Qatar is a plugged-in nation. Doha, the capital city, is a media hub of the Middle East, and the nation’s wealth allows for access to electronic resources.

Shrief Fadl, The Walking Man

A common theme for Qatar photographs is the contrast between traditional and modern themes- much like the culture itself. The man in traditional Muslim dress is walking away from the highly commercialized city behind him. I12

 

 

“Doha Centre for Media freedom might as well be called ‘The Onion’” joked Priya D’Souza, who has worked in media, corporate communications, education, and publishing in Qatar, in an interview. In all seriousness, Qatar may give the appearance of media freedom and expression, but in practice, there is a lot of government censorship and control. Digital media in Qatar is in flux—Qatari media face a lot of pressure to have accurate reporting, while also being stifled by the increasing restrictions on digital media by the government. It is important to note that the media in Qatar is largely influenced by the Qatari government. It appears that the government holds a knowledge monopoly on the country’s media. There is a lot of scrutiny about this. See for more information about Al Jazeera’s questionable allegiance to the Qatari government. Al Jazeera is funded by the Qatari government, and as a result, is careful not to criticize it. In an with a foreign service specialist, they said, “Al Jazeera tends not to criticize the hand that feeds it.” However, the connection with the Qatari government does not seem to affect the accuracy of Al Jazeera reporting, though it may affect the content. Al Jazeera is biased in that its coverage, though widespread, tends to be on what the Qatari government would want it to report. Al Jazeera is known worldwide for its exposure of corruption, accurate reporting, and its key role in the Arab Spring. Al Jazeera’s coverage on events in other places in the Middle East have caused political tensions between those governments and Qatari powers. Qataris are proud of Al Jazeera, said the foreign service specialist. Despite Al Jazeera’s worldwide acclaim, it appears the main news outlet for Qatari-specific stories is Doha News. Doha News is a digital news site that holds a lot of power in distributing information, but the government knows of its influential capability. Just in December 2016, the news site accused the government of blocking citizens from viewing it. There exists ‘freedom’ of the press, but incidents like this one show that the government is always monitoring. The government censorship is interesting because Qatar has used Al Jazeera as a tool to gain political power, especially during the Arab Spring, yet refuses to allow the press to affect change in its own country. The overwhelming population of foreigners in Qatar are also the ones that tend to hold the power in media. “Almost all media professionals in Qatar are expats. They don’t really have the power to affect change; they don’t have the freedom to affect change.” This begs the questions— if non-nationals are the ones controlling the media, how can media guarantee Qatari nationals’ needs are being met? Is the media in Qatar for the expatriates or for the nationals? Do the two groups (and numerous subdivisions of both groups) want the same media? My guess is that there is a gap in the issues nationals would want to be reported versus what is actually being covered. Media surveys in Qatar show that 94% of nationals think more needs to be done in the country’s media to preserve tradition. This is a really striking statistic that suggests that not enough is being done on behalf of expatriates working in media to honor the wants and needs of the national population. Part of the problem with expatriates being the ones to control media is that the government has harsh policies about working in the country (LINK TO ANALYSIS 4). If expatriates are fired from their jobs, they can face not being allowed to return to Qatar for four years. Because expatriates largely control media, the government ultimately has a hold on the media- I do not think expatriates are looking to be forced to leave the country they have made their home.

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