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July 1, 2012 3:45 PM

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Qatar? Easy for you to say...

By: 60 Minutes Overtime Staff
Topics: Overtime Original

The word "Qatar" has been popping up in conversations at 60 Minutes lately. Why? Because Bob Simon recently visited this tiny speck of a Middle Eastern Country for his 60 Minutes story. The only problem is that no one seems to know how to pronounce it. Some people say "kuh-TAR," others say "KUH-tar" or "cutter" or even "gutter."

So, here at Overtime, we decided to do some research. We dug out the raw tapes of Bob's interviews with Qataris from all walks of life during his tour of the country.

Turns out, even the natives of Qatar seem to vary in their pronunciation of their country name. To clear up the confusion, we asked Bob Simon to sit down with Overtime and help us sort it out.

As Bob pointed out in this week's Overtime video, no matter how you say it, you're probably saying it wrong. Luckily, the Qataris seem to be a friendly people and don't mind too much.

Still, we've only got 10 years to figure this out. That's when the World Cup plays in Qatar and the country's name will be on the lips of every soccer fan, sports broadcaster, and news junkie around the world.

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by kashymalek July 6, 2012 9:30 PM EDT: Mr. Simon,

Your reference to "Arabian Gulf" is irresponsible, offensive, provocative, politically motivated, and unethical. Persian Gulf has been the official name of that geographic location for several thousand years. Your unconventional reporting and misrepresentation of facts undermines the notion of honest and unbiased journalism this program was founded on and is inconsistent with principles of democratic ideologies. CBS management should make a clear assessment of this disparaging misconduct and firmly craft a policy to convey aspiration to disseminate factual information and not engage in hyperbole and tabloid reporting based on vivid imaginations and incentivized wishful thinking. If not checked, the long term negative consequences will advance to partisan and biased reporting degrading the network to be in par with Fox.; Reply to this comment


by sabkom July 2, 2012 3:36 PM EDT: Millions of laborers live in sub human conditions as they work to make Qatar what it is today. I have not seen any journalistic work to loom into the exploitations of these vunerable population while there is a lot of time spend on how we pronounce the name. What an irony! I thought CBS can do better than that. Next time when your correspondent is in Qatar I would recommend that he venture out of the fancy cars and hotels that shed light on the filthy living conditions of the migrant laborers. You will be doing a huge favor to them.; Reply to this comment


by AmooEbi July 2, 2012 2:24 AM EDT: Simon, this body of water historically and internationally known as the Persian Gulf. As a jurnalist, do some proper research before you irresponsibly call it the "Arabian Gulf".; Reply to this comment


by mahnazkh July 1, 2012 9:57 PM EDT: Mr. Simon,
There is no arabian gulf in the world, the correct name is PERSIAN GULF.
Please do your homework to prevent reporting falsified information.; Reply to this comment


by kamkamjoon July 1, 2012 7:51 PM EDT: Mr. Simon :

Please do some proper research before you irresponsibly call it the "Arabian Gulf".; Reply to this comment


by kamkamjoon July 1, 2012 7:47 PM EDT: Extremely baffled by the fact that Mr. Simon has used the incorrect name for the Persian Gulf.; Reply to this comment


by 60minutes_viewer January 21, 2012 5:32 PM EST: Interesting report, but extremely disappointed you did not report about the treatment the immigrant workers receive. There have been tones of human rights violations and this report did not even elude to them; let alone report them (which would be expected from a high quality program such as 60 minutes).

Immigrant workers are brought into Qatar by promises of high wages but are then forced into underpaid labour once in the country. Laws against forced labour are rarely enforced, and labour laws often result in the detention of the victim. Abuses include sexual trafficking. By the way, I am citing documents from the Department of State not an obscure source.

Also missing from your report is the position of women in the society. Although much better than in other countries (for instance, women are allowed to drive if they have the permission of their husbands), they fall short of what we would consider acceptable in the US.

Hope further reports from the area are much more complete.; Reply to this comment

by Venus_O January 21, 2012 6:03 AM EST

SHAME ON YOU MR. SIMON, for trying to restructure geography and map of the world and re-write thousands of years of history by calling Persian Gulf falsly and erroneously "Arabian GUlf". How much and for what did you sell yourself and dignity and integrity of the title of the "jurnalist" that you were supposed to represent? You play with fires when making such stupid statements in the area that is already aflamed by many fires. Shame on CBS to have people like you in their employment. You owe the viewers, eaders and audiences, as well as the Persian people a big apology.

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by WNH3 January 24, 2012 9:17 AM EST: Get a grip--it is actually called the Arabian (or Arab) Gulf on that side of the water. And please have a little more respect for Spell-Check.


by kamkamjoon July 1, 2012 7:45 PM EDT: It might be called Arabian Gulf on that side of the water but that is no excuse for Mr. Simon to call it Arabian gulf in his report.

by KyleIrvine January 16, 2012 7:05 PM EST

Dear Mr. Simon

I am a big fan of 60 Minutes and have been watching it for years. In those years I have come to respect the show and admire the efforts set forth by the staff to get the story right and only deliver facts.

There are challenges the show has faced in the past are too few to name: Dan Rather's reporting of President Bush's military service is probably the only one I can think of in the last decade.
With all the respect and admiration I have for the show, It was a great surprise to me when on your reporting last night on Qatar, when you mentioned it is located in the "Arabian Gulf."

I thought to myself, how can they this one wrong? The term "Arabian Gulf" is in no place that can be verified, trust me, I looked. How did your staff writers come up with the term?

I have my opinions and they may vary from what's being broadcasted, be that as it may, I found your stories valuable and the content to be true. In the days of reality shows and "no typewriter needed" era, 60 Minutes has been a beacon of trust and true journalism.

It sad for me to elaborate what went wrong, whether the writers got it wrong, or you are pandering to you client, and did this intentionally. It is a sad to see 60 Minutes is going to the way of reality shows and "yellow journalism."
Your efforts were admirable while they lasted...

So long Bob Simon

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by WNH3 January 18, 2012 11:53 AM EST: "Arabian Gulf" is hardly a new term, and is often used on the Arab side of that body of water, which is more usually called the "Persian Gulf." I first became aware of this "controversy" when I lived in the UAE in the early 1970s.


by Sheetal_Dube January 16, 2012 2:56 AM EST: Now only if someone from Qatar could record an Audioname (audioname.com)and post the link here so that everyone knew how to pronounce it correctly.; Reply to this comment

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