Gulf Daily News
 | |
| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Berliner |
| Owner(s) | Al Hilal Group |
| Publisher | Al Hilal Group |
| Editor | George Williams |
| Founded | 1978 |
| Headquarters | Manama, Bahrain |
| Website | www.gulf-daily-news.com |
The Gulf Daily News is an English-language newspaper published in the Kingdom of Bahrain by Al Hilal Group. It is distributed locally in Bahrain. It is owned by the Al Hilal Group, which publishes 13 other newspapers and magazines, including the local Arabic newspaper Akhbar Al Khaleej. The paper, which is one of six daily newspapers in Bahrain, calls itself "The Voice of Bahrain". The name is abbreviated the GDN.
History
The Gulf Daily News was the first daily English newspaper to be published in Bahrain. It was founded in March 1978 by the Al Hilal Group which is also the publisher.[1] The group also publishes Akhbar Al Khaleej, an Arabic daily.[1]
Until the publishing of Bahrain Tribune, the paper held the status as Bahrain's only English newspaper. The paper was created with a focus to provide news to the English-speaking residents of Bahrain, consisting mainly of British, Americans, Filipinos, Indians and Pakistanis. The staff are a mixture of Bahrainis, British, Filipinos and Indians.
Traditionally, the Gulf Daily News was pro-government, but with the political reforms instigated after 2001, it now includes Islamists as well as liberals on its staff. The newspaper has several columnists who write regularly about local issues.
Reporters
The GDN currently has some of the Persian Gulf's widely known writers working for it, namely the following: Mohammed Al A'ali (Bahraini), Sandeep Singh Grewal (Indian) and Avinash Saxena (Indian).
Notable past reporters: Arthur Macdonald (Scottish), Mandeep Singh (Indian), Indira Chand (Indian), Reem Antoon (Iraqi), Amira Al Husseini (Bahraini), Eunice Del Rosario (Filipino), Sara Wickham (British), Tariq Khonji (Bahraini), Soman Baby (Indian), Noor Toorani (Bahraini) and Mohammed Mohsen (Bahraini).
Reporters who have since died include Les Horton (British), Richard Moore (American), Vinitha Vishwanath (Indian), Sanjay Santiago (Indian)[2] and Mohammed Aslam (Bahraini).
Gulf Daily News today
The Gulf Daily News is the most prominent current Bahrain daily newspaper. The newspaper is currently owned by the Al Hilal Group. The paper is based in Bahrain with its editorial offices located at Isa Town and commercial offices in Exhibition Road.
The GDN has created a close relationship with readers and advertisers throughout the years and is the number one used form of media today for daily newspaper promotional campaigns.
The newspaper has a paid daily circulation of 11,500 copies and runs to an average of 48 colour and black & white pages each day. News content is primarily local, political and social news, but the paper also features international business and social news deemed to be of interest to its readership.
In addition, the GDN has lately established an official presence on Twitter, for anyone interested in following tweets regarding headlines and further information.
Major sections
The newspaper is organized in four sections:
- 1. News
- Includes International, National, Business, Sports, Weather.
- 2. Opinion
- Includes Editorials, Op-Eds and Letters to the Editor.
- 3. Features
- Includes Cinema schedules, Local events, Crossword/Games, Cartoons, Horoscopes, Channel schedules.
- 4. Classifieds
- 5. Archives
- Includes back-dated issues of the newspaper
Style
The paper has a page size of 36 cm x 26 cm and a column width of 3.45 cm with 7 columns per page. It is printed via Web Offset and has a 100 lpi (Black & White and colour) screen
Online Edition
Revamped website of the Gulf Daily News was launched in June 2015. Headed by Sonorita Chauhan, the online version of the popular newspaper is the most viewed News portal in Bahrain. The website also caters to the people of GCC countries including UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. While the readers have to pay for the local Bahrain content, other sections are free to access. Other members of the online team who helped is establishing the new website includes Gaurav Vasdev and Sharad Sapehiya.
References
- 1 2 Omran Salman (2 November 2006). "Dissent and Reform in Bahrain: Challenging Government Control of Media" (PDF). American Enterprise Institute. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 October 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
- ↑ "Ex-GDN journalist Sanjay Santiago dies". 20 May 2012. Archived from the original on 20 May 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
http://www.gdnonline.com/Details/10673/Digital-Revolution-GDN-creates-dynamic-new-online-platform