The Ministry of Media ( ar, وزارة الإعلام) is one of the governmental bodies of

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

and part of the cabinet. The main function of the ministry is to regulate the media of Saudi Arabia and the communications between Saudi Arabia and other countries. It is headquartered in

Riyadh Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of th ...

. The ministry's current incarnation was founded in 2018 after Saudi's former Ministry of Culture and Information split duties into the Ministry of Media and the

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: *Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) * Ministry of Culture (Algeria) *Ministry of Culture (Argentina) *Minister for the Arts (Australia) *Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan) * Ministry of ...

History

The ministry was founded in 1962 as the ministry of information. The first minister of information was Jamil bin Ibrahim Al Hujaylan. In 2003, its portfolio was expanded to include cultural affairs and was renamed as the ministry of culture and information. later, on 1 June 2018 the culture was separated from the media resulting in two different ministries: Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Media. Iyad bin Amin Madani served in the post between February 2005 and 14 February 2009. His successor was Abdulaziz Khoja. Khoja's appointment was regarded as part of the then King Abdullah's reform initiatives. His tenure as the minister of culture and information ended on 29 January 2015 when

Adel Al Toraifi Adel Al Toraifi (Arabic: عادل الطريفي) (born 1979) is a Saudi journalist and a specialist in Middle Eastern affairs, focusing on Saudi-Iranian relations and foreign policy decision making in the Arab states of the Persian Gulf. He was ...

was appointed to the post. On 22 April 2017,

Awwad Alawwad Awwad S. Alawwad (Arabic: عواد العواد; born 11 April 1972) is a Saudi politician who has served as minister of culture and information of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia since April 2017, and as the Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Germany fro ...

was appointed as minister. His primary mandate is to revitalize the culture and media industries at home, support government communications abroad and strengthen Saudi Arabia’s cultural relations around the world. On 27 December 2018, Turki Al-Shabana was appointed as Minister of Media replacing

who has been appointed as a Royal Court advisor. On 25 February 2020, Majid Al Qasabi was appointed by royal decree as Minister of Media replacing Turki Al-Shabana.

Organization and activities

Censorship

The ministry has "responsibility for all the Saudi media and other channels of information". The ministry has been called the "main agent of censorship" in the kingdom. It is charged with the purification of culture prior to it being permitted circulation to the public. A special unit, the management of publications department, "analyzes all publications and issues directives to newspapers and magazines" stating that way in which a given topic must be treated. Censorship is strict enough for works of the minister of culture and information himself: the former minister Abdulaziz Khojah's own works of poetry were banned in Saudi Arabia.

Other bodies

The ministry also oversees the activities of the following bodies: King Fahd Cultural Centre, Administration of Folklore, Saudi Society for Culture and Arts, General Administration of Cultural Activities and Literary Clubs, and General Administration for Literary Clubs. It is also responsible for the activities of the General Administration for Public Libraries and the General Administration for Cultural Relations. The

Saudi Press Agency The Saudi Press Agency (SPA; ar, وكالة الأنباء السعودية) is the official news agency of Saudi Arabia. History and profile The agency was established in 1970 as the first national news agency in Saudi Arabia. The agency is a ...

is also part of the ministry. In

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

, the ministry has information offices.

References

External links

* {{authority control 1962 establishments in Saudi Arabia

Media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...