Tariq Alhomayed
Encyclopedia
Tariq Alhomayed is the Editor-in-Chief of Asharq Alawsat
, the youngest person to be appointed that position. Alhomyed has been a guest analyst and commentator on numerous news and current affair programs including: the BBC
, German TV, Al Arabiya
, Al-Hurra, LBC
and the acclaimed Imad Live’s four-part series on terrorism and reformation in Saudi Arabia
. He is also the first journalist to conduct an interview with Osama Bin Ladin's mother. Alhomayed holds a BA degree in media studies
from King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah
, and completed his introductory courses towards a Master’s degree from George Washington
University in Washington D.C. He is based in London
.
Over the years Alhomayed has had many exclusive interviews and stories.Thanks to Alhomayed's focus and belief in being a bridge between the east and the west, Asharq Al-Awsat was the only Arab newspaper to exclusively publish the pictures of Saddam Hussein washing his clothes in prison, after Alhomayed commissioned buying the rights from the respectable British tabloid, The Sun.
The picture of Saddam washing his clothes in jail ran on Asharq Al-Awsat's front page and generated head-lines for the newspaper all over the world.
Taking the professionalism of Journalism as a target, Alhomayed relied heavily on syndications with the most respected Newspapers and News Agencies to re-publish their stories, which took Asharq Alawsat a step ahead of respecting Intellectual Rights, through crediting them and stopping the theft which takes place in most of the publications in the Middle East. The extent to which Asharq Al Awsat relies on syndicated material is always a matter of debate, with no exact percentage ever published or confirmed.
One of Alhomayed's many achievements include's introducing the concept of an Ombudsman to the newspaper. An anonymous editor who is meant to write a weekly critic of the newspaper performance under a column called 'Al Muraqeb Al Sahafi' (Journalism Monitor). From 2004, Asharq Al Awsat's Ombudsman wrote extensively, a number of highly critical articles and came to a sudden stop. On 27 September 2010, nearly 4 years after the Ombudsman column was stopped, Alhomayed announced that the column will be continued. Also revealing for the first time, that it was the late Ahmed Al Rabey (a famous Kuwaiti journalist) who used to write the column in its previous format and explaining the reason the column had been stopped was due to Mr. Al Rabey's death.
Also quoted in international newspapers as The Washington Post by Editor Jim Hoagland [1].
Alhomayed also oversaw the launch of an iPad app for Asharq Al-Awsat in 2011.
Alhomayed is widely criticised for publishing a series of vindictive articles about the State of Qatar between 2004 and 2008, a period that witnessed a disturbance in Saudi/Qatari official relations. The highlight of that phase was when the paper published three reports about the Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani's trip to an Arab foreign ministers' conference in Beirut during the Lebanon conflict in August 2006.
Asharq Al Awsat claimed he had held discussions with Israeli ministers en route to the conference, briefing them on the Arab position.
When Sheikh Hamad denied the allegations in the first story, Asharq Al-Awsat printed a second article, accusing him of lying. A third piece, written by Alhomayed himself, repeated the claims.
However, in July 2008 Alhomayed stated that the allegations were untrue and apologized at the High Court in London "for any embarrassment" caused.
In its apology, which the newspaper also published in its print and web edition, Alhomayed said that "Sheikh Hamad did not hold secret discussions with the Israeli government en route to the Beirut Conference".
Sheikh Hamad's solicitor, Cameron Doley, said: "It is an unequivocal victory. Allegations of that nature at that time could have been damaging to him and Qatar.
"The paper has accepted that it got it wrong. My client is happy with that — there was never anything more in it for him than getting that admission."
This story was even confirmed in Asharq Al-Awsat's sister publication, Arab News.
However, on another occasion Asharq Alawsat was accused for publishing a false interview regarding football club Portsmouth. The following day The Guardian mentioned that the interview was actually true.
Banning of Critical Writers
Critics of Alhomayed claim he bans Asharq Al Awsat writers who are highly critical of Saudi Arabia or its allies, although the allegations was never on solid ground except once for Mona Eltahawy that wrote she was banned although she the one that requested to stop. Alhomayed responded to Eltahawy in both the English and Arabic version of Asharq Al Awsat.
Alhomayed is believed to have banned several other writers including the Mananging Director of Al Arabiya News Channel and former editor in chief of Asharq Al Awsat, Abdulrahman Al Rashed. As Eltahawi notes, in the majority of cases – the writer is left to discover he or she was banned on their own rather than receiving a reason or justification from Alhomayed.
However, Al-Rashed's banning caused quite an international stir in mid-September 2010 and Alhomayed told A.F.P that the newspaper never banned him - though nothing official was reported about the matter until 16 September 2010 when the paper quoted al-Rashed saying that he voluntarily stopped writing for them.
On 18 September 2010 Al-Rashed returned to writing in Asharq Al Awsat.
Censoring Controversial Stories
Alhomayed's era witnessed some major Saudi-related stories being ignored or censored. For example, under Alhomayed Asharq Al-Awsat completely ignored the story of the Saudi princess who was granted asylum in the UK after facing death threats in her country for giving birth to 'love-child' of a British citizen and the trial of a Gay Saudi Prince who murdered his servant in 2010. This was openly criticized by a member of the newspaper staff, Manal Lutfi Khalil, who spoke of how the Saudi paper intentionally ignored the story on BBC Arabic.
Under Alhomayed as well, Asharq Alawsat ignored many sensitive stories relating to Saudi Allies, such as the United Arab Emirates as it didn't report on the infamous scandal of Emirati Sheikh Issa Bin Zayed who appeared torturing one of his workers in a home-video which was leaked to the media.
Furthermore, Alhomayed was accused of having double standards for not reporting freely about his own country but having his reporters say as they wish about other, this was one of the examples that Hafiz Al Merazi, a TV Presenter for Al Arabiya, used on live TV to portray bias in the Saudi-owned media outlets, such as Asharq Al-Awsat.
Asharq Alawsat
Asharq Al-Awsat is an Arabic international newspaper headquartered in London. A pioneer of the "off-shore" model in the Arabic press, the paper is often noted for its distinctive green-tinted pages....
, the youngest person to be appointed that position. Alhomyed has been a guest analyst and commentator on numerous news and current affair programs including: the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, German TV, Al Arabiya
Al Arabiya
Al Arabiya is a Pan-Arabist Saudi-owned Arabic-language television news channel. Launched on March 3, 2003, the channel is based in Dubai Media City, United Arab Emirates, and is majority-owned by the Saudi broadcaster Middle East Broadcasting Center ....
, Al-Hurra, LBC
LBC
LBC Radio operates two London-based radio stations, with news and talk formats. LBC was Britain's first legal commercial Independent Local Radio station, providing a service of news and information to London. It began broadcasting on 8 October 1973, a week ahead of Capital Radio...
and the acclaimed Imad Live’s four-part series on terrorism and reformation in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
. He is also the first journalist to conduct an interview with Osama Bin Ladin's mother. Alhomayed holds a BA degree in media studies
Media studies
Media studies is an academic discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history and effects of various media; in particular, the 'mass media'. Media studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but mostly from its core disciplines of mass...
from King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah
Jeddah
Jeddah, Jiddah, Jidda, or Jedda is a city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest sea port on the Red Sea, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh. The...
, and completed his introductory courses towards a Master’s degree from George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
University in Washington D.C. He is based in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Asharq Alawsat
- Assistant Editor-in-Chief of Asharq Alawsat. (2004 for 7 months before becoming editor in chief)
- Managing Editor of Asharq Al-Awsat in Saudi ArabiaSaudi ArabiaThe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
(2003–2004) - Head of Asharq Al-Awsat Newspaper's Bureau-JeddahJeddahJeddah, Jiddah, Jidda, or Jedda is a city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest sea port on the Red Sea, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh. The...
(2003–2004)
Al-Madina newspaper
- Correspondent for Al-Madina newspaperNewspaperA newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
in Washington D.C. from 1998 to August 2000.
Achievements
Alhomayed launched several weekly supplements in Asharq Al Awsat, these include: Al Siyaha (Free Weekly Health Magazine), Alam Alriyadh (Free Weekly Sport's Magazine), Al Aqar (Real Estate), Azwak (Fashion & Style), Mazakat (Food Taste), Al Watar Al Sadis (Sixth String - TV, Cinema & Songs), Al Elaam (Media), Al Muntada Al Thakafi (Culture Forum) and Hasad Al Usbo' (Week Harvest).Over the years Alhomayed has had many exclusive interviews and stories.Thanks to Alhomayed's focus and belief in being a bridge between the east and the west, Asharq Al-Awsat was the only Arab newspaper to exclusively publish the pictures of Saddam Hussein washing his clothes in prison, after Alhomayed commissioned buying the rights from the respectable British tabloid, The Sun.
The picture of Saddam washing his clothes in jail ran on Asharq Al-Awsat's front page and generated head-lines for the newspaper all over the world.
Taking the professionalism of Journalism as a target, Alhomayed relied heavily on syndications with the most respected Newspapers and News Agencies to re-publish their stories, which took Asharq Alawsat a step ahead of respecting Intellectual Rights, through crediting them and stopping the theft which takes place in most of the publications in the Middle East. The extent to which Asharq Al Awsat relies on syndicated material is always a matter of debate, with no exact percentage ever published or confirmed.
One of Alhomayed's many achievements include's introducing the concept of an Ombudsman to the newspaper. An anonymous editor who is meant to write a weekly critic of the newspaper performance under a column called 'Al Muraqeb Al Sahafi' (Journalism Monitor). From 2004, Asharq Al Awsat's Ombudsman wrote extensively, a number of highly critical articles and came to a sudden stop. On 27 September 2010, nearly 4 years after the Ombudsman column was stopped, Alhomayed announced that the column will be continued. Also revealing for the first time, that it was the late Ahmed Al Rabey (a famous Kuwaiti journalist) who used to write the column in its previous format and explaining the reason the column had been stopped was due to Mr. Al Rabey's death.
Also quoted in international newspapers as The Washington Post by Editor Jim Hoagland [1].
Alhomayed also oversaw the launch of an iPad app for Asharq Al-Awsat in 2011.
Controversies and criticisms
False ReportingAlhomayed is widely criticised for publishing a series of vindictive articles about the State of Qatar between 2004 and 2008, a period that witnessed a disturbance in Saudi/Qatari official relations. The highlight of that phase was when the paper published three reports about the Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani's trip to an Arab foreign ministers' conference in Beirut during the Lebanon conflict in August 2006.
Asharq Al Awsat claimed he had held discussions with Israeli ministers en route to the conference, briefing them on the Arab position.
When Sheikh Hamad denied the allegations in the first story, Asharq Al-Awsat printed a second article, accusing him of lying. A third piece, written by Alhomayed himself, repeated the claims.
However, in July 2008 Alhomayed stated that the allegations were untrue and apologized at the High Court in London "for any embarrassment" caused.
In its apology, which the newspaper also published in its print and web edition, Alhomayed said that "Sheikh Hamad did not hold secret discussions with the Israeli government en route to the Beirut Conference".
Sheikh Hamad's solicitor, Cameron Doley, said: "It is an unequivocal victory. Allegations of that nature at that time could have been damaging to him and Qatar.
"The paper has accepted that it got it wrong. My client is happy with that — there was never anything more in it for him than getting that admission."
This story was even confirmed in Asharq Al-Awsat's sister publication, Arab News.
However, on another occasion Asharq Alawsat was accused for publishing a false interview regarding football club Portsmouth. The following day The Guardian mentioned that the interview was actually true.
Banning of Critical Writers
Critics of Alhomayed claim he bans Asharq Al Awsat writers who are highly critical of Saudi Arabia or its allies, although the allegations was never on solid ground except once for Mona Eltahawy that wrote she was banned although she the one that requested to stop. Alhomayed responded to Eltahawy in both the English and Arabic version of Asharq Al Awsat.
Alhomayed is believed to have banned several other writers including the Mananging Director of Al Arabiya News Channel and former editor in chief of Asharq Al Awsat, Abdulrahman Al Rashed. As Eltahawi notes, in the majority of cases – the writer is left to discover he or she was banned on their own rather than receiving a reason or justification from Alhomayed.
However, Al-Rashed's banning caused quite an international stir in mid-September 2010 and Alhomayed told A.F.P that the newspaper never banned him - though nothing official was reported about the matter until 16 September 2010 when the paper quoted al-Rashed saying that he voluntarily stopped writing for them.
On 18 September 2010 Al-Rashed returned to writing in Asharq Al Awsat.
Censoring Controversial Stories
Alhomayed's era witnessed some major Saudi-related stories being ignored or censored. For example, under Alhomayed Asharq Al-Awsat completely ignored the story of the Saudi princess who was granted asylum in the UK after facing death threats in her country for giving birth to 'love-child' of a British citizen and the trial of a Gay Saudi Prince who murdered his servant in 2010. This was openly criticized by a member of the newspaper staff, Manal Lutfi Khalil, who spoke of how the Saudi paper intentionally ignored the story on BBC Arabic.
Under Alhomayed as well, Asharq Alawsat ignored many sensitive stories relating to Saudi Allies, such as the United Arab Emirates as it didn't report on the infamous scandal of Emirati Sheikh Issa Bin Zayed who appeared torturing one of his workers in a home-video which was leaked to the media.
Furthermore, Alhomayed was accused of having double standards for not reporting freely about his own country but having his reporters say as they wish about other, this was one of the examples that Hafiz Al Merazi, a TV Presenter for Al Arabiya, used on live TV to portray bias in the Saudi-owned media outlets, such as Asharq Al-Awsat.