The National

I have just returned from a trip to Abu Dhabi and Mumbai. Highlights of my trip included a helicopter ride over Abu Dhabi and a discussion of the Abu Dhabi bid to be the global headquarters of IRENA, the International Renewable Energy Agency. But for fans of mainstream media, we should take solace in the ambitious plans of the National, the new daily newspaper in the Middle East, based in Abu Dhabi.

The National was founded last year as part of Abu Dhabi Media Company. It has a free-standing board, immune from critique by the Ministry of Information by royal decree and proudly declares its editorial independence by writing articles critical of business and government as need be. The aim is to be the “quality broadsheet, an English language paper that serves the expatriate community and the aspirational class who happen to speak English,” said Martin Newland, editor of the paper and formerly editor of the Telegraph in London. It is published six days a week, with 80,000 circulation--25% paid and the balance dropped in high traffic places including hotels and airports. Daily sections include news, sports, culture, business, plus a seven section weekend edition with a magazine. The paper seeks to charge a premium for advertising that reaches people of power and influence in the region.

According to Tom Ashby, deputy business editor, “We are part of a media thrust that has also seen the launch of the Media Zone, twofour54 (that is latitude and longitude of Abu Dhabi) that has attracted BBC and Thomson Reuters for regional hubs.” There are 230 full time journalists at the paper, including 18 staff business writers and 40 foreign correspondents. Ashby told me, “We have recruited talent from The Telegraph in the UK, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and papers in Canada.”

The newsroom is set up in classic departmental style around a conference table in the middle. Story meetings occur at 10 am and again as needed given breaking news later in the day. Journalists are expected to file primarily for the print issue by 6 pm or as late as 10 pm on breaking news. There are several blogs on thenational.ae site including Beep Beep and In the Black, as financial reporters write short posts throughout the day. But the web site seems at present to be a shorter form version of the print paper. The news focus is Abu Dhabi, its government, its environment, its investments in the global economy. Ashby told me the paper plans a “multi-platform integration.” There is already a daily TV news program, “Inside the National,” utilizing staff talent from the newsroom. There will be more video incorporated in the sports and culture sections of the web site. The paper is evaluating ways to get more consumer-generated content, to take advantage of demand for hyper-local coverage.

The National is emblematic of the ambition of Abu Dhabi. The mindset of this city is to under promise and over deliver, in stark contrast to some of its neighbors. The keen awareness of environment is underlined by the planting of thousands of trees over thirty years by the late Sheikh Zayed, followed by the creation of Masdar as a carbon neutral city (disclosure: a client). To recruit talented professionals and their families to the city, the Government has contracted with the Louvre, the Guggenheim Museum, New York University and the Sorbonne to build cultural attractions and academic centers over the next five years. The city seeks to exploit its central location between developed and developing worlds; it is one of two leading bidders as the global headquarters of IRENA, the international renewable energy agency that has 80 nations as members. The trip was a welcome respite from the global recession. I would appreciate your comments as always.