The Oman Daily Observer is an English-language

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 Omani

Oman

Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...

 daily.

Established in November 1981, it is the oldest and most widely circulated English-language broadsheet

Broadsheet

Broadsheet is the largest of the various newspaper formats and is characterized by long vertical pages . The term derives from types of popular prints usually just of a single sheet, sold on the streets and containing various types of material, from ballads to political satire. The first broadsheet...

 in Oman.

The Observer focuses on local, national, regional and international news covering current affairs, business and sports. It also pays special attention to Oman’s economic development

Economy of Oman

Oman is a country in the Middle East. has expanded continuously in the past half-a-century. It grew 339% in the Sixties reaching a peak growth of 1,370% in the Seventies scaling back to modest 12% growth in the turbulent Eighties and rising again to 34% in the Nineties.-Macro-economic trend:This...

, highlighting the country’s natural, historical and cultural wealth.

The current chief executive officer

Chief executive officer

A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...

 is Abdullah bin Nassir bin Musallam Al Rahbi, and the acting editor is Fahmy bin Khalid Al Harthy.

Controversy

The managing editor

Managing editor

A managing editor is a senior member of a publication's management team.In the United States, a managing editor oversees and coordinates the publication's editorial activities...

 for several years of the Oman Daily Observer was Maurice Gent, an Irish

Irish people

The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

 journalist with experience working on Fleet Street

Fleet Street

Fleet Street is a street in central London, United Kingdom, named after the River Fleet, a stream that now flows underground. It was the home of the British press until the 1980s...

, at The Daily Telegraph

The Daily Telegraph

The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...

 and the Financial Times

Financial Times

The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....

, and at the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

. On 15 June 2004, Gent was dismissed as managing editor by the Observers owners, the Oman Establishment for Press, News Publication and Advertising (OEPNPA). Market rumour was that Gent was a victim of Omanization, but an article in the Kerala Monitor exposed disquiet in Oman at Gent's editorial interference

Editorial independence

Editorial independence is the freedom of editors to make decisions without interference from the owners of a publication. Editorial independence is tested, for instance, if a newspaper runs articles that may be unpopular with its advertising clientele....

, in particular through a front page article he wrote defending the former chief ljBank of Oman]], Aubyn Hill, who had recently been deported from Oman for fraud

Bank fraud

Bank fraud is the use of fraudulent means to obtain money, assets, or other property owned or held by a financial institution, or to obtain money from depositors by fraudulently representing to be a bank or financial institution. In many instances, bank fraud is a criminal offense...

.

The Kerala Monitor article also quoted Observer staffers

Employment

Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. An employee may be defined as:- Employee :...

 who recalled further editorial interference by one of Gent's female associates, and the sacking by Gent of VM Sathish, a reporter at the Observer for five years, after strong lobbying by the Khimji family, whose business was undergoing investigation in Oman.

The article quoted sources saying that, while Gent's management duties at the Observer had been terminated, he was taking over Oman Money Works, a publication also owned by the OEPNPA, and other marketing supplements.

On 23 August 2009, the Observer published "A co-ordinated transport plan for Oman", an article by Gent on TransOman, a transport, shipping and logistics show

Trade fair

A trade fair is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products, service, study activities of rivals and examine recent market trends and opportunities...

 organised by Oman International Trade and Exhibitions. The introduction to the article stated that Gent had been with the Observer for 10 years, and that the article was the first in a weekly series, appearing on Sundays. The Observer subsequently published two more articles by Gent in the series, and various other articles in Gent's TransOman Notebook column

Column (newspaper)

A column is a recurring piece or article in a newspaper, magazine or other publication. Columns are written by columnists.What differentiates a column from other forms of journalism is that it meets each of the following criteria:...

 throughout late 2009, including an article on Khimji Ramdas, the main enterprise of the Khimji family.

Managing Editors

Years	Managing Editor
Until 2002	Said bin Khalfan Al Harthy
2002 - 2004	Maurice Gent
From 2004	Fatima Aideed
Present	Fahmy bin Khalid Al Harthy (acting)