logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2021
27m 49s

Saudi Arabia's media ambition

Bbc Radio 4
About this episode

The Saudi Arabian purchase of Newcastle football club has been a huge news story. But football isn't the only area of British public life in which the Saudis play a part. The Evening Standard and The Independent can both trace their ownership back to Saudi Arabia, while in the US, media giants including Disney and Netflix have large Saudi investments. But does this actually affect the journalism we read or the television we watch? Also in the programme, the classic American music magazine Rolling Stone has launched in the UK. So why – when so many publications are shrinking – was this the right moment to launch?

Guests: Vivienne Walt, correspondent at Fortune, Areeb Ullah, journalist at Middle East Eye, Sanam Vakil, Deputy Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House, Jim Waterson, Media Editor at The Guardian and Darren Styles, Managing Director of Rolling Stone UK.

Studio engineer: Giles Aspen

Producer: Hannah Sander

Presenter: Katie Razzall

Up next
Sep 2
Reporting the Taliban, AI's "meat proxies" and The Grand Tour returns
Five years after the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan, BBC Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet has returned to the country to report on life under the regime, including the secret schools educating girls despite restrictions on female education. Lyse joins us to ex ... Show More
42m 43s
Aug 26
YouTube and the battle for television’s future
As the Edinburgh TV Festival gets under way, attention is focused on YouTube's growing position in the television market. Against a backdrop of changing viewing habits and competition between broadcasters and digital platforms, questions remain about audience reach, commissioning ... Show More
42m 39s
Aug 19
Jason Arday: examining the media coverage after his death
The death of Cambridge academic Jason Arday has prompted intense debate about media conduct, following weeks of reporting on allegations of plagiarism and questions about aspects of his life story. Critics have accused journalists of contributing to an atmosphere of relentless sc ... Show More
42m 53s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2023
These Times - How Worried Should We Be About Saudi Arabia?
In this episode, Tom and Helen explore Saudi Arabia - a place at once futuristic and authoritarian. From Aramco Oil to Cristiano Ronaldo, we discuss the ways in which the Kingdom in the Middle East is trying to take over the world, and how worried we should be.&nbsp;<hr><p style= ... Show More
58m 53s
Dec 2021
How Saudi Bought English Football
The Saudis have entered the English football chat. And it’s not a very pretty one, we’re afraid. Two kick-ass British sports journos sound off on what we know, what all we don’t, how the Newcastle deal went down-- and what ought to happen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ... Show More
32m 36s
Feb 2020
Saudi money, English Football
A multi-million pound takeover of the English Premier League team Newcastle United by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund could be in the works.BBC Sports reporter Alistair Magowan explains what we know so far about the deal. In the meantime Ellen R Wald, author of Saudi Inc, sp ... Show More
18m 19s
Aug 2024
Saudi Arabia, the World Cup, and the development of homegrown talent
In Episode 23, hosts Hanaa and Lucien discuss a recent interview with Saudi Arabia's Minister of Sport Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Saud and how the Kingdom is going all-in on football with its recent finalized bid for the World Cup 2034 and major investments into stadiums and the deve ... Show More
1 h
Jun 2023
The Closer Weekly: The Saudis and the Soccer Team
A new kind of money is flooding into professional sports: sovereign wealth. Aimee and Ben check in on Saudi Arabia's ownership of Newcastle United – who have now qualified for the Champions League – and why sportswashing is so prevalent and successful for these investors. Is ther ... Show More
17m 41s