Front page of Al Sudani, June 12, 2011 (TMCT)

Established: 1985

Circulation: 1,000-10,000 (NPC Dec. 2012)

Political Affiliations:

• National Islamic Front (NIF)
• National Congress Party (NCP)

Editor-in-Chief: Dia Al Din Bilal

Background

Al Sudani was established in 1985 by the NIF’s Mahjoub Urwa, brother of the formidable security figure Al Fatih Urwa. Al Sudani, Alwan and the NIF’s official mouthpiece Al Raya served as the NIF’s propaganda outlets during the 1986-1989 parliamentary regime. Mahjoub Urwa’s ownership ran into trouble with the authorities during the 1998/1999 split within the NCP. Following the paper’s failure to side decisively with President Al Bashir against Turabi, Urwa was subsequently financially punished, and the paper almost went bankrupt. During the early 2000s, Al Sudani became a favourite with Khartoum’s literati. It hosted several regime-critical voices and dedicated its culture pages to an emerging generation of poets, prose writers and critics. However, financial constraints took their toll on the publication and Urwa eventually threw in the towel. He agreed to sell a majority of Al Sudani’s shares to the pro-NCP business magnate Jamal Al Wali, who thus became the chairman of the executive board. The younger Dia Al Din Bilal, a journalist from Al Ray Al Aam, replaced Urwa as editor-in-chief.

Source: The Sudanese press after separation – Contested identities of journalism. MICT 2012, Page 34.

The Sudanese press after separation – Contested identities of journalism - MICT 2012