‘Right to gather information should be included in press law’

The importance of incorporating the right to gather information in the country’s press law was highlighted at a round table hosted by the Doha Centre for Media Freedom (DCMF) at its headquarters yesterday.
While highlighting the issue, speakers stressed that the existence of such provisions as the right to gather the right information in the press law would not only make the work of the country’s journalists smoother but would also help them get the correct information from authentic and official sources.
It would also save journalists from quoting sources which are far from reliable and also help them from falling into unwanted and unnecessary legal tangles.
Terming the difficulty to gather information as the biggest challenge that journalists encounter in their job, speakers said incomplete and misleading information have put journalists in troubles on many occasions.
The speakers felt it is important for the journalists to have access to information and it could be possible only if there is a right to information in the press law.
Those who attended the meeting pledged to accelerate their efforts for convincing the authorities concerned of the importance of incorporating the right to gather information in the country’s press law. Some of them termed yesterday’s meeting as the “first step for the adoption of a national strategy for getting access to the right information”.
They said the right to information is not a concern of journalists alone but also those of all citizens and residents of the country.
DCMF’s international relations director Jaber al-Marri, administrative and financial affairs head Saleh Hamad al-Shawi and Gulf Times Editor in Chief Darwsih S Ahmed were among those who attended the round table.