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Broadcasting live about the modern world, as well as to stimulate discussion on topics such as Oman’s
- a TV control room tourist attractions and heritage. In August 2008 full coverage of the Olympic Games
(left) and a ‘Recitation
in Beijing was broadcast daily.
of the Holy Koran’
competition (above)
The Digital Studio Complex
The state-of-the-art digital studio complex currently under construction near
the television centre in al Qurm, comprises a large number of digital studios of
various sizes and will have a major impact on the country’s radio and TV operations.
Equipped to produce a full range of programmes, its buildings will cover an area of
around 21,000 square metres.

Oman TV Awards
The greater part of Oman TV’s output is locally produced and several of its films
and other programmes have won prizes at Gulf and Arab festivals. These include
the documentary film ‘Ardh al Lubaan’ (Land of Frankincense), which won a silver
award in the documentary films competition at Cairo’s Arab Media Festival in 2007.
‘Al Tuyoor fii Oman – al Juz’ al Thani’ (Birds of Oman – Part Two) came top of the
documentary films category in the Ayyam Majan Competition, on the sidelines of the
2007 Muscat Festival, winning the Golden Khanjar (Dagger) award.

The Media Creativity Competition

The Ministry of Information attaches great importance to developing the
‘Morning Coffee’, a professional skills of Omanis in the media. It provides training courses in the
popular local affairs Sultanate (at the Media Training Centre) and abroad, and in 2004 it introduced
programme the Media Creativity Competition to encourage and recognize creative talents and

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engender a competitive spirit. For the first three years it was held annually. However, The Second
to encourage wider participation and give media personnel more time and opportunity Programme carries
sports news and
to prepare for the event, in 2007 the Minister of Information issued Ministerial
programmes for the
Decision No. 61/2007 that contained a new set of regulations. Under the new system, younger generation
the competition will be held every two years and the number of fields covered has
increased from 29 to 67.
The next Media Creativity Competition will be in 2009 and includes the Press
Competition, which is open only to Omani nationals working on newspapers,
magazines and in the Oman News Agency (ONA). The competition covers nine
fields including stories on news; investigative journalism; interviews, cartoons and
photography.
The Radio Competition offers prizes for excellence in 26 fields including directing
and development in discussion programmes as well as those featuring variety, sports,
cultural issues and society; scriptwriting, acting, music and sound effects also fall
into this category.
The TV Competition is broader still, covering 32 fields, including programmes
on a wide variety of topics for adults and children. The TV competition singles out
excellence in directing, development, screenwriting, acting, camera and sound work,
sports commentating and news reporting and again, is open only to Omani citizens.

The Omani press

The Omani press, which is not subject to censorship, comes under the Law on
Printed Matter and Publications, amended by Royal Decree No. 87/2004, issued on
3rd August 2004. Most of the press is owned by the Omani private sector, which is
significant in enabling citizens to enjoy the freedoms guaranteed by the Basic Law of

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 the State and the amended Law on Printed Matter and Publications.
Over the years since His Majesty came to power, the Omani press has made
impressive progress by adopting a candid, head-on approach to domestic, regional
and international issues. As well as growing in size, the sector has improved its
technology and performance, forged valuable ties with foreign media services, and
consistently presented a full and accurate picture of Oman’s development, both at
home and abroad.
The private sector ‘Al Watan’ Arabic daily – Oman’s first newspaper – began
publication in 1971, followed by the government’s Arabic paper, ‘Oman’, the
following year. Not a single one of the country’s 13 press establishments and over 70
printing presses existed before 1970.
Recent years have seen a significant upswing in the publishing sector, with the
latest daily newspaper – ‘Azzaman’ appearing in August 2007. Today there are over
60 daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly, half-yearly and yearly newspapers,
magazines and other publications, with others in the pipeline.
There are currently seven daily newspapers in Muscat. Four – ‘Oman’ ‘Al
Watan,’ ‘Al Shabiba’ and ‘Azzaman’ – are in Arabic, while the other three – ‘Times
of Oman,’ ‘Oman Daily Observer’ and ‘Oman Tribune’ – are in English. There are
several weekly papers issued in tabloid form, which deal mostly with sport and
miscellaneous features and are distributed free of charge, either as part of one of the
newspapers or as separate publications. Of these, ‘Futoon,’ ‘Al Malaa’ib,’ ‘Al Isbu’,’
‘Al Yawm al Saabi’’ and ‘Al Yawm al Saadis’ are in Arabic, while ‘The Week,’ ‘H!’
and ‘Y’ are in English.
There are over 40 magazines published here including monthlies such as the
English-language ‘Oman Economic Review,’ ‘City Business’, ‘The Commercial’,
‘Business Today’, ‘Automan’ and ‘Al Mar’a,’ (a magazine for women)، and the
booklet ‘Oman Today. There is also a wide selection of specialist professional
publications available.
Under the amended Law on Printed Matter and Publications ownership and
funding of newspapers, magazines, and all press establishments are restricted to
Omani nationals. These businesses are self-financing receiving their funding from
advertising, sales and subscriptions. Press establishments are not subsidised by the
government. Printing, distribution, advertising and publication are regulated by the
Law, which governs all other aspects of the newspaper and magazine business.
The Omani Journalists’ Association assists and supports Omani journalists and
other journalists living and working in the Sultanate and promotes contacts with
Arab and non-Arab journalists’ associations and unions in other countries. In April
2008 it hosted a meeting of the Arab Journalists’ Union Secretariat, which concluded
with a ‘Muscat Declaration’ affirming support for freedom of the press.

Oman Establishment for Press, Publication and Advertising (OEPPA)

Oman Establishment for Press, Publication and Advertising (OEPPA) is the
Sultanate’s largest press establishment in terms of the number of publications produced
as well as technical and human resources. It is a financially and administratively
independent body with the highest Omanisation level of any press establishment
in the country. Its publications include two daily newspapers – ‘Oman’ and ‘Oman
Daily Observer’; one weekly magazine – ‘Al Yawm al Saadis’(The Sixth Day); the
fortnightly magazine ‘Hayati,’ and three quarterly publications: ‘Nizwa’ a literary
magazine specialising in Omani, Arab and world literature and culture that is highly
respected within the Sultanate and beyond its borders; ‘Al Fusool al ‘Arba’a’ (The
Four Seasons), which is devoted to tourism and the Omani heritage; and ‘Oman

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 al Raqmiyya’ (Digital Oman), which deals with developments in the world of
information technology.

Oman News Agency (ONA)

Oman News Agency (ONA), the country’s official news agency, is the official
source of information on Omani policy and events involving the Sultanate. Under
the terms of Royal Decree No. 75/2006, ONA was transferred to the jurisdiction of
the Ministry of Information; then on 8th April 2007 the Minister of Information issued
Ministerial Decision No. 22/2007 defining ONA’s functions and responsibilities and
approving its organisational structure. This move opened up new opportunities for
ONA to develop its professional and technical operations and expand its services
domestically, regionally and internationally.
ONA transmits in Arabic and English, by satellite and through its internet
website. The agency is constantly upgrading its technology and the performance of
personnel. Omanis run all operations employing a network of correspondents in the
country’s regions, as well as in leading international capital cities, to ensure on the
spot, comprehensive and objective coverage of events.
ONA continues to expand its news and distribution services internally and
internationally. Its ‘Sabq’ SMS service, introduced in collaboration with Oman
Mobile, provides subscribers with the latest political, economic, sports and general
news. The Agency also has an archive containing news coverage and photographs of
Most of the press is owned major events, particularly those that took place in Oman.
by the private sector
The Omanet website
The Omanet website is Oman’s direct channel to the outside world and provides a
link between Omanis abroad and at home; it is particularly popular with students. Its
web pages contain information on the Sultanate’s development efforts, tourism and
heritage, investment opportunities and other Oman-related topics.
The Oman yearbook (including this 2008-2009 issue) and other Omani
publications can also be accessed on the Omanet website.
Omanet continually updates its web pages in Arabic and English and offers links
to several major websites around the world. It also oversees and updates the websites
of Oman TV, Oman Radio and the Oman Centre for Traditional Music as well as
several other sites, to facilitate the provision of a comprehensive range of services
for the 7,382,976 visitors (2007 figure), and 1,524,970 file and data-exchange sites
in Arabic and English.
In February 2007 Omanet began transmitting its ‘Daily News Page’ – an
electronic newspaper – for its subscribers and as part of its internet service for Omani
students in the United States, Britain, Morocco, Malaysia, Japan, India, Pakistan and
elsewhere, wanting news of home.

The Sultanate and book fairs

The annual Muscat International Book Fair is organised by the Ministry of
Information in collaboration with the Ministry of Heritage and Culture and Sultan
Qaboos University. At the 2008 Fair - from 27th February to 7th March - more than
35,000 titles from 548 publishing houses in 31 states, were featured The Ministry
of Information also attends book fairs abroad, where it takes the opportunity to
showcase books on Oman’s heritage, culture and tourist attractions, as well as other
The Ministry of publications, pictures and films on various aspects of Oman’s development over
Information participates the 38 years of Sultan Qaboos’s rule. In recent years it has attended fairs in Cairo,
in book fairs abroad Amman, Tunis, Algiers, Tripoli, Sana’a, Damascus and several other capitals.

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