The past two years have seen the beginnings of a transformation in media in the Gulf, helped by rulers willing to risk a hands-off approach towards English-language television and, now, from newspapers. Media freedom is far from complete, but early signs are encouraging in a region where there is a limited tradition of free media.

The most obvious sign of the new liberalism is the launch of The National, an English-language quality daily, based in Abu Dhabi. Led by Martin Newland, a former editor of The Daily Telegraph and the National Post of Canada, the venture, bankrolled by a company ultimately controlled by the emirate, is staffed by 200 journalists.

Its writing appears to be finding an audience in a country where expatriates make up three quarters of working adults and where English is heavily used. On the first day, last month, its 70,000 print run was sold out, a healthy sign in a country with a population of 4.6million.

Described boldly by Mr Newland as “the last newspaper launch in history”, the title lacks nothing in ambition. The editor has had to tread carefully; a memo he sent to staff said “we are not here to fight for press freedom”, arguing that a well-produced newspaper would gradually build press freedom in its wake.

The issue remains delicate. In the emirates, for example, titles are licensed and in Dubai, the editor-in-chief has to be an Emirati, approved by the Government. With residency tied to employment, there are obvious incentives for expatriate reporters to go easy, although Western journalists who work there say - privately - that restrictions can be navigated.

The arrival of The National comes after the launch of Business 24/7, an English-language financial title, backed by the emirate of Dubai, which is being challenged by the Financial Times, now printing in the region.

The attempt to fuse Western talent and values with Arab control have not always been smooth in the media business. Al-Jazeera, the original beacon of a popular, autonomous media, owned by the Emir of Qatar, has faced serious challenges in the period since it launched its English-language rolling news channel. Its first year was dogged by clashes over terms and conditions. Jo Burgin, a former senior executive, is seeking £1 million in compensation, claiming that she was dismissed because she is a “white, Christian woman”.

Yesterday al-Jazeera English brought in Tony Burman as managing director, who had previously run CBC News in Canada, in an attempt to heal some of the rifts created under the previous regime. Nigel Parsons, the former managing director, was pushed upstairs to a role running “business acquisition and development”. For all the problems, al-Jazeera's output remains of high quality and there are no allegations of overt interference.

Nevertheless, with Gulf states pouring cash into media, outsiders believe that they have something to contribute. That thinking underlies the decision by the BBC World Service to launch an Arabic channel, because the BBC believes that it is able to offer an independent voice. But, whereas it might have had to battle before with censorship, now it has to battle with vibrant rivals for audience - a sign that a market for media is developing.

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