Gulf News

Gulf News is a daily English language newspaper published from Dubai with a December 2013 BPA audited circulation of over 112,000 qualified copies. The newspaper won the Asia - Pacific award for best newspaper production in July 1990.

The on-line edition of the paper was reported by Forbes in 2010 to be the number one among the English-language online newspapers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and in the UAE.

Early history
Gulf News was first launched in tabloid format in 1979 by prominent UAE businessman Abdul Wahab Galadari; its offices were located on the Airport Road, Dubai. In November 1984, three leading UAE businessmen, purchased the company and formed Al Nisr Publishing. The new owners of the paper were Obaid Humaid Al Tayer, Abdullah Al Rostamani and Juma Al Majid. With the death of Abdullah Al Rostamani in 2006, his position on the board is held by a family nominee while the other directors remain.

Under new ownership, Gulf News was re-launched on 10 December 1985 and was free to the public. From February 1986, the public was charged one Dirham (US 27 cents) a copy for the Gulf News package which comprised the broadsheet newspaper and a leisure supplement called Tabloid, which also contained classifieds.

After moving into new premises in 1986, Gulf News began to be distributed to other GCC countries: Bahrain from September 1987; Oman from April 1989; Saudi Arabia from March 1989; and Qatar from April 1989. It also became available in Pakistan from August 1988. In November 1995 the width of the paper's broadsheet pages were reduced by four centimetres, to create the new international size of 38 centimetres.

Al Nisr Publishing became a Limited Liability Company (LLC) with a share capital of Dh15 million on 26 May 1997.

Sections
Besides the daily broadsheet newspaper, Gulf News publishes the following: - Business (Daily) - Weekend Review: Culture, Art & Reviews (Weekly) - Tabloid: Celebrity happenings (Daily)

Opinion
Regular op-ed contributors to Gulf News include: Uri Avnery, Kuldip Nayar, Dr. Faisal Alkasim, Joseph A. Kechichian, Marwan Al Kabalan, Rakesh Mani, Linda S. Heard, Stuart Reigeluth & Wael Al Sayegh

Foreign bureaus
In order to provide better local coverage for its readers, Gulf News opened various bureaus around the United Arab Emirates, the GCC and the Subcontinent. The Abu Dhabi bureau was opened in 1982; Bahrain bureau in January 1988; Oman bureau in 1989; Manila bureau in August 1990; Al Ain bureau in 1994; Sharjah bureau in May, 1995; and the New Delhi bureau in November 1995.

The first online edition of Gulf News was launched on 1 September 1996. Gulf News moved to its present headquarters on Sheikh Zayed Road in April 2000. The new headquarters state-of-the-art technology throughout, with fibre-optic cabling and one of the most advanced printing press in the Middle East.

Sponsorship and promotion
Gulf News was the first newspaper in the region to promote the arts, culture, music and sport through sponsorship of events. In March 1989, Gulf News started the Gulf Business Awards in collaboration with DHL for the Best Chief Executive, Enterprise and Businessman. The scheme was discontinued in 1996.

The regionally famous Gulf News Fun Drive was started in March 1986. The 26th Fun Drive was held in December 2006 and saw 750 all-terrain vehicles with over 2,800 participants. An earlier Fun Drive was recorded in the Guinness Book of Records as being a significant first achievement. Another major event is the $6 million Dubai World Cup horse race meeting, which comprises seven top quality races, and includes a race for Purebred Arabians. Gulf News sponsors the $2 million Dubai Golden Shaheen, a Group 1 sprint which one of the main attractions, of the meeting. Gulf News also sponsors an entire evening of horse racing at Nad Al Sheba, with each race being named after one of its titles.

The paper also sponsors a number of other major sports events in the UAE, as well as seminars and conferences. Principal among this latter is the Arab Strategy Forum, where leaders in politics and industry gather to discuss current events affecting the region

Role in Orkut ban
On 3 July 2007, Gulf News revisited the issue of Orkut's "immoral activities" communities, publishing complaints from members of the public against Orkut communities like "Dubai Sex", and officially bringing the complaints to the attention of the state telecom monopoly Etisalat. The ensuing moral panic resulted in a renewed ban of the site by Etisalat by July 4, 2007.

Holocaust denial
On 4 January 2009, the paper published an article by Dr Mohammad Abdullah Al Mutawa, a professor of sociology at UAE University Al Ain which stated that the Nazi "holocaust was a mere lie devised by Zionists to blackmail humanity." It continued, "It is evident that the holocaust was a conspiracy hatched by the Zionists and Nazis, and many innocent people gave their lives as a result of this inhuman plot." Editors later said it was a mistranslation from Arabic, although as the piece still made it to print it was clearly either not subject to editorial review before publication, or it was reviewed but deemed to be not offensive.

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