MEED's founder and driving force for the next two decades was Elizabeth Collard, a champion of Arab causes who was to become an adviser to UK Prime Minister Harold Wilson on Middle East affairs and a friend of Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt and King Hussein of Jordan.

By the time MEED was acquired by Emap in 1986, it had a staff of 20 full-time journalists and 12 researchers and newsroom assistants to cover Middle Eastern business and project news.

[6] In October 2015 Top Right Group announced it was scrapping the Emap brand and would stop producing print editions, and that over the next 12–18 months all titles would become digital-only.

When Rafiq Hariri drew up plans to rebuild a war-shattered Lebanon, MEED met the prime minister and asked him to explain them.

[13] When Colonel Gaddafi unveiled the first part of his Great Manmade River, MEED took a front-row seat at the ceremony and quizzed the engineers.

The dedication made by Abdullah II of Jordan in 2007 demonstrates MEED's positive contribution to the Middle East for over 50 years.