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In its rather short history, Al-Arabiya, which launched shortly before the start of the Iraq War, has gone from
a channel that would broadcast the goriest of videos supplied by the resistance to one that orders its reporters not to use the word "occupier" to describe the
US-led forces in Iraq. Kadhem's colleague Wael Essam said that as Al-Arabiya has moved toward a more moderate stance in covering the news, the network
has made itself more vulnerable to attacks from those validating the insurgency. |
El-Hage said the network has made a concerted effort over the last year to become more balanced. "Occupier" was replaced with the value-neutral "multinational force" as a description
of the US military. While the word "insurgency" is commonly used among Western media, Al-Arabiya prefers "gunmen" and "fighters." "We aren't for or against anybody," El-Hage said. "Our job is to get and report the news." Page up |
In an interview with the London-based Arabic daily Asharq al-Awsat, Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari criticized the Arab media as still hostile and biased, "especially the satellite Arab televisions" toward his country. "The brave Iraqi policeman and soldier are killed, but this is not called terrorism, pure Iraqi women are murdered but this is not described as terrorism, the innocent Iraqi child is killed but this is not terrorism according to the Arab media," he added.
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In a June 25 letter to the editor of the Washington Post, Norm Kurz, the Communications Director of Senator
Joseph Biden (D-Del.), argued for Norman Pattiz to receive another term on the Broadcasting Board of
Governors. Citing Pattiz's widely acknowledged role in the creation of Radio Sawa and Al Hurra as "the
most important public diplomacy initiatives for the Middle East since Sept. 11," Kurz argues that Senator
Biden's urging for Pattiz to receive another term is both well-founded and of imperative necessity."
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A recent poll released by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press indicates that United States popularity is losing ground in a number of countries. Surveying close to 17,000 people in nine countries, the survey took place in April and May. Two years after the war in Iraq, the US image "is still broadly negative" in Western Europe and the Middle East, according to the Center's director, Andrew Kohut.
Poland and India alone viewed the United States more positively than China. Outside of Canada, all other countries polled showed sharp differences in the popularity of China and the US, to China's favor. While 65 percent of Britons viewed China favorably, only 55 percent saw the United States in a positive light. In France, Spain, and the Netherlands, figures came close to a 58 percent favorability rating for China, compared with 43 percent for the US, which suffered the lowest ratings in three Muslim nations that are also US allies. In Turkey, Jordan, and Pakistan, the results indicated little more than a fifth of those polled viewing the United States positively. |
In response to these results, State Department spokesman Adam Ereli indicated that "clearly, with or without this poll we know we have a public diplomacy challenge, and that challenge is not lessening by the day." Brookings Institution senior fellow Shibley Telhami further suggested that "the Iraq war has left an enduring impression on the minds of people around the world in ways that make them very suspicious of US intentions and makes the effort to win hearts and
minds far more difficult." Page up |
Arabic-language news channel Al-Jazeera will mark its new step in network expansion this coming March with the launch of Al-Jazeera International, indicates the Associated Press. Will the new English-language station live up to the name of its parent channel, fending off criticism at any cost? Al-Jazeera's coverage has earned it allegations of pro-terrorist and anti-American bias across the Arab world and elsewhere, most particularly in the United States. The English channel's executives outline an ambitious agenda, seeking to offer a non-Western perspective on news as "the first news channel based in the Mideast to bring news back to the West," said Nigel Parsons, the station's Managing Director.
Headquartered in Doha, with regional offices in Kuala Lumpur, London, and Washington, the station plans to compete with the world's leading English-language broadcasters, CNN International and BBC World. Despite the more than negative reputation Al-Jazeera has received for broadcasting interviews with Osama bin Laden, an often gory coverage of the war and continuing violence in that country, and allegedly showing beheadings carried out by Iraqi insurgents, its sister channel still hopes to earn significant viewership from the world's one billion English speakers. |
Observers argue such a public, especially in the already saturated market of the United States, will only come from an elite segment of television viewers. As CSIS Middle East program director Jon Alterman argues, most Americans want to be comforted by news, not challenged by it. Alterman says that the channel may, however, provide a common news source, and thus help integrate the world's 1.2 billion Muslims, most of whom do not speak English. Nevertheless, Americans have shown curiosity. Al-Jazeera's English-language Web site gets most of its traffic from US visitors, Parsons said.
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Starting July 2, the independent Dubai-based Al-Arabiya news channel will begin airing Sabah Al Arabiya, a 2-hour comprehensive morning news show encompassing political, social and cultural news as well as sports, weather, and business updates with early trading in Arab stocks. |
Al-Bawaba reports that the
program will be broadcast 5 times a week from Saturday to Wednesday and include a daily press review
segment, weather update and, occasionally, information technology and book review segments. The show
will be broadcast 0900-1100 Dubai time (0800-1000 KSA and 0500-0700 GMT).
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Asharq al-Awsat reports that two years after the fall
of Saddam, the media in Iraq is thriving, with more than 20 television channels and 260 newspapers. According
to a report in the Los Angeles Times, 65% of the Iraqi population has access to satellite technology
and are able to receive a variety of channels, news sources, and opinions. Satellite dishes have been selling
heavily on the streets of Iraq, with over 7 million purchased in one year alone. A rundown of Iraqi television stations begins with the US-funded Al-Iraqiya, which benefits from a large audience as it can be viewed without a satellite connection. Many Iraqis, however, do not follow it closely as they consider it pro-American and because many of its programs are pre-recorded in Beirut or Cairo and subsequently lack a relevance to Iraqi issues. Another television channel, Al-Sharqiya, was founded by the prominent Iraqi media figure, Saad Al-Baz. The channel has an annual budget of $30 million, and is now available inside Iraq without the use of a satellite. The channel has included comedy in its programs and has distinguished itself from other stations by funding projects that benefit Iraqis in need, such as rebuilding destroyed family houses, or paying for marriage expenses, akin to Western television stations. |
A consortium of wealthy Iraqi businessmen currently funds Al-Fayhaa for an estimated annual total of $3
million. However, the channel has been criticized for its bias towards Southern Iraq, especially Basra.
Other television channels available via satellite in Iraq include Al-Furat, Al-Sumeria, Al-Diar, and Al-Nahrayn.
In addition, Iraqis receive Al-Hurra Iraq, which is affiliated with the US-funded Al-Hurra channel, and
is broadcast from inside Iraq and via satellite from the station's headquarters in Springfield, Virginia. It is
mainly concerned with Iraqi issues and is funded by the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), which
also funds Radio Sawa.
According to a special report focusing on the state of the written Iraqi media in CNN's Money Magazine, Al-Sabah appears to be the best selling publication with a distribution of forty thousand copies. It has been criticized, however, for being absent from areas of political trouble for fear of armed groups. Al-Azman, an independent international newspaper published in London has a distribution of several thousand in Iraq. Al-Mada and Al-Mashriq, owned by veteran Iraqi politician Karim Fakhry sell 10,000 copies each, and Al-Sabah Al-Jadid distributes 30,000 copies. Other daily newspapers such as Al-Dustur, Al-Manar, and Al-Furat, have a lower distribution that does not exceed three thousand copies. Page up |
The Arabic-language news channel Al-Jazeera yesterday
scrapped plans to broadcast an hour-long special on
the state of security along the Arizona-Mexico border afterMinuteman Civil Defense Corps, officials publicly
questioned whether its intent was to help terrorists find new routes into the United States. Chris Simcox, founder and president of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, which protested lax enforcement efforts by the US government during a 30-day border vigil in Arizona in April, said he refused a request last week by the network for an interview and filming access to ongoing Minuteman patrols along the border. Mr. Simcox said Al-Jazeera reporter Nasser Hussaini told him the network was planning an hour-long special over the Fourth of July weekend to highlight the state of security along the US southern border, which would include information on the recent rise in the number of foreign nationals being detained by the US Border Patrol identified as "other than Mexican," or OTMs. |
Many of the OTMs were being released back onto the streets of America immediately after their arrest
pending future immigration hearings because of a lack of detention space. "I felt that allowing Al Jazeera to
come along on our patrols or to assist them in their report was aiding and abetting the enemy, so we declined,"
Mr. Simcox said. "Obviously, whatever they would have filmed would have been shown to viewers
that would include terrorists and their report would only highlight holes in our homeland security."
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On June 18, Al-Arabiya's Iraqi journalist Jawad Kadhem was shot by gunmen who called him an "anti-
Sunni" reporter. The attack was only the latest instance of violence directed towards Al-Arabiya journalists.
Since the US-led invasion more than two years ago, eight employees of the station's Baghdad bureau have
been killed—five in a car bombing at Al-Arabiya's offices in the capital and three others by US military gunfire. In the Western media, there has been no shortage of talk about the dangers of covering the war in Iraq. What often goes overlooked, however, is that Arab journalists have suffered the brunt of the violence, suggests the Chicago Tribune. Of the 45 journalists killed covering the war, 27 were Iraqis, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). No single news organization has been as bloodied as Al-Arabiya, the second-most-watched news channel in the Middle East, behind Qatar-based satellite channel Al-Jazeera. |
"This violent targeting underscores the great danger journalists in Iraq are facing, regardless
of the perception of your coverage," said Joel Campagna, CPJ Middle East program coordinator. In addition
to the Iraqi journalists killed during the war, about 20 support staff members—such as translators
and drivers working with Western organizations—have been killed. "We are paying an unbearable price for reporting
the truth," said Nakhle El-Hage, Al-Arabiya's director of news.
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Khalid al-Attar of Al-Iraqiya Television, was abducted
from a Mosul neighborhood by unidentified gunmen and found shot to death last Friday, the state-funded
station said. Paris-based Reporters Without Borders said al-Attar's death marked the ninth killing of a
journalist in Mosul, Iraq's third-largest city, about 225 miles northwest of Baghdad. Al-Attar, 43, worked for
a satirical program that criticized the government's perceived carelessness and inability to deal with major
issues in the country, including frequent water shortages and power cuts. There have been 61 journalists killed in Iraq since the war began in March 2003, according to Reporters
Without Borders. |
Al-Attar was the fourth journalist be killed in recent days. An Iraqi special correspondent
working for Knight Ridder Newspapers was shot June 24 as he approached an US-Iraqi military patrol.
appeared that a US sniper shot him, but Iraqi soldiers in the area at the time also may have been shooting, the California-based newspaper company has said.
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The latest issue of Foreign Policy includes an outline
by Ramez Maluf of the Lebanese American University, for public diplomacy steps necessary to improve
the image of the US in the Arab world. In his memorandum to the newly appointed Under Secretary of
State for Public Diplomacy, Maluf suggests that Karem Hughes will "probably struggle to improve the
image of America in the face of hostile Arab public opinion" over the course of her "daunting but essential
undertaking." Maluf argues that instead of trying to "win…the argument over US policy," the US should "change its 'brand' in the Arab world" by being "relevant to the target audience and…vary from country to country." It can do so by focusing on issues such as better schools in North Africa, desert irrigation in Egypt, and Internet availability in Syria. Maluf emphasizes that the US ought to seek out local expertise in crafting its public diplomacy campaign, in order to best tailor its message to each Arab country. |
Maluf underlines that television is a key medium
of public diplomacy. He argues for working with local, as opposed to pan-Arab, television stations, which
often provide a "more relevant" perspective for their local audiences. This will be easier, and ultimately
more effective, than trying to compete with pan-Arab networks like Al Jazeera. In his opinion, Al Hurra's
content should be diversified and interesting, and charismatic hosts and participants should be recruited
for the station in order to capture people's attention. If speakers on Arab television are American or US government
officials, it is important that they are congenial, telegenic and, ideally, fluent in Arabic.
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[1] Al-Saraf, Noha and Huda Jassim. June 26, 2005. "The New Iraqi Media: Two years after the fall of Sad
dam, the media in Iraq is thriving, with more than 20 television channels and 260 newspapers." Dubai and Baghdad: Asharq al-Awsat.
[2] June 29, 2005. "Iraqi prime minister blasts Arab media" United Press International. [3] July/August 2005. "How to Sell America." Foreign Policy Magazine. [4] Kurz, Norm. June 25, 2005. "Letter to the Editor: Diplomacy above Politics" Washington Post. |
[5] Krane, Jim. July 5, 2005. "Al-Jazeera to broadcast to US" Doha: AP. Chicago Sun Times.
[6] Seper, Jerry. June 29, 2005. "Al Jazeera drops plans for broadcast." Washington Times. [7] Madhani, Aamer. June 26, 2005. "Iraq in Transition: We're paying unbearable price for reporting truth." Baghdad: Chicago Tribune. Page up |
