By Fazeena Saleem
DOHA: Qatar has improved its ranking four notches to 110 in the latest Press freedom Index of the Reporters Sans Borders (RSB).
The country jumped from 114th position in 2011-12, according to the index for 2012-13 released yesterday. Neighbours Saudi Arabia and Oman tumbled.
But Qatar’s media watchdog, the Doha Centre for Media Freedom (DCMF), said the RSB’s assessment could not be considered as the best as its rankings are based on comparisons and it did not provide proper explanations.
Qatar ranked a notch below Bolivia and two slots above Israel.
In the 2011-12 benchmark, it was above Peru and below Panama.
Oman ranked 117th last year but lost several spots to end up at the 141st position in the current index.
Saudi Arabia met a similar fate, losing its 158th rank in last year’s index to slide to 163rd.
Kuwait is the only GCC country that figures among the first 100 countries worldwide in the index in terms of media openness and freedom.
“I believe there was an improvement in the media freedom situation in Qatar. But the approach of Reporters Without Borders cannot be taken as the best assessment as its rankings are based on comparison and proper explanations are not given,” Ayman Bardawil, Manager, Programmes, DCMF, told The Peninsula yesterday.
“Within a few weeks we will begin a research to evaluate media development in Qatar,” he added.
DCMF and a Qatar University research team will use Unesco’s internationally recognised Media Development Indicators (MDIs) to assess the local media landscape, in the first study of its kind in Qatar.
The study aims to probe issues related to press freedom and freedom of information in the country.
The assessment will be held under the guidance of an advisory committee comprising Qatari media experts.
They will support and advice researchers by making recommendations on implementation of media assessment, including research methodology, and review the assessment process on a regular basis.
A working group and the research team will formulate and submit recommendations to the committee before presenting their findings.
“Media development in Qatar will be evaluated with five indicators,” said Bardawil.
MDIs look into different aspects of the media environment as a system of regulation, plurality and diversity of the media as well as the media as a platform for democratic discourse, professional capacity building and infrastructure development.
The indicators are structured to develop regulation conducive to freedom of expression to encourage plurality and diversity of the media and transparency of ownership, develop the media as a platform for democratic discourse, support institutions that strengthen freedom of expression and develop infrastructure capacity to support independent and pluralistic media
“The research will analyse development of the media as part of the country’s development,” said Bardawil.
Seven researchers from the university’s Department of Mass Communication and DCMF Research Department staff have been trained by Unesco to assess Qatar’s media development.
The Peninsula
