As a longtime reader of Arab News, I feel very happy at the recognition that the newspaper is receiving under the new editor in chief. When you do good things you are immediately rewarded. Arab News is the most important platform — it acts as a useful bridge between Saudi Arabia and the wider world. I completely endorse all the good words — “creating momentum and buzz in the media industry” — that were used while the MENAA Award was presented to Editor-in-Chief Faisal J. Abbas.
I completely agree with Allan Pease, the well-known Australian body language expert, who presented the honors to Arab News at the event at the famous Burj Al-Arab hotel in Dubai. “In less than three months on the job, Abbas managed to create enough momentum and buzz around the changes he has brought to his organization that his organization is literally now generating headlines worldwide,” said Pease.
Indeed, the newspaper has become the talk of the town with hard-hitting front-page editorials and Op-Ed columns. It is no small achievement that international agencies are now quoting Arab News for news emerging out of Saudi Arabia and the region. As I write these words, I want to express my gratitude to Arab News for helping us understand the complexities in this year’s budget through easy-to-understand news reports and analysis. The best explained report was the one about the new fees that the expats will have to bear in the coming year. There was too much confusion about the new fees until Arab News explained it to us in simple terms. This is what we call good journalism.
Before the budget, the major highlights of the newspaper’s coverage, as was rightly pointed out at the awards ceremony, was the exclusive poll of Arab public opinion of the candidates in the recent US election. Results of the poll, which was carried out in conjunction with YouGov, attracted global attention and were carried by prominent news outlets such as CNN and The Observer newspaper.
All credit must go to the new editor in chief and his team. As you march ahead, please remember that the race for excellence has no finish line. And lastly, thank you, Mr. Editor, for stating that “the biggest prize will always be our readers’ continued trust.”
— Mohammed Osman, Abha
Well-deserved recognition
