Qatari media sector, interesting autumn ahead

This week saw the launch of Qatar's third English language daily newspaper, the Qatar Tribune, while the delayed launch of the much anticipated Al Jazeera International TV channel is expected very shortly.

The new local daily will cater to a growing multicultural community, and is the sister publication of the Arabic daily Al Watan. Hamad bin Suhaim Al Thani, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Dar Al Watan Publishing, said that the paper would be 'an English daily with a Qatari heart'.

Publishing English editions of Arabic papers is an established practice in the Middle East, although such newspapers tend to be dominated by copy from wire services like Reuters and AFP making the content often identical to their rivals, and advertising sales therefore a tough call against established titles.

However, older publishers generally have considerable weight in the local advertising market. For example the loss-making Gulf Today in Dubai has been supported for a decade by a strong Arabic title. But the market for Qatari English language publications is relatively small and media groups will be watching the progress of the new Qatar Tribune with interest.

TV launch?

News on the progress of Al Jazeera International is also awaited. There has been considerable speculation on the reasons for the delayed launch, which was originally proposed for a year ago, and an ongoing series of high-level hirings and resignations.

Al Jazeera International needs controversial publicity to secure its viewers in a global TV marketplace with hundreds of competing news channels, and will be hoping that the old adage that 'all publicity is good publicity' also applies to its recent problems.