JEDDAH: Mohammed Fahad Al-Harthi, the newly appointed editor in chief of Arab News, said yesterday that the English daily would focus on developing its content and taking the voice of Saudis and other Arabs to the outside world.
“Arab News’ long history and its huge asset of experience and reputation will certainly enable the paper to play a pivotal role in the Arab media,” said Al-Harthi, who took charge as new editor in chief of the paper yesterday.
Al-Harthi, who holds a master’s degree in international journalism from UK’s City University and has over 20 years' experience in the media, said Arab News would also focus on encouraging and exchanging thoughts through the new media.
Prince Faisal bin Salman, chairman of Saudi Research and Marketing Group, announced Al-Harthi’s appointment on Friday as part of SRMG’s new vision to achieve its strategic goals. The prince said Al-Harthi would continue in his present position as editor in chief of Sayidaty women’s magazine in Arabic and English.
Al-Harthi thanked Prince Faisal, and members of SRMG boards of directors and trustees for vesting their confidence in him through this appointment. He also thanked Abdulwahab Al-Faiz, CEO of Nashr Company and former editor in chief of Arab News, for his contributions in strengthening the newspaper.
Al-Harthi, who has a bachelor’s degree in architectural engineering, began his career at Asharq Al-Awsat international Arabic daily published from London before joining Arab News in 1992 as a correspondent.
He has also worked as a visiting journalist at The Financial Times in London. In 2002, he won a Gulf Excellence Award in Journalism. Two years later he was named editor in chief of Sayidaty and Al Jamila magazines. He also supervised the shifting of the two magazines to Dubai Media Center.
Al-Harthi has played a leading role in the efforts to bring out a number of specialized issues of Sayidaty such as Sayidaty Décor, Sayidaty and Your Children, and Sayidaty for Education. He also supervised the establishment of Sayidaty magazine in English.
A founding member of the Arab Youth Leaders Forum at Davos Middle East conference, Al-Harthi was also a member of Gulf 2000 project at Columbia University in New York. He holds memberships of the Journalists Union in the UK and WAN-IFRA, a world association of journalists and news publishers.