Unsurprisingly for a broadcaster which attracted so much US opprobrium post 911 that George W Bush apparently wanted to bomb its headquarters
nike cortez black red , al-Jazeera is not shy of standing its ground. And its new English language news channel is not exactly aiming low - a "bridge between cultures" and "bringing the south to the north" are just two of the worthy aims being bandied around by staff. "People have very preconceived ideas, whether they're negative or they're all good," says Rageh Omaar, the former BBC correspondent who has become one of the channel's many big-name recruits. Originally due on air in late 2005, then spring of this year, then September, the long-delayed 24-hour global channel, providing news with a Middle Eastern perspective will at last start on Wednesday. Ask any of those dashing around its impressive hi-tech newsroom - all open plan studios and glass offices - and they will tell you the delay was all about technical hitches. The channel is planning to off er high definition pictures and will broadcast from one of four studios throughout the day, following the sun to deliver the news in turn from Kuala Lumpur, Doha
nike cortez white blue , London and Washington. Much of the global news battle is about sheer size and heft, and al-Jazeera International (AJI) will not go short as it goes head to head with CNN and the BBC. It has 18 bureaux around the world, 60 when taken together with the Arabic channels' offices, and 500 staff of its own. But ask anyone else loosely plugged in to the global news grapevine and they will tell you that a battle has been raging for the editorial direction of the new channel between executives in the Middle East, protective of the Arabic channel's brand and values, and the new international team. A lucky meeting The story begins in the land of Sacha Baron Cohen's Borat - Kazakhstan, a country with a questionable record on press freedom that hosts an annual media junket. Qatari officials had approached the former CNN presenter, Riz Khan, to take soundings for a new global channel. (His show, Q&A
nike cortez size 5 , features in the new network's schedules.) At the Kazak conference, he reputedly ran into Nigel Parsons, the future head of the English project, at the bar. It was a lucky meeting. Parsons had found himself out of work after leaving his job as director of sales at the Associated Press Television News agency. He brought in Paul Gibbs and an old friend, Steve Clark, to work with him on the launch. But there were delays from the start. It was hard to recruit big-name presenters: Richard Quest of CNN said he turned down an offer on the grounds that being gay and Jewish might not be suitable. There were also problems over where to locate the four main hubs. A decision to base one in New York was vetoed in favour of Washington, and the Chinese government could not guarantee freedom from editorial pressure in Hong Kong so Kuala Lumpur was chosen for Asia. (London and Qatar make up the other two.) But it was the departure of Gibbs, director of programmes, in August that gave credence to rumours that delays were being caused by editorial disagreements and not just practical concerns. Some say there is an element of suspicion among staff who work for the original, Arabic channel about the upstart English version. There was disquiet about the launch team: Clark is a former editor of Richard Littlejohn's now-axed show on Sky News
nike air huarache snakeskin , and was not exactly seen as a natural fit. Yosri Fouda, now the bureau chief of the Arabic arm, was openly sceptical about the whole idea of starting an English-language channel. There were mutterings that the rapid hiring spree led to compromises on quality and differences of opinion over the editorial tone. It seems these voices have won the day: Gibbs' vision for a "BBC style" channel of record has given way to the Doha-driven philosophy of providing a voice to challenge the western media's worldview. Wadah Khanfar, the well-regarded director general of the al-Jazeera network, was placed in overall charge after Gibbs' departure. In its basement London offices, located in a black granite and glass office block otherwise inhabited by merchant bankers and abuzz with activity, bureau chief Sue Phillips waves away the chatter, insisting the "negative stuff " is just tittle-tattle. "There aren't any differences, it's the opposite. We're learning so much from them and being guided by them," she says of the links between the Arabic channel and the new English language channel. "People like to think that [there is a split]
nike air huarache nm red , but it's not the case at all. There are very close links and very close ties." Annoyed and frustrated The other "negative stuff ' - the perception that al-Jazeera is a mouthpiece for terrorists, the baseless rumour that it broadcast beheadings - is already dissipating and will drift away as the scales drop from western eyes, Phillips confidently predicts. Omaar is more forthright. "I get very annoyed and frustrated. I have worked a lot with al-Jazeera journalists across the world. Every single assertion is based on hearsay and is totally devoid of fact. We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the Arabic channel and I think their journalism is excellent," he says, pointing out that it gets just as much flak from Middle Eastern regimes as the west. Phillips is also coy when it comes to discussing the vexed issue of language - when does a terrorist become a freedom fighter and a suicide bomber a martyr? - beyond saying they have discussed the issues "at length" and will publicly issue a glossary of terminology before launch. "We adhere to western broadcasting standards. There will be differences because they're different cultures," she says of the more graphic approach taken to covering stories on the Arabic language channel. "But that doesn't mean to say that we won't be bold and controversial in our coverage." The goal, says Phillips, is to bring the "south to the north, rather than the other way around"A.
Konu Seçenekleri
