I see your point Genesis. The only point I was really trying to make was that whether or not the appointment of an Al Thani to this role is (or isn’t) nepotism and cronyism, it just LOOKS bad. But then the last time a brave media person was appointed to Qatar by Sheikha Mozah (Robert Menard) he got screwed over by the other side of Qatari politics and was forced out. Perhaps it’s all just easier to keep things ‘in house’, so to speak.
As for the rumored new media law, no one really knows what it will say, what it will mean, and what Al Jazeera will be if or when it becomes a “private institution”. Thinking about such things in Qatar almost seems like a waste of time, since the outcome is truly unpredictable. Or, more likely, everything will just get ‘postponed’ for ‘further review’ for another 10 years.
I see your point Genesis. The only point I was really trying to make was that whether or not the appointment of an Al Thani to this role is (or isn’t) nepotism and cronyism, it just LOOKS bad. But then the last time a brave media person was appointed to Qatar by Sheikha Mozah (Robert Menard) he got screwed over by the other side of Qatari politics and was forced out. Perhaps it’s all just easier to keep things ‘in house’, so to speak.
As for the rumored new media law, no one really knows what it will say, what it will mean, and what Al Jazeera will be if or when it becomes a “private institution”. Thinking about such things in Qatar almost seems like a waste of time, since the outcome is truly unpredictable. Or, more likely, everything will just get ‘postponed’ for ‘further review’ for another 10 years.