The four new state satellite television channels announced recently by the Minister of Culture and Information are scheduled to begin broadcasting today Friday. The director of the “Culture and Dialogue” channel which was announced by Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja along with “Quran”, “Sunna” and “Economy”, said its daily 12-hour transmission would start at 1 PM. “There are restrictions on the freedom of expression in the Saudi media,” said Hassan Al-Hamdan, “but we want a noble freedom tackling issues of public interest.” “The Kingdom wants all nations to listen to its rational and positive discourse and the channel has been designed to serve and shed light on the local culture and other cultures,” Al-Hamdan said. Although the Culture and Dialogue channel “is cultural in its focus”, Al-Hamdan said its target audience extends beyond the “intelligentsia”. “It is directed at all segments of society,” he said. According to Al-Hamdan the channel will boast a range of live programs and cover cultural events around the Kingdom such as book fairs, festivals and national dialogue sessions. “The channel's staff is entirely made up of male and female Saudi nationals,” Al
