Ahmed Al Omran

Education:

Master of Science in Journalism
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, New York
May 2011
Digital Media concentration, coursework include international reporting, investigative techniques and design for digital news. Participated in digital media entrepreneurship class with Huffington Post co-founder Ken Lerer.

Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy
King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
June 2010

Experience:

Founder, Riyadh Bureau
January 2019 - Present
A newsletter the provides news, analysis and commentary on Saudi Arabia in light of recent changes as the kingdom aims to reform its economy and society.

Correspondent, Financial Times
May 2017 - October 2020
Documenting the political, economic and social changes taking place in Saudi Arabia as the country attempts to implement an ambition plan to decrease its dependence on oil revenues.

Correspondent, The Wall Street Journal
December 2013 - February 2017
Covered Saudi Arabia’s politics and business, including the kingdom’s foreign policy and its economic reform efforts. Wrote news and features on a wide range of topics, from the royal succession and religion to the impact of technology on social trends in a country going through rapid change.

Founder, SaudiJeans.org
May 2004 – January 2013
Created and maintained Saudi Jeans (saudijeans.org), a blog about the political and social issues of Saudi Arabia, with a special focus on human rights and freedom of expression. One of the most well-known and long-standing blogs in the Middle East.

Socia media production assistant, NPR
June 2011 – April 2012
Curating social media content from the Middle East. Reporting and writing for NPR’s breaking news blog.

Planning intern, JWT
June 2009 – June 2010
Led and planned a multimedia project that was presented as a proposal for a corporate social responsibility campaign to one of their major government clients in Saudi Arabia.

Op-ed writer
June 2009 – March 2011
Wrote “Voter Recall,” an op-ed for The New York Time on President Barack Obama’s historical Cairo speech. Wrote an op-ed for The Guardian about the unrest in the Middle East and how it could spread to Saudi Arabia.

Freelance reporter and contributor, Arab News
August 2007 – March 2008
Reported on the Fourth Saudi Drama Festival and wrote an op-ed piece about the employment of local workforce in the health sector for Saudi Arabia’s leading English daily.

Blogger, Global Voices
May 2005 – May 2006
Contributed to Global Voices, an innovative citizen media project founded at Berkman Center of Internet and Society at Harvard. Wrote a weekly roundup of the Saudi blogosphere, highlighting the most interesting posts, curating the conversation of local bloggers and putting it in context for the international audience.

Other experience
January 2007 – July 2010
Worked as a ‘fixer’ with foreign correspondents in Saudi Arabia reporting for US publications such as LA Times, Christian Science Monitor and GlobalPost; spoke in regional conferences about blogging and new media in the Middle East; participated in G20Voice, a citizen media initiative that covered the G20 summit in London in April 2009.

Skills:

Languages: Fluent in English and Arabic. Social media: Twitter (150,000+ followers), Instagram (51,000+ followers), Facebook (1,250+ followers)