER
FOR ANOTHER TEN YEARS."


13. "RIYADH DAILY" (RIYADH-BASED, PRO-GOVERNMENT,
ESTIMATED CIRCULATION: 15,000-25,000). THE PAPER CLAIMS
ORIGINS IN THE MID-1970S WHEN IT WAS LITTLE MORE THAN A
FEW XEROXED SHEETS STAPLED TOGETHER, BUT BECAME A SERIOUS
NEWSPAPER IN 1985. UNDER A NEW EDITOR, TALAAT WAFA (AN
M.A. HOLDER FROM GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY AND A PH.D.
CANDIDATE AT CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY),THE PAPER HAS MADE
MAJOR QUALITATIVE IMPROVEMENTS AND IS QUICKLY CATCHING UP
ON THE "SAUDI GAZETTE" IN TERMS OF CIRCULATION. WAFA HAS
INVESTED HEAVILY IN THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY AND USE OF
COLOR PHOTOGRAPHY AT THE PAPER WHICH REPORTEDLY STILL
MAKES PUBLICATION UNPROFITABLE, BUT THE PAPER'S
MANAGEMENT SEEMS COMMITTED TO STRIVING AGGRESSIVELY TO
COMPETE IN THE CROWDED SAUDI MARKET FOR ENGLISH NEWSPAPERS.


14. "AL-DHAHIRA" (LONDON-BASED, SISTER PUBLICATION OF
"AL-SHARQ AL-AWSAT", CIRCULATION IN THE LOW THOUSANDS).
"AL-DHAHIRA" WAS BROUGHT OUT AS AN AFTERNOON PAPER BY THE
SAUDI RESEARCH AND MARKETING COMPANY (PUBLISHERS OF
"AL-SHARQ AL-AWSAT" AND "ARAB NEWS") IN RESPONSE TO THE
IRAQI INVASION OF KUWAIT AND THE INCREASED DEMAND FOR
NEWS THROUGHOUT THE ARAB WORLD. THE PAPER DOES NOT HAVE
EDITORIAL CONTENT AND LIMITS ITSELF TO PUBLISHING UP TO
THE MINUTE WIRE SERVICE REPORTS ON REGIONAL
DEVELOPMENTS. THE FUTURE OF THE PUBLICATION IN THE WAKE
OF THE GULF WAR IS UNCLEAR, BUT ITS CIRCULATION IS
CERTAINLY SUPPORTED BY GOVERNMENT PURCHASES.


15. "AL-MASA'IYA" (RIYADH-BASED, PRO-GOVERNMENT,
RELIGIOUSLY CONSERVATIVE, ESTIMATED CIRCULATION OF
25,000-35,000). SISTER PAPER OF "AL-JAZIRA." OPENED IN
1982 AS SAUDI ARABIA'S ONLY AFTERNOON NEWSPAPER. IN
1983, CAME UNDER HEAVY FIRE FROM RELIGIOUS ESTABLISHMENT
AFTER PUBLISHING ARTICLES WHICH RELIGIOUS CONSERVATIVES
FELT MOCKED ISLAMIC RELIGIOUS VALUES. TO AVOID CLOSURE,
THE PAPER APPOINTED A NEW EDITOR FROM RIYADH'S
ULTRACONSERVATIVE IMAM MUHHAMAD UNIVERSITY WHO HAS SHOWN
LITTLE DIRECTION IN LEADING THE PAPER ANYWHERE. THE
PAPER IS REPORTEDLY IN FINANCIAL DIFFICULTY IN LIGHT OF
COMPETITION FROM "AL-DHAHIRA" FOR A DECLINING
AFTERNOON/EVENING READERSHIP.


16. COMMENT. FOR A COUNTRY WITH A TOTAL POPULATION OF
ROUGHLY TWELVE MILLION (SEVEN OR EIGHT MILLION OF WHOM
ARE SAUDIS, THE REMAINDER ARE EXPATRIATES RUNNING THE
GAMUT FROM SOPHISTICATED WESTERN TECHNOCRATS TO
IMPOVERISHED ASIAN SWEEPERS),SAUDI ARABIA HAS AN
UNUSUALLY LARGE NUMBER OF DAILY NEWSPAPERS. THESE DOZEN
PAPERS PROVIDE A LARGE VOLUME OF EDITORIALS AND NEWS
ANALYSES FOR USIS MEDIA REACTIONS, BUT RARELY IS THERE
ANY PROVOCATIVE DEVIATION FROM THE GOVERNMENT'S PERCEIVED
VIEWS ON DOMESTIC OR INTERNATIONAL ISSUES. IN COMPARISON
WITH OTHER MUSLIM COUNTRIES, THE SAUDI PRESS (BOTH IN THE
ENGLISH, AND TO AN EVEN GREATER EXTENT, IN THE ARABIC
PRESS) DEVOTES LARGE VOLUMES OF NEWSPRINT TO PROMOTING
ISLAMIC PRACTICES AND PIETIES, AS A CONSTANT REINFORCER
OF THE "CORRECTNESS" OF THE SAUDI VIEW OF ISLAM. (SUCH
WRITINGS PROBABLY ATTRACT MORE READERS TO THE
CONSERVATIVE PRESS THAN ANY COVERAGE OF INTERNATIONAL
EVENTS.) WHILE THE NUMBER OF PAPERS AND JOURNALISTS
CERTAINLY MERITS STRONG USIS ATTENTION, THE SAUDI PRESS
ESTABLISHMENT, LIKE THE REST OF THE KINGDOM'S MODERN
INFRASTRUCTURE (SLEEK SUPERHIGHWAYS, L.A.-STYLE
HIGHRISES, AND 21ST CENTURY AIRPORTS),HAS AN AIR OF
GIANTISM AND UNREALITY ABOUT IT. SUPERFICIALLY, THE
SAUDI PRESS IS IMPRESSIVE AND GLITZY WITH ACCESS TO ALL
OF THE WORLD'S MEDIA SOURCES AND THE LATEST AND MOST
TECHNOLOGICALLY SOPHISTICATED PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES, YET
WITHIN IT THERE IS A CERTAIN HOLLOWNESS AS EGYPTIAN AND
SUDANESE EXPATRIATES TOIL TO ASSEMBLE THIS NUMERICALLY
LARGE, BUT UNPROVOCATIVE, ARRAY OF DAILY PRESS
PUBLICATIONS.


17. MINIMIZES CONSIDERED.


GILBERT