Western media outfits, most with public funding and partly political motives, are racing to add Arabic TV channels, sites to the mix.
BEIRUT: Rarely have Western news organisations wooed Arab hearts and minds so avidly — or with so little certainty of political or commercial reward.
Freed by satellite television and the Internet from the dreary monopoly of state media, Arabs already get news in their own language from a plethora of local and foreign sources.
Western media outfits, most with public funding and partly political motives, are racing to add more Arabic TV channels and websites to the mix, undeterred by scant advertising revenue. Jihad Ballout, spokesman for the Dubai-based Al Arabiya television, said competition was welcome, giving more choice to consumers, but argued that from a business perspective the TV market was saturated. “The pie is quite limited,” he said.
Ballout, whose own channel was set up with Saudi financing, questioned why foreign media groups were planning big investments that were likely to take years to see a return.
“Is it purely to reflect a different perspective, and whose perspective will it be?” he asked.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) plans to launch an Arabic TV channel in the autumn. Germany’s Deutsche Welle has aired three hours daily of Arabic news and features since 2002. France’s planned CNN-style channel expects to start an Arabic component next year. Even the Danish Broadcasting Corporation says it is contemplating news in Arabic. Russia Today, a state-run English-language television channel, has announced plans for an Arabic version.
“It will definitely not be political,” asserted Akram Khuzam, the venture’s general producer, before adding, “Television is influence. Why should Russia ignore this instrument, especially in such a restive region?” A powerful tool it may be, but the challenge for any foreign news organisation will be to gain credibility in an area where distrust for Western policies is deep-rooted and flourishing — and where the airwaves are already brimming with alternatives.
“There’s a real cacophony of media in the region. Even poor neighbourhoods in Damascus have satellite dishes,” said Ali Abunimah, who runs Electronic Intifada (electronicintifada.net) to promote Palestinian views on the Middle East conflict. “Even in a country as restricted as Syria, there is enormous access to media from elsewhere,” said the 34-year-old Jordanian based in Chicago. “That challenges the US stereotype of a controlled media where people don't know any better.”
Polls show the channel of choice in most Arab homes is still the Qatar-based Al Jazeera, which blazed to success after it went on air in 1996 with its combination of hard news, slick format and talk shows that broke taboos in the Arab world.
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