JEDDAH – The influx of new print and online media publications has paved the way for young professionals in the Kingdom. Many young Saudis told Saudi Gazette the emergence of strong media publications has inspired them to follow their dreams and excel in communication, design and journalism. Recent popularity polls conducted by local magazines have raised concern among many readers in the Kingdom. The jury, judge panel, criterions and methodology of awarding selected artists are vague and raised questions about the magazines' credibility. Oasis, Destination Jeddah, Design, What's Up Jeddah, Dazzle, Saudi Design Magazine and SALT are some of the few popular publications in the Kingdom run by Saudis. Reham Abulwafa, Ghadeer Zainy and Danya Al-Safadi are co-owners of Dazzle, Kholud Attar runs Design, Ghaith and Ghassan Al-Abdali and Turki Bin Abdullah founded What's Up Jeddah, Noura Bouzo is the co-founder of Oasis Magazine and Enas Hashani is editor in chief of Destination Jeddah. Many Saudi and non-Saudi readers in the Kingdom also expressed concern over the accuracy of surveys conducted by magazines. “At some point, when media publications become popular, they seem to lose their genuinity,” said Hala Iqbal, a 46-year-old Saudi lecturer living in Jeddah. “Needless to say we still have a long way to go. Yet, the progress of youth and independent thinking stirred by such magazines is commendable.” Bouzo, an artist by trade, said: “It all starts with an inspiration point.” Oasis magazine highlights regional talents and paves the way for cooperation and dialogue in the region, she said. “We as a nation grew oblivious to our own culture,” she said. From experience and before the inception of Oasis Magazine, Bouzo found that people lacked awareness about “amazing initiatives currently taking place in our own region.” She said: “We, the co-founders, wanted to celebrate and expose the richness. We also wanted to expose the Western world to the depth and breadth of the MENA region's art and culture scenes. We wanted to create a conversation, essentially a dialogue between East and West. “There should be a platform where people become aware of what is going on in the MENA region and around the world; let everyone learn from each other, exchange knowledge and most importantly get inspired. With that, Oasis was born.” She explained the hierarchy and stages of production. “We initially work on an editorial calendar, which sets the mood and themes for the entire year. “Our editor-at-large works with our writers to come up with pitches and inspiration points. I also work with our editorial team and creative department to bring the aesthetic of the magazine to life.” Once articles and graphics come together, the magazine shapes up for a trial print. “Once approved we go into printing mode and eventually distribution.” Oasis keeps things interesting by finding the story that no one has read before or approaches issues from a different perspective. “We also always try to listen to our readers and introduce them to things they didn't even know they liked.” Sharing her views on the evolution of Saudi media and its future, Bouzo said: “It is very exciting to be part of the Saudi publishing world and we are seeing things progress quite rapidly both in terms of regulation and readership.” Tala Al-Ghamdi, creator of art magazine SALT, is just 18. Her background in literature helped her realize its significance. “I love to read and I think books – the written word in general — can be extremely powerful, which is why I thought of starting a ‘magazine' type thing. But I didn't want it to be based on people just reading what the same people are preaching over and over, and I also happen to like art and I believe that it's a huge influence in our increasingly visually dominated culture on a global scale. “One of my favorite quotes is ‘Art is the weapon against life as a symptom', so I figured what better way to rejuvenate our minds by creating a cross between these two things - allowing people to interact by creating art.” Al-Ghamdi said society has become too scared of failure and to try things. “We decide that we can't do it and that we don't belong ‘there' before we even give ourselves the chance to try. In this age you either already did it or not.” She said growing up, all young people hear is “the future is yours, you can change things.” She said: “We hear it so much we get to the point where we think it's a joke. To me, it is a joke, because the people telling us we can do it are the ones standing in our way and then of course, there's the issue that youth is starting to age, they're starting to limit themselves and I want to make sure at least a handful still remember that we don't have to become like our elders.” When asked what it takes a young Saudi girl of her age to run the magazine and what keeps her going, she said: “It's awful and it's great.” She said being a full time college student does not help, being 18 does not help and being a girl does not help either. “But the options are giving up or keep on going on. There are a lot of issues with distribution, licensing, even printing. It's generally hard to get things done here, but you know, if you're going through hell keep going. We're still not close to working everything out, but InshaAllah (it will).” She said her first issue generated a lot of positive feedback. “One of the top moments was definitely when Stephen Stapleton (Edge of Arabia) said he liked the spirit and the design of the magazine. I definitely squealed with excitement at that point.” Hamza Ayub, a 31-year-old Saudi PR executive said he sees women in the country taking the initiative and holding powerful positions in the media as a positive change. “Although to be fair some magazines in the region neglect true talent and it is becoming more commercial now. I am proud of my mother and sister of being a part of this change and supporting talent in the country.” Hamza works for his mother's magazine and said a few magazines only publish content that is paid for or sponsored. “I do understand we are here to make a profit but we have to do our job with honesty. Some magazines only publish restaurants, hotels, artists and services that favor or sponsor them. That is absolutely wrong.” Sabah Najami, a 28-year-old Saudi artist, told Saudi Gazette: “There are a few magazines that only publish content that is paid for. Readers mistake this to be the only worthwhile place to go to or facility to use. In another case, a magazine I was reading the other day in Jeddah rated the restaurants, designers, musicians, artists, etc. But it was appalling to see some of the real talent in Saudi weren't even mentioned.” Bilal Asad, a 38-year-old Saudi business entrepreneur, sees this flaw as one of the biggest weaknesses of recent media publications. “These magazines should learn to be objective and not misrepresent facts. Otherwise magazines and newspapers both online and in print are doing a fantastic job at facilitating information and educating their readers.” Hanan Abdul Fatah, a 27-year-old Saudi writer, said: “Writing for publications in my own country gives me a sense of accomplishment, self-confidence and pride in my country. I love and respect women who have taken the initiative to participate in Saudi Arabia's progress.”
