More local reporting to come?
Journalists told to cover locally relevant issues
An appeal was made yesterday to journalists working in the country to give more coverage to issues which have a direct bearing on the lives of residents, and to give special attention to issues that interest Qataris, at a meeting held under the aegis of the Doha International Center for Inter-Faith Dialogue (DICID).
Some speakers wondered how events in other parts of the Arab region get maximum exposure in some newspapers in Qatar even as events being held right under their noses in Doha are overlooked by many journalists.
Senior Qatari journalist and editor of a prominent Arabic daily Ahmed al-Sulaiti said: “The media has a major role in enhancing dialogue between the local society and expatriates. In order to ensure that such dialogue takes place journalists should report what is happening in the local community and also what most locals and other residents feel are important to their interests. You are absolutely free to report anything but one should realise that what he or she writes should be appealing and interesting to the paper’s readers.”
“Expatriates are wholly free to discuss the political happenings anywhere in the world, including their own country, but my earnest request to them is to avoid discussing locally sensitive issues in public,” he said.
The speaker disagreed with a local youngster who complained that all newspapers published in the country neglected issues relevant to Qataris. He said his newspaper provided adequate space for events occurring in the country.
Replying to a complaint from another local youth in the audience, al-Sulaiti said: “When a journalist reports on the difficulty experienced by commoners using Karwa taxis or buses is it fair for him to narrate the experiences of someone who has never used either a taxi or bus in his life.”
Al-Sulaiti said this country belongs as much to expatriates as it does to Qataris. The editor also reminded some youngsters of the contribution made by thousands of expatriates over the years to build the nation, along with nationals.
The editor appealed to expatriate journalists to pave the way for a dialogue with locals through coverage of events that the latter considered important.
Director of Doha Center for Media Freedom Jan Keulen asserted that journalism is a challenging job that required extraordinary skills, competency and an analytical mind. While supporting the call for more local news, he said local events did not necessarily mean those involving only locals but those happenings which are directly linked to the lives of every citizen in this country.
Presenter at QF radio Younis Abdul Rahman also spoke at the session, chaired by Archimandrite Makarios Mavrogiannakis of Doha’s Greek Orthodox community.
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=491910...
Most reporting in English papers of local issues (and by issues I don't mean press releases from telecoms and car dealers) are translations of Arabic dailies.
The Arabic dailies are much bolder in the op ed pieces--not unlike local radio call-ins. And while not critical of the Emir directly, they make quite a few general complaints about society and culture generally.
Believe me , most locals wants nothing more than freedom of press. Or at least that's what the majority is calling for now more than ever through social media & internet forums.
i think once local press is given more freedom to discuss public opinion on local issues , people would shift toword Priorities rather than alcohol & women dress code
Same Timebandit-- i know for a fact some of us write our own stories, because, um, that's what I do all day :P
I am actually a press photographer, and I represent a magazine here in Qatar that actually does write the stories. How do I know, because I accompany the journalist to the interviews.
just to clarify the above: even when i worked back home, i still had to watch myself. The difference was, if i printed something that ticked someone off, if it was factual and justified, all they could do was call me and complain (which they did). Here? deportation city!
Well, there's free press and then responsible journalism. I'm ALL FOR a free and open press, however, no matter where you are in the world, you need to adher to local tastes. Which doesn't mean censoring yourself or backing away from things that may prove uncomfortable: quite the contrary. It just means making sure when you do print something that's controverisal, you're doing it for a reason.
Tweeting about a ladies night and highlighting booze, when you KNOW that's a hot button issue in Qatar currently and you can easily (if stupidly-- see my above posts regarding renaming drinks) get around it? Dumb. You have to sometimes work within the system, and make sure all your facts are correct.
That said: if we're going to have ladies nights in Qatar (which we do) we should be able to talk about them! Ideally what should have happened post-twitter-gate wasn't the closure of the Pearl license, but a rethinking of silly rules about how we talk about things that are actually happening here.
Really glad I'm no longer over at that particular publication anymore tho! :P
I wouldn't consider Mr. Ahmed al-Sulaiti a senior Qatari journalist , although he's a local newspaper editor in chief!
Of course this report was taken out of context due to its bad translation (That event was live-tweeted by DCMF)
For over 20 years, local journalists struggled for free press , establishment of an association & the amendment of the outdated press law.
Prominent Columnist Mariam Al Saad have written an article once about how regularly her articles get banned
Here is a bad translation of the article;
http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/q/54-mariam-al-saad/150326-what-we-do-with-our-banned-articles.html
To certain extent , i can relate with what Ahmed al-Sulaiti said.
Who would've thought that a random tweet by "Qatar Happening" on twitter about a ladies night at Megu would provoke locals to start up a campaign which not only resulted in the ban of Alcohol at the pearl , but also the closure of the restaurant
ahhhh, so THAT's what it was.....Qatar Happening...hmmmmmmm :P
reading some posters here i must say, Qler's need more restrictions. :P
Not only do we have Al Jazeera, there's the Northwestern University School of Journalism here in Doha. Sigh.
Mandi
Jeez britexpat! Well, at least where I work, we DON'T!
And nomerci, I agree a lot of the local mags have ridiculous spelling and english (oh Women Today, the fun I had giggling at you). But just FYI, mags don't control content of ads-- and in Doha, the expensive hotels and venues are the ones with money to spend, so. . .
my biggest pet peeve is the Advertorials. You know, the editorial content that's actually a sneaky ad. the restaurant review where the restaurant has paid for the meal and the review for example, the interview with the GM, and oh look there's their ad right next to it, the article about the venue owned by the owner of the magazine. . . drives me crazy. And then people just expect it from everyone! I spend a huge amount of time explaining that not all of us do that :P
that's part of the problem I think with a free press anywhere in the world: it's getting to be too much about the money. Qatar really needs a BBC or a CBC style public news company, which does local news.
I recall an incident in Saudi when the Arab News posted an article on Formula1. Although accredited to an English speaking journalist, It comprised a word-for-word copy of an article in Autosport magazine and a wrongly labelled picture.
When I wrote to the editor to complain, I was informed that due to time constraints, sometimes the journalists take short cuts :o)
All of them are bad...at least the English speaking ones. Don't know about Arabic ones.
They have bad grammar, wrong spelling, super boring stories, very predictable, the ads are only about super expensive stuff....and so on and so forth.
I LOVE mags, in fact, I am addicted to them. So every month, with just a smidgeon of hope in my mind I buy one or two (or read those that are delivered for free)...and what??Takes me about 10 mins to go through, being disappointed yet again.
Maybe I compare them too much with other Western publications. But for now, I stick to those. Shame though...as the local ones could be quite good.
Which ones are so bad nomerci?
I think people clearly do want a free press, but alas, it's not the people in control. What they want is to LOOK like a free press, without actually having to deal with one.
I don't think that anybody here really wants a free press.
Oh, and the "lifestyle" mags here are more than just a disgrace, they are a joke, a very, very bad one. In fact so bad, it's already funny again.
I resent that timebandit, some of us try to do a little more than that :P
Journalist = Press Release Collator (no reporting necessary)
Well, is there an actual local Qatari TV station? there's al jazeera but that's like expecting CNN to report on the elementary school bakesale in the states. There's also a total lack of newsradio here: the 'news' read on QBS is literally just a round up of the headlines from google news that day.
Qatar hasn't really invested in encouraging a news media. In my opinion, when accused of not having a free press, they fall back on being the home of Al Jazeera. But for local, on the ground, Doha and Qatari news? with the tight licensing and visa regulations, it's pretty easy to pick and choose who and what gets to work here. So we end up with a lot of lifestyle mags (which I'm not knocking as that's my bread and butter) that, because of either brand guidelines or licensing laws, can't do the kind of up to date news reporting you're mentioning. And the newspapers? Well let's just say they seem to like to pick certain nationalities and ages, who easily bow to continually editorial pressure to basically publish raw press releases about either a)irrelevant and boring news (do i really care that the GM of such and such shook hands with the CEO of so and so?) or b)happy clappy everything-is-sunny-all-the-time-always 'news'.
Not to mention, we're dealing with a culture in the region in general that doesn't 'get' the journalists should be unbiased. Or factual. they give us presents at press cons for goodness sake! And just expect, if they fling some advertising money in our direction, that we'll print what they say verbatum, AND give them approval before we do so. it's slowly changing, but not fast enough. We're gettign there tho!
12 years now i've been here i'm yet to see an actual camera man reporting LIVE on the scene of anything..i mean how hard can it be to catch these journalists? Oh yeah sorry they just come to QL and get their news.
While i do enjoy how safe Qatar is. . .
I'm not comfortable with the increasingly segregated society here. This is very blatently separating the haves from the have nots, and everything I'm hearing and reading says the government is PROUD of this.
Let's not forget the 'buses don't run after 10pm' story of late.
Of course they don't want buses running after 10pm, because then there would be bachelors and laborers walking around Doha after dark. Scary.
The buses finish at 10pm for a very deliberate reason. Take the hint.
Yeah, did anyone else notice a disturbing prison-camp-slum vibe to the bachelor accomodation debate? first they can't live in town. . . but oh look. we've built you accomodation. far far away. Next, they're going to build them recreation facilities so they enver have to come into the city and we never have to see them. . . and then they mention 'added security' out there. . . hmmmmmmm. troubling.
And about the reporting: when i first moved here we did actually have to send to a censorship board before we published. Then the licensing changed, and we just had to get by our Qatari owner, who was weirdly stricter than censorship. And somewhere, after four years of this, you just internalize it: where you naturally change the word champagne to 'bubbly' and follow any critical commentary about Qatar or Qatari's with a disclaimer, a 'oh but that's an anomoly or here's this other really lovely thing they're doing'. And suddenly you don't need censorship anymore: you've become your own censorship board.
I think the first step to getting engaging, open reporting would to let someone just say the word wine. Or publish a photo of the Miss Piggy muppet. Baby steps folks, baby steps: if the local population can't handle even these innocuous things, how are we every going to be able to actually talk about the things in Qatar that disturb us?
Well said qwertyness..that was exactly what was running through my mind when i was reading the article..."you are free to report anything...just so and so..." lol yeah ok
Great news about the amusement park for the bachelors finally they will have some entertainment and we can squeeze them of whatever little money they earn even more now.Great :D
yes, we can say what we like. . . as long as it is overwhelmingly positive about Qatar. Oh, and never ever ever print the word wine. or beer. or pork. Or show a picture of a ladies bare shoulders. Sigh. Be critical or haaram and expect letters and general trouble.
If people really want to see better local reporting, the laws and licensing boards need to lighten up, and the local journalists need to take a collective breath and stop self-censoring ourselves.
If you insist on it:-) Thank you.
I am the great, mighty, intelligent Korly, after all - You on the other hand are just a bit of dirt.... under my shoe!
ROFL at the original post. Unless by local reporting they mean more stories on vodaphone offers, the Qatar Airways latest award for best hot towels, etc.
Contradictions much? Still if even half of what Al Sulaiti endeavors to achieve is achieved, I'd say that's a pretty good initiative. I specially love this statement of his:"this country belongs as much to expatriates as it does to Qataris" Now how I wish more locals and expats felt this way and worked towards betterment of this land!
a good move if implemented
@Fubar - that sums it up
been in another GCC country, don't know whats happening in 10km radius, sometimes news trickle in from across the borders of whats happening around us
oh korly ur so educated n ur so intelligent to call other ppl uneducated and unintelligent (such a nice student ) :) u shld really deserve a pat
"You are absolutely free to report anything"
And then
"but my earnest request to them is to avoid discussing locally sensitive issues in public"
So you are free to report on anything, just be warned that there will be consequences?
No, thanks, that's quite ok, i don't need degenerates like yourself patting me on the back:-)
thank u korly shld i praise u for ur education or what ??
Ah, I can see the uneducated Mr Baburau commenting again with his vile attitude.
BG - you know what they say - empty vessels make the most noise!
I pity your idiocy, as you think adding your unintelligent drivel to every conversation makes you look clever.
Unfortunately, all it does, is make you look like a dim-witted imbicil who opens his mouth so he can let the voices in his head out so they don't drive him crazy.
In future, actually read the OPs so you can comment with some type of intellect about the actual topic and not on something totally irrelevant!
Psychologist faked death after using benefits scam to pay for wife's breast job
A benefits cheat, Stephen Kellaway, who faked his own death to avoid prosecution after stealing thousands to pay for his wife's breast enlargement has been jailed.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/9131078/Psychologist-faked-death-after-using-benefits-scam-to-pay-for-wifes-breast-job.html
http://news.yahoo.com/taliban-guantanamo-detainees-agree-qatar-transfer-official-130942415.html
Taliban Guantanamo detainees agree to Qatar transfer: official
what happen to those brithish crooks any update on them
"Al-Malki pointed out that providing for the well-being of the labour force, especially the unskilled and semi- skilled, is no longer just an option, it has become an international requirement."
At last!
leisure zone for bachelors ...huh
Good to know that.. TFS, (TB Reporting Live from Qatar with Cameraman Smoke) :P
My pleasure UK. I know it's C&P but in the spirit of the OP I like to see local issues being discussed here on QL. Not the difference between women and men, or a cup of coffee being spilt in London.
TFS GT round TB..:)
Plan to build leisure zone for bachelors welcomed
By Ayman Adly/Staff Reporter
The announcement of a new commercial and entertainment facility for bachelors in the Industrial Area has been welcomed by Qatari citizens as well as the expatriate workforce in the country.
Located at the beginning of Industrial area towards the east, the city will comprise of more than 385 shops, four movie halls, an open air theatre and a large cricket stadium since cricket is the preferred sporting activity among the Asian community, who constitute the majority of the workforce in Qatar.
The main objective of this project is to make it a self contained township for the commercial and recreational needs of the labourers who are not allowed to live in residential areas in Doha city and its outskirts. They will no longer need to go to Doha city for either shopping or recreation.
Eng Jassim al-Malki, Vice-Chairman of the Central Municipal Council (CMC) praised the project as a good initiative which indicates Qatar’s concern for the well-being of the labour force that serves its fast growing economy.
“CMC has played a important role in moving labour camps away from residential areas and it has requested that they should be provided with adequate services and entertainment facilities in Industrial Area. This entertainment complex would encourage the creation of more labour accommodation in the Industrial Area. In time, this would bring down rental rates,” said Al-Malki.
However, he pointed out that such facilities would require well-organised security for it would normally host people coming from a myriad of cultural backgrounds. “Being together in one place, disputes or clashes may pop up, and these have to be carefully accounted for,” he explained.
Al-Malki pointed out that providing for the well-being of the labour force, especially the unskilled and semi- skilled, is no longer just an option, it has become an international requirement.
“These people help in building the economy and there are various international agreements to ensure their interests. In particular, human rights organisations inquire about their welfare. Consequently, such projects would enhance Qatar’s reputation in this respect as a forerunner in the region,” he said
According to the CMC Vice-Chairman, the economic outcome would be reflected in the increased productivity of the labour force. “This would also ease the load on public facilities in Doha especially on weekends and public holidays as many workers would eventually prefer to visit nearby facilities.”
Most workers responded positively.
“I think this is an excellent idea because I hope it would save our time and money. Every week end, I have to wait a long time to board the bus, which is usually crowded, to go to Doha. With this new complex the distance will be short, so we can perhaps frequent it daily instead of waiting for the weekends,” said a young Nepali mechanic residing in Industrial Area.
Garage and workshop managers expect that such a facility would reflect positively on the life and productivity of their single employees .
“I have observed that most of the unskilled labour force’s productivity increases after the weekends, especially when they have an opportunity to go downtown, meet their compatriots, go shopping and enjoy their time with their close friends. Due to the current lack of adequate shopping and entertainment facilities in the Industrial Area, where most of them have to live, they usually go out once a week. With this new complex, they would be able to go out after work every day and enjoy their lives, which is a natural demand,” said Ali, a Lebanese garage manager.
The majority of low-paid unskillful labour force does not have a private means of transport and complain of the crowded and extended waiting time for buses to reach Doha or go back to their accommodations.
“Expatriate labour force play a great role in reviving the market and the creation of recreation facilities near their workplace would both revive the business in these areas and minimise crowds in Doha, where most services are concentrated,” said CMC member Saqr al-Muhannadi hoping that similar projects would be implemented in Al-Khor city where there is a large work force.
“I look forward to see these cricket stadiums. This is our favouite game. We only have a chance to practice in make-shift playgrounds on Fridays. It really helps me to unwind to meet my countrymen and talk to them while playing,” said Rajan, an Asian metal worker.
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=491911&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16
Replying to a complaint from another local youth in the audience, al-Sulaiti said: “When a journalist reports on the difficulty experienced by commoners using Karwa taxis or buses is it fair for him to narrate the experiences of someone who has never used either a taxi or bus in his life.”
Interesting that the taxis and buses get cited as an example