Arab Times (US)

Arab Times is the largest Arab-American newspaper, published in the US since 1986.^[1]

Background

The Arab Times newspaper was founded by Dr. Osama Fawzi in Houston, Texas and first published in print form in 1986. In its present form, the newspaper is published by Arab Times Company.

In 1997, Arab Times launched an online site that complements its print version of the newspaper and an English version appeared later.

Focus

The Arab Times focuses on political personalities and events in the Middle East. The newspaper mainly concentrates on ruling elites, their power struggles and antics in both the Arab world and the Western world. In addition to political news in the Middle East, the publication also covers issues and events that affect the Arabic population in Europe and the United States.

Reach

Arab Times' print version is published in Houston, Texas, and is distributed to at least 35 other states in the US. The newspaper is distributed around the world in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Canada. The online version is available to subscribers in the U.S., Canada, Europe and the Middle East .

Through its website, the newspaper offers to send the printed edition to any reader worldwide for an additional fee. Both the print and online versions of Arab Times are written mainly in the Arabic language. However, the online version has a small English language section.

Arab Times' web version can be freely accessed worldwide. However, it is worth noting that most Arab governments block access to its website. Therefore, readers from those countries usually use special web proxies to bypass governmental block of the website. The newspaper is known to experience constant problems with Middle Eastern governments; a well-known case of this lies in the story of Jordan's first female Member of Parliament, Toujan al-Faisal.^[2]

Arab Times newspaper claims to be the only newspaper banned from distribution in all Arab countries.

Criticism

In 1994, a Virginia jury awarded Shameem Noel Rassam, a former radio and television personality from Iraq, compensatory punitive damages for allegedly libelous statements made against her by Arab Times. The damages totalled $159,000 ($3,000 in compensatory damages and $50,000 in punitive damages for each of three charges). Representing himself, the Editor-in-Chief and owner of Arab Times filed a brief before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit appealing against the jury verdict. In a 1996 per curiam opinion, and without hearing oral argument, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals panel found insufficient evidence to support any damages for two of the three charges, thereby reversing $106,000 of the damages.^[3]

Website policy

The newspaper only publishes a small amount of its print articles on its website. The website has a number of freelance articles contributed by readers and journalists alike, in addition to editorials by the newspaper editors.

Much of the material published on the newspaper's website is representative of the writers' opinions and not the editorial staff of the Arab Times editorial team. However, the newspaper states on the site that they agree to take responsibility for publishing those articles. The newspaper's website is not meant to be a substitute for the print version, but a complement to it.

References