Dubai: Gulf News has been ranked the top English language news website in the UAE and Arab world in a survey by Forbes Middle East in 2011.
Out of the 63 Arabic and English sites ranked, Gulf News was placed 12th, and was the only English language news organisation in the top 20.
"The press in the Gulf region which is led by Saudi newspapers in our ranking is very conservative. Qatar and UAE newspapers also have the same level of caution. The only newspaper that crossed the red line to be on the top of UAE newspapers in our list is Emarat Alyoum," said Khuloud Al-Omian, editor-in-chief of Forbes Middle East.
Egypt's Al Youm Al Sabe maintained its top position overall for the second year running by attracting more than 15 million visitors to its website.
In the survey, Forbes Middle East analysed eight newspapers from Saudi Arabia that led the list, followed by the UAE, Egypt, and Lebanon, each having seven newspapers vying for the honours. There were five newspapers each from Bahrain and Jordan.
"The revolutions that toppled the regimes in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya have also caused remarkable changes in the administrative structure in some newspapers. It contributed in reforming the editorial approach," Al Omian said.
There were 37 newcomers to the list. Saudi Arabia's Al Eqtisadieh was the only newcomer to make it to the Top 10.
