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The media in Saudi Arabia is used for different purposes. The media outlets are aware of some issues. And they have some sort of self-censorship. Most of the cases, the media outlets try to educate people of the country and also inspire the national unity. The media outlets are not allowed to broadcast or print something that goes beyond the religious beliefs.
Though the majority of the media are owned by private initiatives, the government of the country has a significant contribution to them. the government subsidizes almost all the private media outlets for some reasons. The government is generous in this case but it does not tolerate the attack on the religion or other religious issues. Besides, criticizing the royal family is also undesired from the media.
The traditional Saudi media outlets are comprised of newspapers, television, internet, and radio. The online media outlets need to be registered with the government. In fact, the use of the internet is also under the censorship. They cannot publicize too sensitive news and information on the outlets and the government takes care of the matter seriously. Even some religious leaders are often forced to support some of the illegal activities of the government and they are asked refraining from criticism of the government during the preach.
Many of the online media outlets are blocked in the country and few of the mainstream online media outlets are in operation in Saudi Arabia. The government has blocked them for various reasons including blasphemy and based on immoral issues. Besides, some of the political websites are also blocked here for as they do not comply with the government rules and regulations. Sometimes, the websites are blocked as they fail to get the necessary license. All such activities are performed by the Ministry of Information.
Moreover, when the satellite channels also criticize the government policies or the royal family, the government places a ban on them. The government is strict on this matter. But the journalists are never harassed physically like some other countries. But the foreign journalists have to experience some difficulties while entering into some part of the country to collect news and information.
Around 30 newspapers have their operation in the country and most of them are published on a daily basis. Most of the newspapers come in the Arabic language while there are some dailies published using the English and some other languages. Most the newspapers contain local and international news of varied interest.
Around 39 television channels are being operated in the country, and they come with different languages. Most of the television channels use the Arabic language. Besides, the contents of the channels vary and most of the time they are educative. Besides, there are some religious channels dedicated to preaching the religion across the country.
There are 76 radio stations available across the country. They broadcast news and information of different interest. The Arabic language is the widely used language for radio broadcast while there are some stations who prefer the English language to a wider audience.
The number of the internet users is also climbing but due to the restrictions, the users are unable to rise sharply. Many of the newspapers have their online based outlets and the number of visitors is remarkable.