Alexa,
Look, for instance, at the media restrictions in Dubai. It is clear where the line in the sand is, and that’s why no one crosses it. You CANNOT say this, you CANNOT say that. At least it leaves impartial observers in no doubt as to why certain stories are covered from a certain angle, if they are covered at all. There is no secret about the existence of restrictive laws operating within the media sector.
But here we are told that the press is free, which it isn’t, and that the reporting is honest and unbiased, which it isn’t.
If I’m forced to chose between the two situations, and neither of them are attractive, I’d sooner be in an environment where you at least know what’s off limits because it’s honest.
You’ll find an article in one of today’s papers about how the Ministry of Health is auditing pharmaceuticals. How can you trust that those carrying out such work are doing it properly when there is government interference in the media sector? Do you believe that there is open an objective inspections taking place on the Qatar Airways fleet to ensure that it complies to national and international civil aviation standards? Are you sure that the 40 storey building that you parked your car under has been built and certified to the correct standards??
I’m very concerned that when one regulatory body is totally hindered from ensuring compliance then how, as residents, can we have faith in any other body?
Has this story even appeared in the local press, or has it been censored to keep it away from the domestic papers? And if, hypothetically, the national censor is censoring stories about the body that should be ensuring freedom, then that really doesn’t bode well for the operations of other supposedly independent bodies.
Alexa,
Look, for instance, at the media restrictions in Dubai. It is clear where the line in the sand is, and that’s why no one crosses it. You CANNOT say this, you CANNOT say that. At least it leaves impartial observers in no doubt as to why certain stories are covered from a certain angle, if they are covered at all. There is no secret about the existence of restrictive laws operating within the media sector.
But here we are told that the press is free, which it isn’t, and that the reporting is honest and unbiased, which it isn’t.
If I’m forced to chose between the two situations, and neither of them are attractive, I’d sooner be in an environment where you at least know what’s off limits because it’s honest.
You’ll find an article in one of today’s papers about how the Ministry of Health is auditing pharmaceuticals. How can you trust that those carrying out such work are doing it properly when there is government interference in the media sector? Do you believe that there is open an objective inspections taking place on the Qatar Airways fleet to ensure that it complies to national and international civil aviation standards? Are you sure that the 40 storey building that you parked your car under has been built and certified to the correct standards??
I’m very concerned that when one regulatory body is totally hindered from ensuring compliance then how, as residents, can we have faith in any other body?
Has this story even appeared in the local press, or has it been censored to keep it away from the domestic papers? And if, hypothetically, the national censor is censoring stories about the body that should be ensuring freedom, then that really doesn’t bode well for the operations of other supposedly independent bodies.
All in all this is a very concerning development.