Established: 1953
Circulation: 1,000-10.000 (NPC Dec. 2012)
Background
Al Ayaam can be viewed as a more progressive counterpart to Al Ray Al Aam. It was established in 1953 by a young and innovative trio, Bashir Mohamed Saeed, Mahjoub Osman and Mahjoub Mohamed Salih. The first had liberal- conservative inclinations, the second was a member of the Communist Party of Sudan, and the third was associated with the Anti-Imperial Front but was never committed to the CPS. It stopped printing as with all other newspapers in 1989 and returned to print under Mahjoub Mohamed Salih, but unlike Al Ray Al Aam, it refused to cow to the regime.
Al Ayaam enraged the authorities with its critical editorial line and was the target of restrictive censorship during the years preceding the CPA. During the CPA interim period, Salih’s son, Wael Mahjoub Mohamed Salih, assumed greater editorial responsibilities while his father’s influence receded somewhat. As a supporter of the SPLM, Wael Salih steered Al Ayaam to reflect his views but retained the paper’s traditional ties to the Sudanese leftist scene and the CPS constituency in particular.
However, drained of government and NCP-loyal business advertisements, the paper barely manages to remain in print. Today, its readers are essentially a limited but loyal circle of seniors. It has failed to attract a younger readership and its standing is mostly derived from its history. Contributors include retired bureaucrats with leftist leanings or links to the CPS and its organizations. Mahjoub Mohamed Salih remains the editor-in-chief and chairman of the executive board.
Source: The Sudanese press after separation – Contested identities of journalism. MICT 2012, Page 35.
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