The mass media in Bahrain mainly consists of several weekly and daily newspapers, with the Information Affairs Authority controlling Bahrain's state-owned Bahrain Radio and Television Corporation, which broadcasts radio and television services. The media is predominantly in Arabic though English language and Malayalam newspapers are beginning to emerge in the country. The IAA also controls the Bahrain News Agency which monitors, originates and relays national and international news in Arabic and English, usually generating from 90 to 150 stories a day. Bahrain Telecommunication Company, trading as Batelco, is Bahrain's sole Internet service provider. In 2015, there were an estimated 1.29 million internet user, a penetration of 96.4%.
Most of the press is privately owned and is not subject to censorship as long as it refrains from criticizing the ruling family. Al Wasat newspaper and the Bahrain Mirror are regarded as the country's opposition news sources.
Television
The country's television is state-owned and controlled by the Information Affairs Authority, which operates over five terrestrial TV networks.
An opposition news station, LuaLua TV operates from London, though it is blocked in the country.
Radio
Like the country's television services, it is primarily state-run, under the Bahrain Radio and Television Corporation; services are usually in Arabic. Radio Bahrain is also in English. In addition, 'Your FM' is an Indian language radio station primarily serving listeners from the Indian sub continent.
Newspapers
The country's first newspaper was the Newspaper of Bahrain () weekly newspaper which was first published in the 1940s. Another weekly newspaper, Sada al-Usbu''' (, literally "Weekly echo"), came into publication in 1969. A third weekly newspaper, Al Mujtama al-Jadid () came into publication in 1970. In 1971, when the country declared independence, there was a minimal presence of print media in the country. However in 1976, the country's first daily newspaper and arguably one of the principal, Akhbar Al Khaleej () was published in Arabic by the Akhbar al Khaleej Press company. In 1979, a sister English-language newspaper was started, called Gulf Daily News. In 1989, the Al Ayam () was launched. These three newspapers are considered the principal papers of the country. By the 1990s, there were more than 45 publications in print, which also included company-sponsored newspapers like the Bahrain Petroleum Company's Akhbar'' paper.
Due to the huge malayali population in the Persian Gulf region four malayalam newspapers also have editions from Bahrain. Gulf Madhyamam started publication in Bahrain in 1999. Malayala Manorama and Chandrika are also published from Bahrain. Another malayalam newspaper Gulf Thejas was launched in Bahrain on 27 September 2012 by Akhbar Al Khaleej editor-in-chief Anwar Abdulrahman at a ceremony held in Manama.
Below is a list of newspapers that currently operate in the country:
+ Title(Arabic title in parentheses) Frequency Type Language Publication city(ies) Website Yearestablished Editorial political affiliationAkhbar Al Khaleej (أخبار الخليج) daily Arabic 1976 Pro-governmentAl Ayam (الأيام) daily Arabic alayam.com 1989 Pro-governmentAl Bilad (البلاد) daily Arabic albiladpress.com Pro-governmentAl-Waqt ( الوقت) stopped Arabic alwaqt.com 2006 Leftist nationalistAl-Wasat ( الوسط) stopped Arabic Manama alwasatnews.com 2002 Independent, though considered an opposition newspaper. Al-Watan ( الوطن) daily Arabic alwatannews.net Pro-government Daily Tribune daily English 1997 Pro-government Gulf Daily News daily English Manama gulf-daily-news.com1979 Pro-government Starvision NewsDailyOnline/ Social MediaEnglishwww.starvisionnews.com2019Starvision NewsDailyOnline/ Social MediaArabicarabic.starvisionnews.com2022Starvision NewsDailyOnline/ Social MediaFilipinofilipino.starvisionnews.com/2022Starvision NewsDailyOnline/ Social MediaHindihindi.starvisionnews.com/2020Starvision News Daily Online/ Social Media Malayalam - ml.starvisionnews.com 2019Starvision NewsDailyOnline/ Social MediaKannadakannada.starvisionnews.com/2024Starvision NewsDailyOnline/ Social MediaTamiltamil.starvisionnews.com/2023Bahrain VarthaDailyOnline/ Social MediaMalayalamhttps://bahrainvartha.com/2018Gulf Madhyamam daily Malayalam - madhyamam.com1999 Malayala Manorama daily Malayalam - gulf.manoramaonline.com 4PM daily Malayalam - 4pmnews.com2012 LocalBHdailyOnline/Social MediaEnglishManamalocalbh.com2019Pro-government
See also Information Affairs Authority Culture of Bahrain
References