Fostering free speech in Qatar
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Shabina S. Khatri - Editor, Doha News presentation at INET Qatar on November 27 2012
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Fostering free speech in Qatar
- 1. Fostering free speech in Qatar Shabina S. Khatri Editor, Doha News iNET Conference Nov. 27, 2012
- 2. Local media’s role Research Verify Contextualize
- 4. Impediments Lack of local journalists Language barrier Privacy instinct No official sources
- 5. Change is happening Northwestern University in Qatar Doha Centre for Media Freedom World Cup 2022
Editor's Notes
- An open information society is one in which information flows freely so that people can make the best decisions. In a democracy, it influences governance because it ups accountability. Even though Qatar is not a democracy, the potential for accountability is enormous.
- Local media facilitates open information societies - vetting and supplying information in the form of newsIn practice, this news gathering process is hindered by many factors, the first being that people aren't all that sure they want an open information society here.
- But six months ago, a tragedy happened that very much proved why we need the channels of information to be open and why we need a strong local media to facilitate the flow of important information.The Villaggio fire is a good or bad example of the many obstacles Qatar will have to overcome to move closer to a free info society.
- Practically speaking:-lack of local journalists - the true stakeholders, who won't fear deportation, unemployment, jail time, whose motives would not be questioned when pursuing info or stories of interest to the public-language barrier. The government conducts business in Arabic. Many people here do not know the language, and local media should help bridge the divide.Culturally speaking:the week of the fire, i spoke to a senior jazeera journalist who said the instinct in a society that values privacy so highly when things like this happen is to hold information close to the chest. the problem with that was that people were panicking, rumors were spreading about how many people died, parents sought their loved ones, etc.-no official sources - nobody wants their name attached to information, bc they don't want to be held accountable for breaching any sort of privacy.
- It’s not necessarily going to look like the open information societies in the West. It’s going to be its own thing. And that’s fine. If it doesn’t fit the place – if it’s imposed as opposed to adapted, then it won’t fly anyway. That’s my take the role of local media in fostering an open info society and where qatar is at on that.