By IINA,
Jeddah : Somayya Jabarti has been appointed editor in chief of the Jeddah-based Saudi Gazette newspaper following the resignation of Khaled Almaeena from the position, Okaz Organization for Press & Publication announced on Monday. She becomes the first woman editor in chief of a Saudi newspaper.
Almaeena, a prominent journalist and commentator in the region, is a former editor in chief of Arab News where he held the top position before moving to Saudi Gazette in 2011. Almaeena has held several media positions during the past 30 years, including CEO of Saudi Public Relations Company, Saudi Television news anchor, talk show host, columnist, radio announcer, lecturer and author. In a statement on the occasion, Jabarti said she was aware of her big responsibility being the first Saudi woman to become editor in chief of a daily newspaper.
Jabarti worked for about a decade with Arab News in different positions before joining the Gazette in 2011. “Today I proudly leave my nominee, a female journalist, who will take the helm of the paper,” Almaeena wrote in a farewell letter to the paper’s readers on Sunday. “She (Jabarti) has been associated with me for almost 13 years, and I’ve had the goal almost as long of wanting to see a Saudi woman enter the male-dominated bastion of editors in chief. It was not a question of gender but of merit that decided and earned her this opportunity,” wrote Almaeena.