Movie Script: Qatar’s Media System

Translation: Abir Kopty - Freie Universität Berlin

Subtitles: Jeida Elkersh - Freie Universität Berlin

Introduction

Dr. Mahmoud Galander, Associated Professor, Qatar University

I talk about Qatar as a model for the Gulf states’ media systems. Qatar is a Gulf state. The political system is a monarchy. The ruling family is Al-Thani. And it has a constitution since 2004. The regime has 4 pillars: the emir, the government, the judiciary, the council, which is elected by the citizens. 

In the 2004 Qatari Constitution there are few articles related to the media system. Article 46 states the right of every citizen to address, directly or indirectly, the public authorities. Article 47 states that the freedom of expression and science research should be respected, according to the law. Article 48 guarantees the freedom of press, print and publishing, according to the law. These articles form the basis for the media practice in Qatar. 

In the 2004 Qatari Constitution there are few articles related to the media system. Article 46 states the right of every citizen to address, directly or indirectly, the public authorities. Article 47 states that the freedom of expression and science research should be respected, according to the law. Article 48 guarantees the freedom of press, print and publishing, according to the law. These articles form the basis for the media practice in Qatar. 

Now, we move to talk about important aspects to address when we discuss the Qatari media system.

Characteristics of the Qatari Media System

Dr. Mahmoud Galander, Associated Professor, Qatar University

In 1996, Qatar decided to abolish the Information Ministry, and this is something that did not happen in any other Arab country. The abolition of the Information Ministry means mainly that the media institutions (press and electronic) have more freedom and ability to fulfill their mission without a direct censorship.

The other important factor about Qatar is the suspension of the official financial support. Previously, there was an official support given to the press. Today, newspapers in Qatar are published by private companies and therefore they are responsible for the funding.

As an alternative, the state has established the Qatar Media Corporation. Its main role is the coordination between the different media institutions.

Another important aspect is related to the Press Law in Qatar. The press law was issued in 1979 and therefore is very old. Thus, a new law for the Qatari media is being discussed currently, to then be submitted for final approval.

But it would be useful to present briefly the main characters of the Qatari Law of Publication and Print (1979)

The Qatari Law of Publication and Print (1979)

Dr. Mahmoud Galander, Associated Professor, Qatar University

The law requires a written declaration from the Minister of Information to issuing a publication in Qatar. This law existed before the abolition of the Information Ministry, hence, it still has this requirement.

The second point, the law required that the ownership of the publication is Qatari national. However, the law allows the Editor-in-Chief to be from any other Arab state, he should have ten years of experience as well as membership in the Journalists’ syndicate. Also, the journalists should have three years’ work experience from their countries or otherwise studied journalism.

We can look now at the chart of the Qatari newspapers. There are four papers published in Arabic, these are Al-Arab, Al-Raya, Al-Sharq and Al-Watan. The oldest is Al-Arab which was issued in 1972, then Al-Raya in 1979, then Al-Sharq in 1987 and Al-Watan in 1995. Al-Arab was stopped for a while and then republished.

There are three English papers: The Gulf Times, The Peninsula and Qatar Tribune. They are all published by the same publishers of the aforementioned Arab papers.

Regarding the other media institutions, we should remember that Qatar Media Corporation is running these governmental media channels, which are:

• Qatar Radio
• Qatar TV
• Gulf Voice Radio
• Qatar News Agency QNA

Above all, there is the Al-Jazeera Network of course, which is the most prominent TV network in the Arab region

On journalism and media in Qatar

Mr. Jaber Alharmi, Chief editor of Al-Sharq newspaper in Qatar

The history of the press in Qatar dates back to the 1960s with the publication of few weekly magazines. However, journalism in its larger concept started in 1972 with the publication of a daily newspaper in Qatar called “Al-Arab” which was published and managed by the late Abdallah Hussain Ne’mah. At the time, it published 6 pages. This has developed into the publication of more papers, at the end of 1979, a new daily newspaper was published “Al-Raya”, then in 1986 “Al-Khaleej Al-Youm” newspaper, which unfortunately was stopped and in 1987 another paper replaced it, which was “Al-Sharq”, and it is still published until today. In 1995, a fourth newspaper was published called “Al-Watan”. As of today, there are four daily Arabic newspapers published in Qatar, and another three newspapers published in English, in addition to other publications like periodicals and magazines in different Asian languages including Nepali, Hindi, Pakistani, Filipino and others, corresponding with the different communities who live in Qatar.

Regarding the Qatari Press and Publication Law - Between the 1979 Law and the new law.

Mr. Jaber Alharmi, Chief editor of Al-Sharq newspaper in Qatar

With regards to legislation, there is the Press and Publication Law from 1979, it is an old law, and currently there is a new law in the making aiming to organize the media affairs, and it is a very developed law that corresponds with the media landscape on the local and international level. It widens the opportunities for the development of the media especially with regards to freedoms and spaces for activity, it is expected to pass in the near future. The most distinct feature of this law is the freedoms it grants and the forbidding of journalists’ imprisonment or summoning by the security apparatus.

The law sets a mechanism for the relationship with the media and will become a point of reference for media in Qatar. The law is expected to encourage more active involvement and a responsible freedom for the media to cover issues important to the society.

The law does not only regulate the media and journalism, but also the social media and other forms that have entered the media landscape in the last few years. There is a need for regulations that correspond with the recent developments and guarantee a space for freedoms.

The abolishment of the Ministry of Information

Mr. Jaber Alharmi, Chief editor of Al-Sharq newspaper in Qatar

Qatar was the first Arab State to abolish the Ministry of Information in 1996. By this step, I think Qatar affirmed the importance of media and the freedom of speech. In the Arab world, the Ministry of Information is considered a sovereign institution. This attitude indicates that Qatar respects the journalists and those working in the media and aims to widen the space for freedom of speech and to encourage a responsible discourse on issues important to the society. This is why it wanted to get rid of any official censorship on the media outlet.  The content of the publications is now the sole responsibility of the chief editors who can allow or stop media content, depending on the outlet policies. The journalists and writers compete among each other to give publicity to society issues with full transparency and accountability. There is no topic in Qatar today that is forbidden from public debate. We have good spaces for freedom and wide margins to discuss societal issues without censorship.

Qatar’s move to abolish the Information Ministry was something not familiar in the Arab World and considered a pioneering step to allow freedoms to media actors and journalists away from any official censorship body, which is common in the Arab World.

About “Al-Sharq” newspaper

Mr. Jaber Alharmi, Chief editor of Al-Sharq newspaper in Qatar

Al-Sharq started to publish in 1987 as a normal newspaper. After few years it has become a big media institution. Al-Sharq publishing house publishes an English newspaper and other specialized publications including a daily sports supplement in 16-24 pages and an economic supplement that stands as an independent economic newspaper in a similar volume to the main section of the newspaper and it is widely read both locally and internationally. It has also a news website that is considered the most popular in Qatar. It has also different departments that is responsible for supporting the media work including the technical support and the distribution department that distributes about 450 daily, weekly and monthly publications and the print house that prints 13 publications including daily newspapers in different languages. We have a department that organizes fairs and conferences in Qatar and we have a network of institutions that serves the media work in Qatar.

Movie Script Qatar: “Current Gulf Crisis – Role of Al Jazeera”

by Marie Bleier, Basak Bayrak, Celine Hirt, September 2017

> Download PDF <

What has happened so far?

Beginning of June 2017 several Arabic countries including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain have announced that they are breaking diplomatic ties with Qatar. Saudi Arabia threatened to close borders, severing land, sea and air contact with the Gulf state.

Why did they do it?

Al Jazeera was praised for its in-depth coverage of the Arab spring, which commenced in 2010 but ever since Saudi Arabia raised the allegations that Qatar is supporting various terrorist and sectarian groups that aim at destabilizing the region such as the Muslim Brotherhood, al-Qaida, Islamic State and groups supported by Iran.

What is the background to the conflict?

Tensions between Qatar and their Gulf Arab neighbors have grown in recent years as part of a fight over regional predominance. Qatar has allegedly supported Islamist movements in the Middle East during the Arab Spring uprisings in 2011 and pursued the improvement of relations with Tehran, Saudi Arabia’s arch-enemy and rival.

What is Qatar’s position?

The statement of the Qatari foreign ministry towards the action of the Gulf Cooperation Council nations states that Qatar has been subjected to a campaign of lies which aims at undermining Qatar’s position in the Arab World.

What are the consequences?

Qatar has been isolated by its Arab neighbors, with land, sea and air routes closed off. Saudi Arabia and the UAE blocked the website of Qatar and all Qatari media including Al Jazeera. As a part of the 13-point ultimatum Saudi Arabia has demanded Qatar to close down its famous broadcaster.

Al Jazeera is a major global news organization, with 80 bureaus around the world. The original Al Jazeera channel's willingness to broadcast dissenting views, for example on call-in shows, created controversies among the Gulf States. The station gained worldwide attention following the outbreak of the war in Afghanistan, when its local office was the only channel to live-cover the war. Al Jazeera itself is not able to finance their own business by advertisement revenue therefore the state had to intervene and subsidize the broadcaster.

Although the media is owned by the government of Qatar, Al Jazeera officials state that they are editorially independent from the government of Qatar. However, this assertion is disputed, and many have accused Al Jazeera of being a propaganda outlet for the Qatari government.

No other TV station has received fury and spurred controversy like Al Jazeera. Since its inception on August 1996, it has received both admiration and criticism and also cultivated foes and friends all over the world.

As studies confirm, local news about Qatar are absent from the station. The exclusion of local news from the station’s news reporting seems to be a deliberate policy that aims to emphasize the broad Arab and Muslim world as the target audience of the station. This same fact, however, also justifies the critiques of many observers to the station saying that its avoidance of reporting locally on Qatar is due to not wanting to offend the Qatari authorities.

The dilemma of Al Jazeera lies in the contradiction between modernity and traditionalism which overwhelms the station.

This leads us to the research question: To which extent is Al Jazeera instrumentalized regarding political and economic relations?

Interview with Dr. Mahmoud M. Galander:

How do you position Al Jazeera as a news outlet within the Arab world?

Al Jazeera belongs to a school, which basically focuses on providing a liberal oriented kind of news and information, opinion and other opinion and these basically contradict with the realities in the region, in which most of the TV stations, most of the media belong to the government and therefore they subscribe more to what we call more authoritative type of media. So this is the cracks of the issue and this is why Al Jazeera has been targeted by most of those countries.

Which role does Al Jazeera play regarding the political context?

The history of Al Jazeera is full of those restrictions, an immensity of governments and even to the extent that several governments severed relations with Qatar because of Al Jazeera, because of the fact that Al Jazeera is providing news from a perspective that does not suit the area.

Would you consider Al Jazeera as a representative of Qatari news or as a representative of general Arabic interests?

Most of the countries in the area, especially those who entered into this crisis lately considered it as a political propaganda, while Al Jazeera sees itself as a news organization, that is international and therefore provides news as such. It is not a Qatari news organization. And this basically ends up making this kind of contradictions between the other news organizations in the area and Al Jazeera’s news.

To which extent and in which way can Al Jazeera be considered as a public diplomacy tool?

It has been considered a public diplomacy tool by others, whereas Al Jazeera itself does not see itself that way. In the area, in the Arab region, you could see that most of the media are used for public diplomacy, for political purposes rather than anything else.

Interview with Rawaa Augé:

Have you noticed changes in reporting due to political circumstances?

In the past three years, after the first reconciliation between Qatar and the GCC countries, we were avoiding to report on internal issues in Saudi Arabia and economic issues in Saudi Arabia. We were avoiding to report on Emirate’s interference in Libya and in Yemen. I think we were doing that because we thought we were doing a good thing for the country that is hosting Al Jazeera, that is offering us all the support to do all the free reporting we want to do around the world. And I guess we felt that this type of concession that we are making is worth it to keep reporting on other areas because we didn’t want any more trouble for Al Jazeera. Qatar had to shut down Al Jazeera Egypt for the first reconciliation because they didn’t want to be reporting on Egypt anymore. But we cannot be an Arabic channel and not report on Egypt at all and that’s what they want. They don’t want us to say anything about Egypt.

Do you feel free in your reporting?

I was expecting real censorship and I discovered none. Really none. I never had anyone interfering with the questions that I would be asking my guests. I went to report from Africa and from Lebanon, I never had any interference in this terms. Of course there are editorial standards like which terms, how do we qualify this group or not.

How do you evaluate the reporting of local Qatari media?

It’s not as free maybe as European newspaper but it’s not completely zero coverage as other people think it is.

Role of Al Jazeera: Conclusion

The role of Al Jazeera within the current crisis in the Gulf states remains disputable and controversial. While the neighboring states hold on to the accusation that Qatar instrumentalizes Al Jazeera for political purposes and demand the closure of the broadcaster, the Al Jazeera Media Network published an official statement on their website calling this demand “nothing short than a siege against the journalistic profession” and an attempt “to silence the freedom of expression in the region and to suppress people’s right to information and the right to be heard”.