Four Kuwaiti daily newspapers have suspended production and circulation on Saturdays in a bid to cut costs in the face of increased competition from digital media, according to the state-run Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).

The newspapers are Al-Qabas, Al-Rai, Al-Anbaa and Al-Jarida.

“This is a 100 percent economic decision aimed at cutting cost,” Al Qabas chief editor Waleed Al-Nisf was quoted as saying by KUNA. “There are difficulties in competing against electronic means.”

Additionally, Al-Nisf said the decision to cut production one day a week is also the result of diminished “advertisement and the economic situation”.

In his newspaper’s case, he said he believes that giving workers an additional day to rest will led to “more production while also cutting cost.”

He added that the newspaper will focus more on strengthening its electronic copy.

Yusuf Al-Marzouq, the editor of Al-Anbaa, said that “newspapers have been suffering from losses for years.”

“It is time to re-arrange their priorities,” he added. “The aim is to cut expenses because the whole world is experiencing an economic crisis at all fronts.”

Nasser Al-Otaibi, the managing editor of Al-Jarida, said that his newspaper plans to ramp up the amount of analyses, features and interviews in the newspaper to help counter the competition of digital outlets, as well as increase investment into its digital platforms and social media.