Mohammed Fahad al-Harthi

Mohammed Fahad al-Harthi has been the Chief Executive Officer of the Saudi Broadcasting Authority in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia since 2020. He worked in conventional and modern media for about twenty years, during which he held several positions and advanced in the Saudi and international media sectors. He holds a bachelor's degree in architecture and a master's degree in international journalism from Britain's City University.

Mohammed Fahad al-Harthi began his media journey in Asharq al-Awsat Newspaper before working as a reporter for the English-language newspaper 'Arab News'. Then, he moved to 'Financial Times' to work as a visiting journalist. He was then transferred to al-Eqtisadiah newspaper in a full-time job, handling various tasks and roles until he became managing editor in the same newspaper.

In 1997, al-Harthi became the editor-in-chief of Arrajol magazine. After seven years, specifically in 2004, he was appointed editor-in-chief of al-Jamila and Sayidaty magazines. He transformed Sayidaty into a range of specialized magazines and websites, namely 'Sayidaty Décor', 'Sayidaty Mother and Child', and 'Sayidaty Fashion'. He also launched Sayidaty Magazine in English before returning again to 'Arab News' newspaper as editor-in-chief (2013-2016). During that time, he launched the 'Arab News' Dialogue Forum project, which hosts seminars in the presence of officials and diplomats to discuss current affairs.

In 2015, al-Harthi worked in television programs and launched the social talk show, 'Bidoun Shak' (Without Doubt) on MBC. He also wrote a number of articles concerned with political fields in Asharq al-Awsat and al-Bayan newspapers. Additionally, he wrote a monthly article in Arrajol magazine, and a weekly article in Sayidaty magazine.

Al-Harthi won a number of local and Arab awards, most notably: The Gulf Excellence Award in 2002 and the Media Innovation Award in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, in 2014. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Journalists Association since 2016. He is also a founding member of the Young Arab Leaders Forum in Davos Middle East.

In February 2022, the CEO of the Saudi Broadcasting Authority, Mohammed Fahad al-Harthi, announced the launch of the first news radio station in the Kingdom, to be the radio version of al-Ekhbariya channel. Through this step, the authority aims to continue its journey of focusing on local content and moving towards specialization, within the framework of a strategy to distribute the media discourse across all platforms and to shift towards specialized media to meet the desires of different segments of society.