The turbulent wake of the ‘Saudi Sex Braggart’ case is continuing to wash up on the shores. US TV network MSNBC carries this report on the conviction of a female Saud journalist for her part (apparently as a producer) in the program broadcast over LBC, a Saudi-owned, Lebanon-based satellite channel:

Saudi female journalist sentenced to 60 lashes

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – A Saudi court on Saturday convicted a female journalist for her involvement in a TV show, in which a Saudi man publicly talked about sex, and sentenced her to 60 lashes.

Rozanna al-Yami is believed to be the first Saudi woman journalist to be given such a punishment. The charges against her included involvement in the preparation of the program and advertising the segment on the Internet.

Abdul-Rahman al-Hazza, the spokesman of the Ministry of Culture and Information, told The Associated Press he had no details of the sentencing and could not comment on it.
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Arab News also reports on the story. It focuses more on the unhappiness of Saudi journalists that a media offense, by a journalist, is being handled by the criminal courts rather than the Disputes Committee of the Ministry of Culture & Information. This, they argue, goes directly against a royal decree—and thus, Saudi law.

The roles and privileges of the media are being examined in many countries, including the US where Congress is considering a federal ’shield law’ for journalists, something granted to them by numerous states, but not the federal government. In Saudi Arabia, where the media is struggling to escape government captivity and censorship, the fights has more immediacy.

Saudi woman journalist sentenced to 60 lashes
Muhammad Humaidan | Arab News

JEDDAH: A Saudi woman journalist has been sentenced to 60 lashes for her involvement in the LBC program “Bold Red Line” aired in mid-July, Suleiman Al-Jumaie, the lawyer representing Mazen Abdul Jawad, the prime offender in the case, told Arab News on Saturday.

“The journalist, R.A., the seventh accused in the case, accepted the verdict issued by Judge Muhammad Amin Mirdad of the Jeddah Summary Court. Her acceptance deprives her of the right to appeal,” Al-Jumaie said.

R.A. was accused of being an accomplice to Abdul Jawad who provoked a furor because he boasted on TV about having premarital sex and also provided explicit sexual descriptions and told how to pick up girls and women. His statements have been viewed as publicizing and promoting sinful behavior and violating Saudi social norms on the issues of dating and premarital sex.
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Arab News also runs a story on media freedom and the debate Saudis are having about it. Surprisingly, the debate isn’t just focused on liberal media, but also on religious TV channels that some see as extremist:

Saudis debate controversial question of media freedom