Al-Watan (Qatar)


Al-Watan is a daily morning Arabic language political newspaper based in Doha, Qatar. The paper is one of the three Arabic newspapers in the country along with Al Raya and Al Sharq.

History and circulation

Al-Watan was founded in 1995 and was the first newspaper to be launched in Qatar after the Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, abolished press censorship. Its parent company is Dar Al Watan Printing, Publishing and Distribution Company WLL. With the publication of the daily the other leading Qatari Arabic paper Al Raya lost its one-third of its circulation. The 2008 circulation of the daily was 15,000.

Ownership

The former foreign minister, Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani, owns half of the newspaper.