The Face of Truth | Ibrahim Shglawi The Press Does Not Return Through Words

Since July 2025, we at “The Face of Truth” have continued to write about the necessity of bringing back the print press, because it is part of restoring civic life and one of the indicators of recovery by which the state can measure the recovery of its capital after the war.

At that time, the message was addressed to publishers and journalists. In April 2026, the perspective broadened, and we said that the state’s responsibility begins with creating an enabling environment, rehabilitating printing presses, reducing burdens, and paving the way for the return of the press. We even proposed supporting the publication of at least two reputable newspapers if this proved otherwise impossible.

Today, as the call has moved from the pages of articles to the خطاب of the Ministry of Culture, Information and Tourism in Khartoum State, and as Minister Al-Tayeb Saad Al-Din announced yesterday that the print press is an official document and an important source of documentation, the question has changed: it is no longer whether Khartoum needs the press, for history has already settled that question, but rather who will turn this conviction into action? If the press is a national necessity.

And if others have so far been unable to bring it back on a regular basis, why should the ministry not be the starting point for the initiative? Federal Minister of Culture and Information, Professor Khalid Al-Aiser, is concerned with the future of the Sudanese press as a national issue that affects the presence of the state and its institutions, the rights of workers, and its economic and professional environment, while State Minister Al-Tayeb Saad Al-Din bears the responsibility of making Khartoum the gateway for this practical return. The federal ministry establishes the national framework, the state ministry opens the way in the capital, and between them the initiative should be born.

But the initiative does not mean that the state should become a publisher. The press we want is not a mouthpiece for the state, and the state we want should not fear professional journalism. What is required is a smart, low-cost national initiative that brings together the state, publishers, journalists, and the private sector, providing the minimum conditions for return and sustainability while protecting editorial independence. Reviving the press begins with rebuilding the press industry; the press does not return through words, but through will.

The problem is not the absence of desire, but rather the collapse of the system because of the war: printing presses were destroyed, advertising contracted, subscriptions were cut off, distribution stopped, institutions lost their premises and equipment, and journalists were scattered between displacement, migration, and other professions. Therefore, asking a newspaper to return to the market on its own, without addressing the environment that makes its return possible, is like asking a tree uprooted from its roots to regain its greenery by command.

Here, the responsibility of the state emerges, as a host for the return of a sector that has suffered an exceptional shock because of the war. The initiative could begin with one newspaper, or by supporting the return of a limited number of existing newspapers, according to publicly announced and transparent professional criteria, for a specified transitional period, so that support becomes a bridge carrying the press institution toward sustainability rather than an aid. This could include facilitating printing, rehabilitating printing presses, providing production inputs, facilitating distribution, revitalizing the advertising market, and removing administrative complications, while leaving management and editorial work to their professionals.

More beneficial than dozens of workshops is to build an economic cycle that restarts the press, for a journalist cannot live on patriotism alone; he needs an institution, a salary, and a market with readers and advertisers. When this cycle collapses, society loses as much as the journalist does, and the absence of professional media leaves room for rumors and polarization. Therefore, the return of the press represents part of the restoration of the state. A state that restores its institutions but does not restore its press restores only half of its presence. And when the printing press starts running, ink, the profession, the economy, and the city alive with ideas return with it.

It is not right to place print and digital media in opposition to each other. Sudan needs journalism built on institutions, not on the medium. It is true that the future is digital, but its sustainability requires an economy whose conditions have not yet been fully established in our country. Therefore, print becomes the bridge of return, and digital becomes the arm of outreach. What is required is not to save paper, but to rebuild a professional journalistic institution capable of documentation, oversight, and shaping awareness, using the medium imposed by reality.

The matter is primarily political. The return of the press to Khartoum means the return of dialogue, and society’s right to see its news, read its reality professionally, and disagree without accusations of treason. A strong state does not fear the press; it needs it. Responsible criticism is not hostility toward the state, but a means of correcting its course. Therefore, what is required is to bring the fourth estate back to life. And after the ministry announced that the return of the press is a necessity, it is time for action: assisting publishers, restarting printing presses, addressing financing, and, if reviving the market proves impossible, allowing the experiment to begin with one or two professional newspapers, and then leaving competition to the market.

According to #TheFaceOfTruth, what is required is to break the deadlock. Khartoum will not regain its life through speeches, but through the return of its visible features, foremost among them the newspaper. The press is not merely paper and ink; it is the memory of a city and the voice of a society regaining its awareness. Therefore, it needs a decision, a printing press, financing, and a professional environment—not more workshops and recommendations. If the state considers it a national necessity and a document for history, then conviction must be turned into action: start with one newspaper, for the first issue on the bookshelves is more eloquent than a hundred recommendations. The press does not return through words, but through the return of ink to paper, and the return of the state to society.

Wishing you continued health and well-being.

Sunday, August 30, 2026

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