# What's the best newspaper in the UAE



## alexmayer (Oct 24, 2016)

I have seen Gulfnews, TheNational and sometimes 7 days.

They all seem decent enough, but the stories are clearly hindered by the little freedom of the press. Negative stories about any aspect of the economy hardly appear at all.

Where do you get UAE news from? Are there any UAE newsites based abroad that provide a fairer and less biased view? I move to the UAE next month and would like to know what's going on.


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

Quick answer - no!


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## p.a (Jan 5, 2015)

I go through gulf news
It seems pretty fine.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Nightowler (Aug 8, 2016)

Nope. The media here is very tightly controlled and you'll never see any negative or truly questioning articles of the UAE. 7days - the nearest we have to a tabloid comes close sometimes and you can sometimes read between the lines of a National article. In terms of journalistic quality - The National has the best journalists recruited from international publications. I sometimes think they must weep at what their careers have become.


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## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

Oh, they're very well compensated....like everyone else in the UAE they sold a part of their soul to the devil.



Nightowler said:


> In terms of journalistic quality - The National has the best journalists recruited from international publications. I sometimes think they must weep at what their careers have become.


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## KhalidAbuDhabi (Oct 10, 2016)

I usually read khaleej times.


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## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

TallyHo said:


> Oh, they're very well compensated....like everyone else in the UAE they sold a part of their soul to the devil.


Not really true. Plus they've had massive cut backs recently.


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## The Rascal (Aug 6, 2014)

The Pan Arabian Enquirer is probably the nearest to the real truth of what goes on here.


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## Edino (Sep 22, 2013)

I never buy UAE news papers here (anymore). 

To stay informed I read news papers from my home country, and briefly scroll over the internet pages of Gulf News and 7day's for some local news.


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## Made in Sheffield (Mar 12, 2014)

The Rascal said:


> The Pan Arabian Enquirer is probably the nearest to the real truth of what goes on here.


It hasn't been updated for ages. Shame because it used to give me a good giggle.


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## The Rascal (Aug 6, 2014)

Made in Sheffield said:


> It hasn't been updated for ages. Shame because it used to give me a good giggle.


You mean it's not real? 

Even if it isn't it's still probably the most accurate reports of life in the UAE.


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## Tropicana (Apr 29, 2010)

Made in Sheffield said:


> It hasn't been updated for ages. Shame because it used to give me a good giggle.




They gave up after a marathon in Doha, they never were the same after that ....

Middle East satire site concedes defeat after labourers forced to run Qatari marathon in flip-flops | The Pan-Arabia Enquirer


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## BedouGirl (Sep 15, 2011)

TallyHo said:


> Oh, they're very well compensated....like everyone else in the UAE they sold a part of their soul to the devil.


Sadly, they really, really aren't and many of them came here when they were made redundant from the quality papers in the U.K. because their choices were limited.


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## Nightowler (Aug 8, 2016)

BedouGirl said:


> Sadly, they really, really aren't and many of them came here when they were made redundant from the quality papers in the U.K. because their choices were limited.


I remember the salaries getting published somewhere years ago. The desk journos were not paid that well at all - average to poor The execs and management were doing very very well indeed.


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## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

No journos are paid very well here. It's one of the old Dubai 'myths'.


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## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

Ah, I stand corrected.

I remember when National first started they were recruiting experienced managers and editors with large packages, indeed. Guess times have changed.


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## BedouGirl (Sep 15, 2011)

Nightowler said:


> I remember the salaries getting published somewhere years ago. The desk journos were not paid that well at all - average to poor The execs and management were doing very very well indeed.


I don't think they get too many pay rises or bonuses either....


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## Byja (Mar 3, 2013)

You can't simply say that one newspaper is better than the other. It all depends what you need it for.

For example, glassware can be easily wrapped with that soft paper of newspaper A, fish at the market goes better with those glossy cover pages of newspaper B, but they're all pretty much equal when it comes to BBQ.


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## omar92 (Oct 8, 2013)

I rely mainly on The National and Gulf News. I usually get local info from those sources, although they can be frustratingly tight-lipped. Anything crime-related is usually boring to read, with few details (I guess something to do with the regulations over here). The National sometimes has interesting editorials, but not always.


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## Mylo (Nov 24, 2016)

alexmayer said:


> I have seen Gulfnews, TheNational and sometimes 7 days.
> 
> They all seem decent enough, but the stories are clearly hindered by the little freedom of the press. Negative stories about any aspect of the economy hardly appear at all.
> 
> Where do you get UAE news from? Are there any UAE newsites based abroad that provide a fairer and less biased view? I move to the UAE next month and would like to know what's going on.


7 Days has just announced they are closing down both their print and their online presence on the 22nd of December 2016.

Apparently they just can't compete for advertising space.


They will restructure the business and come back as something else


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## AlexM1985 (Jun 1, 2016)

Am going to take out a print subscription to one of the papers.

TheNational or GulfNews. Which d'ya reckon is best?

Back in Blighty I'm more of a Telegraph than a Guardian reader, if that makes any difference.


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

Neither - read them free online!


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## AlexM1985 (Jun 1, 2016)

Stevesolar said:


> Neither - read them free online!


Yeah. I do read them online now. But I like to have a physical paper to read at breakfast or while relaxing after work. It's not the same on my phone or ipad.

The adverts in the paper copy can sometimes be useful too. Prompts me to go to new restaurants etc.


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## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

TimeOut is what you want.



AlexM1985 said:


> The adverts in the paper copy can sometimes be useful too. Prompts me to go to new restaurants etc.


If you must have a print paper, National is heads and shoulders above the rest.


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## restart1302 (Jan 12, 2017)

alexmayer said:


> I have seen Gulfnews, TheNational and sometimes 7 days.
> 
> They all seem decent enough, but the stories are clearly hindered by the little freedom of the press. Negative stories about any aspect of the economy hardly appear at all.
> 
> Where do you get UAE news from? Are there any UAE newsites based abroad that provide a fairer and less biased view? I move to the UAE next month and would like to know what's going on.


For me Gulf News


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## mohammadmarria (Dec 7, 2016)

local newspapers are all heavily influenced by (if not completely controlled by) governments. But those local papers are important for getting an idea of what's going on in the country. Over time, you learn to read between the lines (as the writers have learned to write between the lines). If there's an opposition party that is allowed to have it own media, it's worth reading both sides. Supplement, if you can, by papers from neighboring countries. Except when governments block a foreign paper, there are usually scads of them available. Arabs are great news consumers, in any form.

There's lots to be learned from the inside pages of papers, including the classified ads.


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