Theweek
 The front page of theweek's 200th issue | |
| Type | Weekly newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Tabloid |
| Owner(s) | Apex Press and Publishing |
| Publisher | Mr Saleh al Zakwani |
| Founded | 2003 |
| Political alignment | Neutral news coverage |
| Headquarters | CBD Area, Ruwi, Muscat, Oman |
| Website | www.theweek.co.om |
theweek is a free, 48-page, all-colour, independent weekly newspaper published from Muscat in the Sultanate of Oman. Oman’s first free newspaper was launched in March 2003 and has now gone on to gather what is believed to be the largest readership for any publication in Oman. Ms Mohana Prabhakar is the managing editor of the publication. theweek is audited by BPA Worldwide, which has certified its circulation as being a weekly average of 50,300.
theweek is the first and so far, only publication in Oman to be audited. The results of the audit were first announced in January 2007 and have reinforced the market perception of the publication being a clear leader in terms of readership and reach. A survey done by Apex Press and Publishing, says that TheWeek has an average readership of 178,000.
Free copies of theweek can be picked up every Wednesday from a large number of outlets spread across the main urban areas in Oman, including Muscat, Sohar, Sur, Nizwa and Salalah. It covers mostly local Oman-based news – everything from people and events to government decisions and civic initiatives. Celebrities visiting Oman or with an Oman connection, local events and Oman’s sports heroes are covered regularly in the publication. It usually does not take any political news position with the emphasis being more on ‘featurish fluff’.
The newspaper is published by Apex Press and Publishing, Oman's premier publishing house, which was instrumental in introducing the concept of a 'free' newspaper in the Oman market. TheWeek reportedly gets its revenues from the large number of advertisements in it. Contests that are run in the paper including the Crossword, Wordsearch and Find the (hidden) Frog as well as do-it-yourself games like Sudoku and Wordbuster are very popular with its readers. The publication is popular with the English reading population in the country and is even recommended for classroom reading by many educational institutions in the country.
Controversy
In 2009, Philippina actress Isabel Granada allegedly approached the newspaper with the claim that actor-producer Steg Dorr had attempted to sexually assault her on the set of his film and failed to pay her fee. Dorr's attorney later reached an out-of-court settlement with the actress and the incident was never publicized. Both Mr. al-Zakwani and Ms. Prabhakar, whom Dorr had abused in public and referred to degradingly, had long asserted that Dorr was an egomaniac and genuine psychopath and sadist. However, Dorr had once been a contributing writer for Apex. In interviews, Dorr has said "In 1999 I was a 25 year-old out-of-work actor living in Arizona and commuting back and forth to LA trying get work. I was at the end-I mean the very end-of my rope. It was either go back and live with my mother in Oman, where she worked, or go out and rob somebody for money. Instead of doing something desperate I moved back in with my mother. A Swedish photographer I knew from school said I could get paid for writing film reviews for this magazine run by a bunch of Australian hippies."
theweek attracted attention in early 2010 when a piece by Sameer al-Zakwani appeared in the paper extolling the virtues of cross dressing. In strictly Muslim Oman, eyebrows were raised at the two-page article entitled 'I'm Loving it in Leather and Lace' in which Mr al-Zakwani described from his own standpoint the 'allure and raw eroticism' of wearing women's clothing. al-Zakwani professed to dressing up as a Korean schoolgirl with over-the-knee stockings, open-toed slingback heels, crotchless leatherette panties and scarlet ribbons in his pretty little hair. 'I'm declaring gender jihad,' wrote al-Zakwani. 'Omani society has little choice but to accept the growing number of men like me who wish to be known as 'Kimmi-Lee Sung' at the weekend'.