The dramatic expansion of open media in the Arab world is changing the political landscape of the region. For better or worse, the internet and scores of pan-Arab radio stations and satellite television channels are fostering the free-flow of information and opinion in ways unthinkable two decades ago. But none of these innovations is having more of an impact than hundreds of Arabic language satellite television stations. And because they are easily available at low or sometimes no cost to the viewer - - rich and poor alike now have a dizzying array of TV choices.
You've probably heard of the controversial Arab television news network Al Jazeera. Yet most of us know very little about it or the station's many news competitors in the Arab world. Al Jazeera's headquarters are located in Doha, Qatar, a tiny country on the shores of the strategically vital Persian Gulf. The Gulf is also home to Al Jazeera's main competition -- Al Arabiya, a 24-hour news channel broadcasting from the city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Kristin McHugh's segment, reported from Doha and Dubai, takes listeners behind the scenes of these controversial Arabic news broadcasters.
Kristin McHugh's segment is part of the documentary special "24/7:The Rise and Influence of Arab Media" produced by the Stanley Foundation and KQED Public Radio.
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Piece Description
The dramatic expansion of open media in the Arab world is changing the political landscape of the region. For better or worse, the internet and scores of pan-Arab radio stations and satellite television channels are fostering the free-flow of information and opinion in ways unthinkable two decades ago. But none of these innovations is having more of an impact than hundreds of Arabic language satellite television stations. And because they are easily available at low or sometimes no cost to the viewer - - rich and poor alike now have a dizzying array of TV choices. You've probably heard of the controversial Arab television news network Al Jazeera. Yet most of us know very little about it or the station's many news competitors in the Arab world. Al Jazeera's headquarters are located in Doha, Qatar, a tiny country on the shores of the strategically vital Persian Gulf. The Gulf is also home to Al Jazeera's main competition -- Al Arabiya, a 24-hour news channel broadcasting from the city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Kristin McHugh's segment, reported from Doha and Dubai, takes listeners behind the scenes of these controversial Arabic news broadcasters. Kristin McHugh's segment is part of the documentary special "24/7:The Rise and Influence of Arab Media" produced by the Stanley Foundation and KQED Public Radio.
3 Comments
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Review of Inside Al Jazeera and Arab TV News CentersThis brief, valuable look at Al Jazeera and Al Arabiyya serves as an excellent introduction to an enormous subject: the significance and impact of Arab media today, and its interaction with the ideas and ideologies of the West. Fortunately, the Stanley Foundation delivers -- this is just a taste of what they've produced on the subject. I'd like to quote from this segment, because it's the content here that matters. (There's nothing special about the presentation.) Here's the 'American' pov: "Al Jazeera is a propaganda outlet, as well as a news agency, and it's one that promotes ideas that are very inimical to American interests," says Ilan Berman, the VP for policy at the American Foreign Policy Council in D.C. "[Al Quaeda] is inherently more ideologically proximate to Al Quaeda and to other regional radicals..." What does Al Jazeera say to this? According to news editor Ahmed Sheikh: "When we receive a tape by bin Laden, we choose certain quotes that we believe are newsworthy, and we put it on the air, and we drop out all the other things that we believe are just propaganda, so we are not a mouthpiece for Osama bin Laden -- and for god's sake, we did not divide the world into two camps, and it is not Al Jazeera who installed Osama bin Laden as the head of the 'camp of evil.' |
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Review of Inside Al Jazeera and Arab TV News CentersA well researched look at Al Jazeera & the emrgence of pan Arab TV news. Would be good as a drop-in for afternoon news in drive time. |
Broadcast History
This is one of three field segments from the documentary special "24/7: The Rise and Influence of Arab Media."
Timing and Cues
Suggested introduction and outcue lanaguage is attached separately in the "atttachments" section.
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John Biewen
Posted on May 14, 2006 at 06:26 PM | Permalink
Review of Inside Al Jazeera and Arab TV News Centers
This is an intelligent, well-produced look at the expanded role of independent news media in the Arab world. Parts of the report seem to retrace things we were hearing anew several years ago--the rise of Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya in a region dominated by state-run media, and the familiar arguments about Al Jazeera's anti-Americanism and alleged bias in favor of Al Qaeda. But the piece updates the story in interesting ways. Al Jazeera now has sports and children's channels and a C-Span-like channel that covers live political events in the Middle East. (That's the one I'd like to see--with subtitles, please.) Many other media outlets are springing up to compete. And Al Jazeera appears to be moving toward Western standards of journalism as more of its staffers gain experience working for Western news organizations. I would have liked the piece to go much further inside these media organizations and to give us fewer talking heads characterizing them, but on the whole this is a worthwhile piece for a news magazine.