The Ministry of Media () is one of the governmental bodies of

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

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 is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in 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 o ...

History

The ministry was founded in 1962 as the ministry of information. The first minister of information was Jamil Ibrahim Hejailan who held the post between March 1963 and December 1970. Successor of Hejailan in the post was Ibrahim Al Angari. 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 08 December 2014 when Abdulaziz Alkhedheiri was appointed to the post. On January 29, 2015 Adel Al Toraifi 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 and senior government official. He served as Minister of Culture and Information from April 2017 to December 2018, and as Ambassador to Germany from 2015 t ...

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 minister of media replacing Awwad Alawwad in the post who was appointed as a 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; ) is the State media, state news agency of Saudi Arabia. It was established in 1970 during the reign of Faisal of Saudi Arabia, King Faisal bin Abdulaziz, and functions under the country's Ministry of Media (Saudi Ar ...

is also part of the ministry. In

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

, the ministry has information offices.

References

External links

* {{authority control 1962 establishments in Saudi Arabia

Media Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inter ...