All over the world, mainstream media, especially the print version, is going through a crisis and a resultant transformation. Social media has driven readers away from newspapers, triggering a drastic fall both in their circulation and advertising revenues. But unfortunately, social media has failed to to fill the vacuum created by the retreat of newspapers. The reason is that newspapers deal with serious journalism, whereas most online media is driven by sensationalism and trivial content, which it thinks is the only way to attract readers.
Since we are living in a global village, the situation is the same everywhere. As print media begins to lose its dominance, there is an empty space waiting to be filled – the space for serious journalism. It is this space The Doha Globe is stepping into. In other words, we are a news portal which is serious about news, but without the frivolity and sensationalism of online media.
The Doha Globe is the voice of the people. Qatar is a young nation and is going through a period of unprecedented development, attracting the envy of others. So, it’s our duty to protect our country’s image globally, and focus on the positive developments shaping this nation. In addition to this, we will also bring you a whole lot of news, analyses and perspectives about the Gulf, the Middle East and the rest of the world.
We will bring you the headlines and also what’s behind the headlines. Well, the first everybody does, but the second requires experience, expertise and extra effort. We find a huge need for this because in this age of fake news and alternative facts, the stories behind the headlines are sometimes more important than the headlines. We will, therefore, undertake this very job with a commitment to truth and facts. In online media, clicks matter, and for many, it’s only clicks that matter, but at The Doha Globe, our first priority will be truth. I strongly believe that sensationalism and triviality are the biggest enemies of serious journalism.
The Doha Globe will try to look at regional and global events through Qataris’ eyes. We will act as a link between Doha and the rest of the globe, thus helping the world to understand Qatar better.
Finally, The Doha Globe, incidentally, marks my return to journalism after a gap of five years. When I left The Peninsula as editor-in-chief, the Arab Spring was creating waves, instilling hope. But since then, the world has become worse. Fake news and half-truths have been wreaking havoc, aided and abetted by social media. After all, we want to contribute our bit to dispel the cloud of misinformation and propaganda.