21/08/2025
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21/08/2025
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DEBATES about Saudi Arabia’s transformation often fall into two camps. Some highlight development successes, while others dwell on setbacks and delays.
A third group focuses almost entirely on the Entertainment Authority, as if its events alone define the nation’s new direction. Every large-scale project inevitably encounters shortcomings, and no grand vision advances without adjustments. That is the normal rhythm of progress.
My focus here, however, is not on economic benchmarks or entertainment spectacles. It is on another achievement — one of the most striking cultural successes of recent years. Saudi Arabia has witnessed a remarkable media transformation, driven by thoughtful talk shows and podcasts that appeal both to Arab intellectuals and to ordinary audiences seeking substance. A new generation of Saudi voices has reshaped the Gulf’s media landscape. Programs now engage with history, politics and social issues with a seriousness long absent from regional broadcasting.
They have created spaces where academics, writers and public figures speak with candor, while viewers encounter conversations that combine depth with accessibility. What stands out is their ability to avoid the stale, formulaic rhetoric that once dominated traditional channels. Instead, they offer dialogue that opens intellectual horizons, explores personal journeys and presents ideas in clear, engaging ways. Only a few years ago, such programming would have been difficult to imagine in Saudi Arabia.
Today it has become part of the mainstream media across the Kingdom and the Middle East. This transformation reflects institutional effort and the determination of a younger generation of professionals who introduced fresh perspectives and higher standards. Their work has projected a confident image of Saudi society and signaled a cultural awakening whose influence extends beyond national borders. Equally important, this change has not been confined to elites. Broader segments of society are tuning in. Academics searching for rigorous analysis find it, while ordinary viewers drawn to timely debates also engage.
Saudi media has leapt from light entertainment and passive consumption to programming that stimulates thought and dialogue. Major national projects will always attract skeptics — some thoughtful, others hostile. Yet what cannot be denied is that the cultural and media dimension of Saudi Arabia’s transformation has achieved genuine breakthroughs.
It has opened new spaces for dialogue, left a lasting mark on Arab public consciousness and reshaped the Kingdom’s image both near and far. Just as every enduring structure rests on solid foundations, the foundations of Saudi Arabia’s new era have already raised intellectual skyscrapers. These towers of culture and dialogue stand as achievements that few in the region can rival.
By Abdulaziz Mohammed Al-Anjeri
