N, what makes you think that newspaper business in Doha is different from elsewhere in the world? while i agree that owning a newspaper does guarentee a certain amount of prestiege and influence, nobody would be shortsighted as to let that be the only reason for running a newspaper. Any business proposition comes undone if it does not make money in the end. Hence i say once again that advertisements do pay.
{And about the hindi paper, i think you are mistaken again or you consider EVERY Indian here as a 'hindi'. Another popular misconception. India is not only made up of hindi speaking people. And a common language which binds them is english, thanks to the Britishers, that is one thing they did right in my country. So i think that an english paper would cater to their needs MUCH MORE than a hindi paper ever would.}
"I believe the local press is behind the curve. There's a new constitution that guarantees press freedom within the law, and the editors of the local papers should at least try to see how far they can take those new freedoms."
N, know that Qatar is a growing country. It is not very old and like a child that learns to walk, it has to fall down before it learns to walk. The paper you see today is not the one which you saw a few years a go. If someone who was in Qatar ten years a go was to see the papers of today, he would be appalled at the number of changes that has come over. ten years from now, even you would say that the state has changed much. Like you said, Press freedom is something not very old in Qatar. People are just gingerly trying it out and trying it out for size. You just cannot compare journalism in Doha with that of the west or anywhere else and demand that it should be so here overnight. Everything takes its time and i am sure doha will too, in time.
Journalism in Qatar will take its own time to develop, there are no short cuts. As to the editors being spineless just because they dont bring out shocking stories, i will have to reserve my comment on that. My take is that while they are doing nothing sensational, they are slowly, gingerly attempting changes. Have you noticed the pieces they publish about the skyrocketing prices of the commodities? They would not have been bold enough to publish that five years a go.Things are definitely changing for the better.
"but the cost of a classified in the Gulf Times doesn't cover the cost of the paper its printed on. The important people to impress are those supplying full-page ads, supplements, and wrap-arounds. These are generally companies that are in the same holding group as the newspaper, and thus it's the Qatari owners that need to be impressed, not expatriates."
Once again, i disagree with you, Nigel. The classified ads give the newspapers a big chunk of their revenue. True, the massive ads may look massive, but have you spared a thought to the innumerable classified ads that come out every week? the number is more and so is the revenue. if they were not a significant source of revenue, people would not take the pains to sit down and compose the umpteen number of classifieds? I really think that you have not given enough credit to the seemingly harmless classifieds.
To sum up, i would like to say that while we do not have a 'Times' to boast of in the city, they are doing what they can within the existing framework. Each land has its own set of situations to cope up with. They are doing what they can and changes are slowly evolving. Just because you dont see it every other day, please dont be under the impression that there are no changes happening. As a journalist myself, i can assure you my friend, that changes are happening.
N, what makes you think that newspaper business in Doha is different from elsewhere in the world? while i agree that owning a newspaper does guarentee a certain amount of prestiege and influence, nobody would be shortsighted as to let that be the only reason for running a newspaper. Any business proposition comes undone if it does not make money in the end. Hence i say once again that advertisements do pay.
{And about the hindi paper, i think you are mistaken again or you consider EVERY Indian here as a 'hindi'. Another popular misconception. India is not only made up of hindi speaking people. And a common language which binds them is english, thanks to the Britishers, that is one thing they did right in my country. So i think that an english paper would cater to their needs MUCH MORE than a hindi paper ever would.}
"I believe the local press is behind the curve. There's a new constitution that guarantees press freedom within the law, and the editors of the local papers should at least try to see how far they can take those new freedoms."
N, know that Qatar is a growing country. It is not very old and like a child that learns to walk, it has to fall down before it learns to walk. The paper you see today is not the one which you saw a few years a go. If someone who was in Qatar ten years a go was to see the papers of today, he would be appalled at the number of changes that has come over. ten years from now, even you would say that the state has changed much. Like you said, Press freedom is something not very old in Qatar. People are just gingerly trying it out and trying it out for size. You just cannot compare journalism in Doha with that of the west or anywhere else and demand that it should be so here overnight. Everything takes its time and i am sure doha will too, in time.
Journalism in Qatar will take its own time to develop, there are no short cuts. As to the editors being spineless just because they dont bring out shocking stories, i will have to reserve my comment on that. My take is that while they are doing nothing sensational, they are slowly, gingerly attempting changes. Have you noticed the pieces they publish about the skyrocketing prices of the commodities? They would not have been bold enough to publish that five years a go.Things are definitely changing for the better.
"but the cost of a classified in the Gulf Times doesn't cover the cost of the paper its printed on. The important people to impress are those supplying full-page ads, supplements, and wrap-arounds. These are generally companies that are in the same holding group as the newspaper, and thus it's the Qatari owners that need to be impressed, not expatriates."
Once again, i disagree with you, Nigel. The classified ads give the newspapers a big chunk of their revenue. True, the massive ads may look massive, but have you spared a thought to the innumerable classified ads that come out every week? the number is more and so is the revenue. if they were not a significant source of revenue, people would not take the pains to sit down and compose the umpteen number of classifieds? I really think that you have not given enough credit to the seemingly harmless classifieds.
To sum up, i would like to say that while we do not have a 'Times' to boast of in the city, they are doing what they can within the existing framework. Each land has its own set of situations to cope up with. They are doing what they can and changes are slowly evolving. Just because you dont see it every other day, please dont be under the impression that there are no changes happening. As a journalist myself, i can assure you my friend, that changes are happening.