The Gulf state of Qatar is considering privatising its satellite TV channel, al-Jazeera, because of pressure from the US and a de facto advertising boycott by Arab countries offended by its critical coverage.
Reporters at the station fear that if the channel is privatised commercial pressures could force it to tone down its coverage.
Al-Jazeera's coverage of politics has embroiled Qatar in disputes with almost all of its neighbors, including Saudi Arabia and Iran.
According to Wadah Khanfar, the station's director, the consultancy firm Ernst and Young has been hired to look into possible privatisation models, though he said no final decision had yet been taken.
Reporters fear that the power of advertisers and shareholders could lead to self-censorship if the channel is privatised. Because of its taboo-breaking coverage, al-Jazeera has an audience of some 35 million to 40 million but attracts few advertisers.
Saudi Arabia leads the de facto advert boycott, which al-Jazeera's head of business news, Ahmed Abdul Mohsen al-Qady, described as "the only thing the Arab information ministers can all agree on."
In the absence of ad revenues, a government subsidy keeps the station afloat.
It is also feared that powerful Saudis would buy the station if shares were floated on Qatar's stock market.
The pan-Arab satellite station, founded in 1996, helped to start the Arab world's media revolution. Along with the Internet, satellite television means autocracies can no longer monopolize the flow of information.
A viewer in Bahrain said: "A critical station is something completely new in this region. We have never before had a TV program or a newspaper that criticizes the government."
Qatar is unapologetically pro-US, which is unusual in a region where rulers often denounce Washington to domestic aud-iences. It hosted US forces during the Iraq war.
RSS