In an Arab precedent, the Arab journalist Adnan Al Kateb known as the ‘’interviewer of the stars” tops the chart of the most important international figures in electronic media and reached the number 1 rank globally according to the statistics published by the international website StarCount, globally recognized as the website that evaluates media, websites, and social networking.
This is an exceptional achievement for the Arab journalist who is known for his love for Dubai where he has been living for 17 years. Adnan Al Kateb has also been shining the light on Dubai through the several photos he publishes on his Facebook page that is visited weekly by more than 17 million followers and has gained more than 2 million “likes” within 14 months of its launch, a record number which has not been achieved by any other Arab journalist since the launch of Facebook.
Through this major achievement, this Arab journalist proves that stardom in social networking and topping its charts is not only for Westerners, especially as he has reached the number 1 spot globally on the list of “most famous on social media websites” surpassing famous satellites, social media sites, stars and international companies, such as Christiano Ronaldo, Justin Bieber, Shakira, Katy Perry, FIFA World Cup 2014, BBC News, CNN and others. In fact, he is not only ranked number 1 on this global list, but he is also the only Arab on its top 100.
Adnan has an experience of over 30 years as well as strong connections and friendships with celebrities and stars from the world of movies, arts, finance and business. He started as sports editor in Syria as he was a champion of handball there. After sometime he was promoted to editorial manager for a political newspaper. In the early nineties Adnan moved to London to work in Arab Press House as editorial manager for Sayidaty. He moved to Dubai in 2006 as the editorial manager for Hia magazine, the leading luxury lifestyle magazine. In London he also used to MC on the radio for a program called “Midnight with Adnan” discussing harmony & spreading love.
He has succeeded in translating these relations into Arab and International interviews with personalities that a huge number of journalists in the world dream of meeting. He published most of these interviews in Hia magazine which is the leading Arab magazine for the Arab women elite and which is headquartered in Dubai.
Adnan also is interviewing Hollywood’s biggest stars, including Monica Bellucci, Julia Roberts, Gisele Bundchen, Blake Lively, Jennifer Lopez, Amy Adams, Beyonce, Diane Kruger, Laetitia Casta, Angelina Jolie and Kate Bosworth.
Adnan Al Kateb, who is famous for his modesty and his sophisticated way of treating everyone around him, holds both the Syrian and British nationalities and currently resides in Dubai. He holds the position of editorial manager for Hia magazine, the leading Arabic magazine for the Arab women elite. He had started his career in journalism as an editorial manager of a political newspaper in his country Syria after which he moved to work at the Arab Press House in London and later to the UAE. He is known to have left his special mark on all publications he has worked for as well as helped in their growth editorial and advertising wise thanks to his substantial experience and strong public relations for which he is envied by many. His is also one of the few British journalists of Arab origin that have the protection, support and immunity of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) as he has been one of its active members since more than 20 years.
Few know about the difficulties he faced and struggled against due to poverty especially during his childhood, and he never forgets the days of deprivation, exhaustion and work at the port of his beautiful coastal city Latakia. On the contrary, he is proud of those days and sees them as a beautiful memory that pushed him forward, but at the same time he thanks God a thousand times daily for the graces He has blessed him with.
Mr. Adnan’s social media accounts have been doing tremendously well especially Facebook, with 8.15 Million likes with a reach of 18 to 20 million per week. The engagement is very high & the people talking about is from 2 to 4 million people per week. He also has 1 Million followers on Instagram. Regarding his social media activity Mr. Adnan says: “Facebook is my favorite & I spend most of my time on it. I have a decent number of followers on twitter & Instagram too but I excel in Facebook. I am surprised by the sudden success & humbled by the love shown by the public towards my page. More than the success factor I enjoy interacting with my friends who respond & engage with me.”
Mr. Adnan’s venture to social media started as a small experiment, as a journalist being increasingly asked to adopt the new media or digital media as some like to call. Social media is a major part of it & He wanted to try it as a journalist. Regarding his future plans for his accounts he stated that he has a lot of anecdotes & exclusive content that he would like to share with his online audience, wanting to continue to produce beautiful content & present it in interesting ways.
Adnan is a family man, stating he works together with his lovely wife, Mai Badr, who is the editor in chief of Hia magazine & his boss. They have a son together, Badr & he is studying in school.
Regarding his nationality and identity, Adnan says: “I am a British national but a Syrian from the heart. As an Arab I consider myself a citizen of all the Arabic countries, this is why I say that this war is not just Syrian war but a war to destroy all the Arabic countries. We all love peace & believe that no one can win by fighting. I hope the peace will return to all the Arabic countries soon. My current home Dubai is an ideal model, the way HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum has built this amazing city is impressive. I wish all Arab countries can follow this model of success & security.”
When we asked him about his thoughts on social media, and the role it plays in bringing about change Adnan replied: “Social media is a powerful tool & we have seen it used in the Arab countries in the past few years. The voices of Arab people through social media will definitely bring about change but the Arab people need to realize that change takes time. Things will improve but gradually.”
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