Asharq al-Awsat Newspaper

Asharq al-Awsat Newspaper is one of the international Arab newspapers, launched in London on July 4, 1978. It was founded by Hisham Hafez and his brother Mohammed Hafez. It is a daily newspaper issued by the Saudi Research and Publishing Company.

The idea of founding the newspaper emerged from the founders’ desire to provide journalistic material in the Arabic language, targeting all Arabs in all countries of the world rather than being specific to a country. This idea eventually became a reality, with the newspaper initially headquartered in the historic Gough Square in Britain. Then, it moved to the center of its capital, London, on Holborn Street. In 2016, the newspaper established a new headquarters in Chiswick district, west London.

Asharq al-Awsat newspaper chose the green color for its paper copies, as it was used for the first, second, last, and penultimate pages. in 1989, it was one of the first international newspapers to use computer technology to edit and produce its materials. Moreover, the newspaper's editorial team included a group of Arab workers.

The electronic version of the newspaper was created on the Internet in 1995. It was ready to keep pace with the digital world on August 10, 2000. The newspaper focused on field coverage and specialized interviews across several fields. Moreover, a number of experts in literature, science, thought, and politics took part in its writings.

Asharq al-Awsat Newspaper evolved when Prince Ahmed Bin Salman assumed the position of the chairman of the Saudi Research and Publishing Group 'currently, Saudi Research and Media Group', where its position in media circles was strengthened. Moreover, the newspaper used the simultaneous printing feature for a number of cities around the world via satellite transmission to print from fourteen cities across four continents. The newspaper owns the Arabic syndication rights to international publications, specifically Global Viewpoint, the Washington Post, and USA Today. Asharq al-Awsat is one of the newspapers that provides comprehensive world news coverage.

The newspaper offered a special section for issuing weekly supplements, in which various press materials were published by experts and specialists in several fields including culture, health, science, books, and real estate. It also releases Mathaqat section specializing in cuisines and foods, in addition to cars, travel, tourism, media, arts, the world of technology, cinema, and the environment. On the other hand, the newspaper includes several main sections, such as Arab and international news, economics, and sports, and a section for articles by opinion writers.

Asharq al-Awsat newspaper expanded the publication of specialized and diverse materials in its internal pages by issuing eighteen supplements: origins, culture, books, sciences, media, cars, sixth string, issues, harvest of the week, cinema, Mathaqat, environment, travel and tourism, health, fashion, information technology, real estate, in addition to investigation.

Asharq al-Awsat newspaper took the initiative to keep up with the requirements of the new media and digital transformation in the media field by developing the newspaper’s website, which is one of the most important Arab news websites. News is transmitted in five languages, primarily Arabic, in addition to English, Turkish, Urdu, and Persian.

The newspaper’s website includes nine main sections: First, News, Opinion, Economy, Sports, supplements, Culture, East Files, and Last. The website provides readers with an electronic PDF version that is released daily on the website and can be downloaded on computers and smartphones.

As part of its digital efforts, Asharq al-Awsat newspaper created accounts on the most popular social sites. Its account on Twitter has more than 4.9 million followers. The newspaper joined Twitter in 2010. Its account on 'Facebook' has more than 4.5 million followers.