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Anyway, let’s talk about being a journalist in Qatar, and reporting on national news. In particular I think I’ll be responding to the comments some people have been making about Doha News.
After 4 years of being a journalism student here, and then getting a job in journalism as well, the one thing many of my classmates and I have learnt is that people are scared. They don’t want to talk, and they are absolutely afraid of putting their name on anything.
By anything I don’t just mean ‘negative’ stories, I mean even the positive ones.
Discrediting the only real news organization that actually reports on things here because they use anonymous sources is nothing but ignorant.
Obviously, this is not only on our sources, it’s also our responsibility as journalists to make sure we do not mention a source’s name if there’s a 0.1% chance that it would harm them. Cost them their jobs or even their residency.
It’s ridiculous that the topics and news that Doha News chooses to cover are even called “problematic”, but I guess I understand how some people have been clearly programmed to not even accept negative news here, in any shape or form.
There’s always space for growth, no news organization is perfect, but Doha News is not here to publish press releases like the rest, and we appreciate that.
