RIYADH – Saudi Gazette staff celebrated the commencement of printing in the Central Province at a ceremony on Monday at the Marriott in Riyadh. The event was attended by professionals in the media field along with dignitaries and ambassadors. The occasion coincided with the one-year anniversary of the Gazette since its re-launch and a presentation was given by a Saudi Gazette staffer on the daily's 2012 accomplishments and its 2013 plans. The presentation illustrated Saudi Gazette's growth over the year, with a 927 percent rise in Twitter followers and a 1,335 percent spike in the number of Facebook fans. Saudi Gazette's website has garnered a 175 percent increase in monthly page views, nearing 1.5 million last month, while also accumulating almost half a million unique monthly visitors, up 232 percent since April 2012. The majority of page views were from inside the Kingdom, followed by the United States and the United Kingdom with unique page views of 186,000 and 86,000 respectively. The presentation also analyzed Saudi Gazette's presence among the Middle East and the world's top newspapers, making Forbes' top-10 list of sites with growing numbers of new visits, while also finishing 35th in the Arab world's top 50 online newspapers. This recognition is significant since Saudi Gazette had not been mentioned in any of those lists prior to its re-launch. Khaled Almaeena, Saudi Gazette's editor-in-chief, gave a few words about the daily's growth, emphasizing the importance of youth programs in 2013. He said training to become media professionals should start in schools and that the newspaper will be looking at education and youth programs to help nurture the talents of prospective media professionals. This will be conducted, he said, as part of the daily's indirect marketing plan for 2013, where the Gazette intends to hold seminars and lectures within the English language medium in educational environments. Almaeena also mentioned the publication's initiative to set up internship programs for university students and graduates at a minimum period of eight weeks a trainee. As part of the paper's direct marketing strategy, Saudi Gazette aims to sponsor events in 2013 ranging from sports activities to symposiums, conferences and forums, with an event calendar that is quickly filling up. For its readership, the Gazette has reported it will carry out annual, themed supplements to coincide with world events, including various national day supplements and popular events in the Kingdom. Saudi Gazette reported a continued interest in the digital medium and in social media platforms. Saudi Gazette staff continued to honor several advertisers and agencies with commemorative plates, patterned after the Gazette's first issue almost four decades ago. The Saudi Gazette is printing in the Central Province by the Arabian Printing and Publishing House, who print the newspaper every day throughout the year. — SG
