Four decades of credible journalism
Gulf News committed to fulfil its role with the vigour and innovative spirit that make it a world-class newspaper
Anniversaries are crucibles in which the achievements of the past and the ambitions for the future fuse to create a new form of energy to spur growth. Today, Gulf News completes 40 years as a media brand and this journey of four decades has been marked by remarkable triumphs that are a result of innovative thinking, the courage to lead and an unwavering commitment to readers to provide quality and credible content.
These virtues have helped Gulf News — from its inception in 1978 as a mid-day tabloid to its present gravitas as a world-class newspaper — become synonymous with the spirit of enquiry and innovation. This is the essential law of adaptation for all entities that are born in one era and journey into another and therefore must mould themselves to fit the emerging realities of each new decade. Gulf News has always had an innate understanding of this law of mutability.
It was the first newspaper in the UAE to print colour in the broadsheet format in 1985; the first newspaper in the region to promote arts, culture, music and sports through sponsorship of events. The launch of Gulf News’ Gulf Business Awards for the Best Chief Executive, Enterprise and Businessman revealed the vigour of its courage to lead the way in recognising corporate excellence.
Gulf News was also the first in the country to harness the power of newspaper design to give its readers the best synergy between visual aesthetics and the printed word. In 2012, Gulf News became the first Berliner-format newspaper in the Middle East and the first in the world to print its front page in glossy paper. This was another step in innovation — not just in terms of a redesign, but also in rethinking the experience being offered to its readers.
But every journey has the terrain that is yet to be covered and today, in the age of digital disruption, the way ahead is rich with possibilities for how news will be disseminated over the various new media platforms. Amidst all these changes however, there is one eternal constant — the power of credible journalism to inform, empower and enlighten readers, to point the right from the wrong and shine a light where there is darkness. It is a restorative, balancing counterforce in a world fraught with destabilising and partisan forces.
Therefore, irrespective of the delivery vehicle of content — traditional print media or smart devices — the importance of news to remain accurate, informative and thought-provoking will always have timeless relevance. Gulf News is, and always has been, in concord with this abiding principle and the coming times will see it fulfil its role with the same vigour and innovative spirit that have always guided its evolution.