Read: “WHAT THE HELL ARE WE ALL DOING HERE?”: MEDIA CONFRONTS MORAL DILEMMAS AT QATAR WORLD CUP

Reporters and broadcasters are grappling with how to handle human rights concerns, political protests, and unusual restrictions—from filming to buying beer—while not missing the action on the pitch. “It feels,” says one journalist, “like a country that’s being unboxed for a World Cup.”