Qatari Press: Doing their job?

depends on your definition of "a full appraisal"...:)

a full appraisal of the story in The Peninsula in the next couple of days then? I hope they come through.   

MADRID, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Barcelona’s members backed the club’s controversial sponsorship deal with Qatar Sports Investment on Saturday, the final hurdle to securing a cash injection of as much as 170 million euros ($230 million).Members gathered at the Spanish and European champions’general assembly voted 697 in favour of the record five-year deal, the biggest for any soccer club, with 76 against and 36 blank votes, the club said on their website (www.fcbarcelona.cat).Barca president Sandro Rosell and his board of directors had been lobbying members to vote in favour of the agreement amid criticism the club was compromising its ideals by taking money from an unsavoury regime.http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/news?slug=reu-spainbarcelonaqatar

"you are a looser, just shut up & get out"...?!?!?!?!...ROTFL :) seriously,i'm splitting my sides on this one!...pathetic...would be an understatement here...

Won't ever have to be bothered by you again.......everyone's a winner See ya!!

ADEY - cant figure it out again struggler?? You are not worthy of my time and effort. See ya!!!!

I see xeceptional has crawled out from under his rock to make another "xceptional" contribution to a thread!

have you paid for the 5 min argument or the full half hour?

Nice retort.......wordy to boot........how long did it take you to mull over and compose that priceless contibution to the sum knowledge of humankind?I choose not to shut up and get out(one wonders get out of where?) .........so what are you going to do about that?

You are a looser.. just shut up and get out..

You are a looser.. just shut up and get out..

I'm just tired of your questions without you contributing anything to QL as a whole.Btw, nice bit of projection there. Having managed to survive 6 yrs here without once being banned, the 'not worthy' comment is especially ironic - what number QL ID are you on now?If I'm not worthy, why do you keep replying?Trolling for attention is probably the most intellectually dishonest action possible on a forum. Cheers

Adey - I knew it. You havent got the ability to answer these questions intelligently and honestly. You're not worthy. 

'Really??? What is your understanding of "left wing"?????'Politics is relative to the countries concerned.But my understanding, having been immersed in politics since a child and given my age, is rather extensive.'You say "It would take thousands of words to answer your points"No it wouldnt.'So you expect me to give a detailed analysis of four newspapers stances on 7 of your chosen subjects?  - That's 28 paragraphs right there for a start! Not withstanding the fact that these 'subjects are broad in nature, change over time and illict opposing viewpoints from their contributors - when I have time to write that book I'll send you an autographed copy free of charge.  I would say the reporting, editorial line and "analysis" of these issues that matter would be near identical to that of your bad list' Absolute tosh!As for critical thinking, stop using your International Socialist ideas as a replacement for quasi-religious dogma. 

 Adey - I ask you these questions to challenge what you say and to make you justify your beliefs, becasuse I think you just recycle the mainstream narrative without any critical thinking.  I make the analogy of Qatar and libya in that it's a bit rich to denounce another country for authoritarian rule when Qatar itself practices the same. This goes with you criticsing Qatar for journalistic stds when this  the very same situation in your UK, or USA or Aust. YOU raised judicial killings but when it gets thrown back in your face - you start whining. You say "It would take thousands of words to answer your points"No it wouldnt. I would say the reporting, editorial line  and "analysis" of these issues that matter would be near identical to that of your bad list. So I ask you another question: You say: "The Guardian/Observer, The Independent ,- left wing/left of centre ( this is European left of course- far to the left of the Democrats/Progressive's in the US)"Really??? What is your understanding of "left wing"?????Read more: http://www.qatarliving.com/comment/reply/2122886/1971074#ixzz1YpanAneg

oops.....................double post

I remember reading that article in the Peninsula..........would I be right in saying that due to the fact that there are less Qataris working in the English papers, as compared to the Arabic dailes, the pressure from 'above' and 'around' is felt greater and thus leads to more self censorship? Expat reporters have more to lose, right?Or am I completely wrong and there are other reasons why the English dailies are generally so lame?

Money can buy everything under the sun & including the sun. If Fifa members could be bought, teams & players could be bought, I don't understand why media(both western & not so western) should not have their price tags too?.................or is it an issue of bargaining higher?........ Probably there should be a branch of QF donating to welfare of western reporters & journalists. I think that will settle the issue. ..............B***S***

"ADEY - on the "good" ones - what is their record on:"Again with the questions.......why don't you reseach them and find out for yourself.It would take thousands of words to answer your points. Safe to say that individual journalists can write there own opinions in OP-Ed pieces, so their stances are many and varied in even individual paperes - they encourage divergent viewpoints. It is never as black and white as you paint things.It is safe to say that the editorial policy of said newspapers are as follows:The Guardian/Observer, The Independent ,- left wing/left of centre ( this is European left of course- far to the left of the Democrats/Progressive's in the US)The Times  - Slightly right wing, but has endorsed a left wing party in the 90's and earky 2000'sThe Telegraph - Right wing conservative (but that would be about the same as the Democrats in the States)That's as much as time will allow ....... you will have to find out the rest for yourself.

I did answer in an earlier thread, but i don't mind reposting the articles in the peninsula Qatar highlighting this extensivelyA crippled fourth state, a bold perspective of the local journalists struggle with expressing their opinion http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/qatar/144697-a-crippled-fourth-estate.html “The editors-in-chief practice self-censorship as their main aim is to stick to their chair,” wrote Mariam Al Saad, one of the “affected” columnists.Editors-in-chief consider themselves to be more patriotic than the king and holier than thou, she said. People have for long wondered why freedom still eludes the Qatari media if the country’s top leadership had lifted media censorship by disbanding the ministry of information way back in 1995. In countries which have media freedom and extensive laws to protect the media, defamation suits are filed against reporters and their newspapers directly by those aggrieved. In Qatar, however, the situation is different in the absence of a media law. Here, anybody can simply file a complaint with the police against a reporter and his newspaper. The police then call the reporter and question him in a harassing way, and if they (the police) feel there is merit in the complaint, the journalist is referred to the Public Prosecution for further questioning. Since it is the prosecution’s prerogative to refer a matter to court, many complaints against journalists do not reach the court at all and end up in journalists being harassed and humiliated rather than being put on a fair trial. Many a time prosecution officials call a journalist concerned at 5am, when he is in the middle of sleep. The entire process is so harrowing and humiliating for a journalist that he chickens out when it comes to writing critically on issues"

It was you who equated the Qatar regime with the Libyan regime, suggesting that they having some sort of parity. I merely responded to your assertion by writing:'but then again Qatar does not extra-judiciosly murder it's prisoners enmasse for political thought crimes.'to show that it is a rather ridiculous comparison.Then you move on to bring in NATO, the US and Israel; where in fact you had never mentioned them before and  is not even linked to the assertion you had made previously.I do wish you would not jump around so, moving the goal posts and vering from one point to another. You need to explain your point of view more fully and stop answering questions with questions.You clearly have a point of view, and a different one from most posters here; it would be interesting to hear your reasoning rather you just proclaiming statements and posing questions as a response.

ADEY - on the "good" ones - what is their record on: 1. iraq war and WMD's2. Afganistan3 AGW4. GFC5 Paletine and Israel conflict6. 9/117. Corporate Capitalism  

Adey - No not NTC, I go by the ongoing torture and abuse (including electric shock torture, threats of rape, and beatings with blunt instruments) of detainees in NATO-rebel detention centres. As documented by Amnesty International, from p.70 onwards, in this report (http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE19/025/2011/en/8f2e1c49-8f43-46d3-917d-383c17d36377/mde190252011en.pdf).Add to this  here it is the amesty wiki -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment  If  you  observed, the figures over 2007-10 (from the same Amnesty figures) it presents a different picture, Libya's previous 3 figures being 9,8 and 4 before the 18+ per 10 million pop in 2010. By contrast, Saudi Arabia's execution rate per population size is far higher than Libya over the last 4 years, the figures in 2007-10 being 143, 102, 69, 27 respectively.  Now if we take judical killing and add to this extra judical killings who do you think would be top of the pops??? 

The 4 dailies I would rate would be:The Independent (this is the one I read every day)The Guardian/ObserverThe Times (don't read on the internet anymore as it's behind a pay wall)and even The Telegraph (not really my viewpoint but a quality newspaper all the same)The worst are the red top Tabloids, take your pick:The SunThe SportThe StarPapers that claim to be quality, but it truth are no better than Tabloids, and have far less journalistic ethics than the quality press include The Daily Mail and The Daily Express.

I don't know.....ask the Arab League and the Tranistional Libyian Government, who both implored Nato to get involved.No country in the world has perfectly clean hands..........but Libya was way out there when it takes its own political prisoners round the back of the prison and machine-guns them to death in cold blood in their thousands.

ADEY - you say "but then again Qatar does not extra-judiciosly murder it's prisoners enmasse for political thought crimes.It seems you are championing the Gaddafi regime and indulging in moral relativism, putting it on a par with any other country in the world" how's NATO looking these days on extra judicial killings? Even better how about the US and Israel??

I always expected the Arabic papers were a better quality that the English language ones. Any idea as to why?

Like Many Qataris, i think this deal must be terminated. After All, it's their economy that is suffering. Not ours 

ADEY - you say "My home country has the best and the worst jounalism in the world" can you give examples and how do you define good vs the worst??

GADARENE - actually no - I strongly disagree. The 4th estate of today are there to project the views and protect the interests of the establishment - the ruling class. When the OP asked the question " DOING THEIR JOB"  they most ceriainly are, as they are in the USA, Spain and Aust. It thus has every thing to do with it. The story posted by the OP is a classic example of this reality.

While the English dailies have not covered the Barcelona board members Controversy, the same was the talk of town for almost a week on local dailies, internet forums & twitter. Since this Spanish documentary popped up on youtubehttp://m.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&hl=en-GB&client=mv-google&rl=yes&v=aO89jusZya4  

more info on the Barcelona/Qatar Foundation storyhttp://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/soccer/story/Laporta-set-to-skip-Barcelonas-Qatar-shirt-vote-31047408

My home country has the best and the worst jounalism in the world. There is plenty that I would deride as the worst of the worst - so there is no way I would defend some aspects of the UK papers, some make me rage and feel physically sick. On the other-hand there are truely world class journalists making outstanding contributions.Would you not like to see the English language papers here rise to the challenge? I would. That's the jist of my OP.btw - I wouldn't class the understanding of how to make a reasoned argument, in a rational manner, to be so easily swept aside and dismissed as' Jiggery-pokery.' :)  

The OP is posted on QATAR  living about the QATARI media COPYING from an article written by SOMEONE ELSE, LEAVING OUT the important part,choosing ONLY what it wants  & in the process COMPLETELY TURNING the article on it's head...if YOU want to talk about a media comparison between different countries,start a DIFFERENT thread about it & discuss it there...THIS thread is NOT about comparing media here & elsewhere,it is about media HERE & the manner in which firstly, it COPIES SELECTIVELY rather than write it's OWN articles which is bad enough & secondly,it PICKS BITS from those COPIED articles RATHER than have the courage & the decency to post the article in it's entirety...This ISN'T a thread about media comparisons,it IS about media HERE so rather than these obvious diversionary tactics,stick to the topic,as you said,keep it simple eh?...

Jiggery-pokery to defend yourself is not a good idea..We are not debating in the court.. so such references are not at all required.Keep it simple.If you are talking about Media.. let's talk about Media of your country & my country also.. in addition to Qatari  Media. 

Regarding the Spanish article.........this the first time you mentioned that. Obviously, me not being a mind reader, it is impossible to come to a conclusion about anything unless you actually state a case in a clear and concise manner. I never had the impression you stated above, however unless a fuss is made continually then it will fade from public perception and carry on as normal. The Status Quo will remain unless continually challenged. Some fans don't want sponsorship on the shirts and object to commercialization of their club(after all it is the only club in the world directly owned by the fans) and are using the lack of democracy in an undemocratic state run Foundation as just one of their reasons to be against the sponsorship deal. A vote has been convened as per the traditions of the club to settle the issue. No doubt debate will ensue both for and against - as yet nothing has been decided. Barcelona may democratically decide to ditch an undemocratic organisation or democratically decided to maintain an undemocratic organisation. I understand your reservations about the practice of democracy in 'First World Nations' but you seem to throw the baby out with the bath water when you treat them on a par with nations without the least bit of interest in the say of ordinary working people. To equate the rights available to the average Spaniard with the likes of ordinary Qatari Joe Public is rather stretching your point I feel.

yes, but the whole tone of your post is one of suprise and revelation. Where did you get the impression we had independant media free of coporatte agendas. I was intially responding to the line about the Spanish wishing to withdraw because Qatar is not a democracy. 

I am not hypocritical or in violation of anything as I am not a journalist.And to repeat the salient point regarding a Tu Quoque logical fallacy:'whether the accuser is guilty of the same, or a similar, wrong is irrelevant to the truth of the original charge.' I see we do have some common agreement on the substance of the Op now regarding QL. 'On that point, do you think that the mods have a line drawn that must not be crossed when members are informing other readers on issues not only pertaining to Qatar but to the wider world???'No I don't, of course I agree with you on this point, but this was not the point of the OP. Now we have an understanding and agreement on that point I am now willing to discuss with you your attempts to broaden the debate futher to discuss the media in the wider world.You can start the ball rolling........what particular examples did you have in mind?However, I must go to breakfast now. Will be back in 30 mins. 

simple - how can one criticise another of the very things they are themsleves in violation of. How do you say - hypocritical. Big brother - DOULBLE SPEAK. and on your question about QL - yes. On that point, do you think that the mods have a line drawn that must not be crossed when members are informing other readers on issues not only pertaining to Qatar but to the wider world???

but then again Qatar does not extra-judiciosly murder it's prisoners enmasse for political thought crimes.It seems you are championing the Gaddafi regime and indulging in moral relativism, putting it on a par with any other country in the world.Anyway, back to the OP.......Do you think the Qatari population(local and expat) would be better served having a press that informed the public about issues without self-censorship?As this is not happening at the moment, do you think it is incumbent on QL members to enlighten its readership with news stories about Qatar from the international press, without being shouted down for being somehow 'anti-Qatari' for providing this basic service that the Qatari press is incapable of performing?This is the point of my thread.....NOT Qatar Foundation, Barcelona, democracy, western countries, the Qatar government or Libya.

bit like Qatar chastising Libya for authoritarian rule and lack of social inclusion, ay adey??

.

who says we live is in a democracy in Spain, UK, USA or Australia???

Your points are irrelevent to the OP.Globalisation or no globalisation, no one says we live in a democracy in Qatar.  For someone who keeps banging on about democracy you seem to show no concern about about it's most bacic tennents getting a foothold in Qatar.I used to be an International Socialist like you....but I'm afraid it's a lost cause as an idealology, I suggest you take the most practical parts and strive to implement them within a framework according to the way the world actually functions.All the best.I won't be replying to you again in this thread unless you address the premise of the OP , I don't wish to be side tracked with your hijacking tactics.

sorry - I thought we are living in the the age of globalisation?? Is this another lie? WOW! You live in a bubble Adey? 

Your point is moot as we live in Qatar. You too are resorting to a Red Herring, as I outlined above to Xceept. and stealth.

"It would be appropriate if you had presented a comprehensive study on the twisting of news almost everyday by the news papers and the news channels of almost every Country !!"Sorry but this is a daft comment and impossible to do.But I will give you one link to a British journalist, writing for The Independent, who honestly tackled the errors in his own work - I think we can agree that he is un-hypocritical and takes the moral highground - in order to put the ethcs of journalism first: http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-a-personal-apology-2354679.html

acording to westerm leaders they say we live in a democracy. Is a free Press a fundemental component of a functional democracy??????

According to the Qatar Constitution supposedly here. An ewxtremely long way to even get started yet. 

a free Press?????? Where???????

Thank you for your replies.Can I refer you to to the meaning of the Tu Quoque logical fallacy which you both employ in your most  recent posts. A "logical" fallacy is a mistake in reasoning.'Tu Quoque is a very common fallacy in which one attempts to defend oneself or another from criticism by turning the critique back against the accuser. This is a classic Red Herring since whether the accuser is guilty of the same, or a similar, wrong is irrelevant to the truth of the original charge. However, as a diversionary tactic, Tu Quoque can be very effective, since the accuser is put on the defensive, and frequently feels compelled to defend against the accusation.'  

Missing the entire point again Stealth....

looks like the press in their countries dont put a spin to show the news the way they wat to show.

Xceptional this is QatarLiving the hint is in the Qatar part!! Therefore the majority of topics on this website will be Qatar related, get with the program!!

So, what's so special about it ??News Media is doing it everywhere in the World.. It would be appropriate if you had presented a comprehensive study on the twisting of news almost everyday by the news papers and the news channels of almost every Country !!Have you ever heard about the concept of "Embedded Journalism"?? Whats your thought on it ??

Put it down to the Peninsula guy(chief editor or whoever else calls the shots there) being extra cheeky! ,again a more local point of view,Peninsula's USP is their claim to offer "different" news from Gulf Times & if that involves turning a news article(like the gulf times,they have neither the brains nor ability to write their own,cut/paste is the best they can muster.) on it's head,so be it...you bothered to look it up,they KNOW for a fact MOST if not ALL readers of the Peninsula wouldn't or wouldn't even think to...

ha ha - I see your point about them doing their job.There is nothing wrong in showing the country in a positive light, but in this case the story is:Barcelona Re-thinks Qatar Sponsorship Deal. and it somehow became:Barcelona Coach Praises QatarWhich is actually true, but effectively side steps the reason behind the statement and is not the main jist of the AP's article.

Adey, thanks for sharing/posting bud...i for one,am not surprised at all,as i posted on a thread re: the change @ the top for Al Jazeera,media in this region i.e the GCC is 100% state controlled,EVERYTHING that appears in local media,be it Arabic,English,Swahili or any other language MUST show Qatar & the Government in a positive light,there is NO option on that issue & anyways,The Peninsula belongs to a member of the royal family,if that editor wants to keep his job,he had better put a positive spin on things! sad but true fact of the matter...While Barcelona has been paying UNICEF all these years to have their logo on their shirts instead of the other way around,things have gone full circle now,for me personally,the moment i heard about the QF logo on the Barcelona jersey,my first thoughts were,"they've sold out" & i'm sure MOST Barca fans would feel that even more strongly,QF have got this endorsment PURELY with their financial muscle,there are MUCH MORE worthy foundations globally that have established themselves & their reputations & are worthy to be on that jersey,of course small difference being the fact that they can't offer a blank cheque to Barca's board of directors like QF did...i'm a Liverpool supporter but i admire & respect Barca in the way they play their football & the  manner in which they have been the ONLY club in the top flight of world football to have held out against the commercialization all these years & i do hope they continue to do so & can find the funds they currently need from elsewhere without having to compromise the way they have to under the current circumstances...so in answer to your question,technically,Qatar press is doing their "job"(or what they presume is their job) by leaving out important parts of the article to show the country in a positve light & as for Guardiola's comments,perhaps he should also share with us how many MILLIONS were added to his PERSONAL bank account during his tenure here & as one of the brand ambassadors for 2022. He's being smart & said his bit while putting the ball squarely in the board of director's court so if the deal doesn't go through,he can wash his  hands & claim to have said the  "right"  things...bl**dy shame if you ask me...

Yeah, I had read that also in my search quest.But I did not want to put an Israili spin on the story as well. I just wanted to post what could be factually verified using accredited qoutes from the Barcelona camp - something the Peninsula failed to do in order to give some context as to why the club is mulling over the scrapping of the sponsorship deal.

Accordingt to Ma’ariv, the Israeli government has already made official contact with Barcelona management in an attempt to get the deal shelved. The Israeli paper said that attempts are being made on another front to get the ‘Union of Good’, to which the Qatar Foundation belongs, listed in Europe as a terrorist organisation, which would mean that the sponsorship deal could be classed as illegal. Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_28390.shtml#ixzz1YiG4mR4C http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_28390.shtml

You kinda miss the point of my post.I make no comment on the Qatar Foundation/Barcelona issue. The point of the OP concerns the level of spin, factual reporting and context employed by the Peninsula, and by extension the Qatari press as a whole (at least in the English language newspapers).

That's why it is so ironical that Qatar is going to train Libyan journalists on  "Freedom of press"  

Does Barcelona have the money to return????

Thanks for the post Adey, interesting read!!  You gotta love the spin the local press put on news feeds!!  

Sorry, should read:'by the Barcelona fans threatening to end the Qatar Foundation sponsorship deal'