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November 15, 2025 – Saudi Arabia –
Renowned Saudi business correspondent Jamal Banoon has released his new book, The Truth Behind the Numbers, designed to equip emerging economic journalists in the Kingdom with practical skills and tools for high-quality reporting. The publication was officially accredited by the International Union for Press and Media’s Higher Economic Council as part of a formal training curriculum.
With more than four decades of experience covering business and economic affairs in Saudi Arabia, Banoon expresses that the book responds to a growing need for journalists to move beyond surface-level reporting and into deeper analysis, connecting economic trends with everyday life. He highlights the dual challenge faced by reporters: making complex data accessible to citizens without sacrificing accuracy.
Inside the book, Banoon addresses topics such as interpreting financial statements, asking the right questions to economic experts, identifying reliable versus misleading data, and crafting stories that resonate with a broad audience. He emphasises that economic journalism today must evolve with the rapid transformations driven by Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 agenda.
The accreditation of the book underscores institutional recognition of the role of specialised journalism in the Kingdom’s media ecosystem. As Saudi Arabia continues its shift towards becoming a global business hub, the media landscape is expected to cultivate more reporters capable of analytical depth rather than descriptive coverage alone.
For media professionals and educators, Banoon’s guide represents both a practical manual and a signal of a broader evolution in journalistic expectations. It suggests that economic reporting in Saudi Arabia is entering a phase where data literacy, context, and audience relevance are becoming central. The book’s launch thus marks a timely intersection of media capacity-building and national economic policy.
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