Many of our publications are struggling to survive in a market facing tough competition from the electronic media. The situation may not be that critical for newspapers, some of which have already established a strong presence; magazines, however, in particular are the hardest hit.
The market is flooded with every kind of magazine imaginable — arts, sport, health and children, family, politics, computers and automobiles. Found almost everywhere, in groceries, supermarkets and gas stations, these publications appear in expensive glossy editions decorated with elaborate photographs.
The first impression you have is that the magazines must be selling very well with the publishers generating millions of riyals and then suddenly, they disappear from the shelves, the owners file for bankruptcy and their creditors are taking them to court. The situation is such that many of these publications are unable to pay salaries of their staff for months and others unable to pay the rent for three consecutive years.
Everything, including the equipment, vehicles and furniture, seem to have been acquired on credit. Some publishers resort to the shortest and easiest solution — disappear, and leave creditors scrambling to get whatever they can of their money. Statistics show that many printing presses are out of work with some remaining closed for years. Some publications print up to 100,000 or 200,000 copies with each one selling at SR7. The annual cost of printing may run into millions of riyals against sales that fall far short of covering basic expenses.
This policy of filling our market with these publications will result in more confusion. We should never expect to see a flourishing market if the same number of copies are removed from the shelves and replaced with new ones.
