Al Hurra
Al Hurra, "the free one," is the new Arabic-language American satellite TV channel based in Virigina, financed by Congress, and "beamed across the Arab world" and "aimed at viewers in the Middle East." Dubbed as the "American answer to Al Jazeera, the station went online Saturday, February 14, 2004.[1][2]
The day after the broadcast began, according to the Guardian/UK, "few people in downtown Cairo confessed to tuning in for the inaugural broadcast. Opinions, however, were plentiful. 'You mean the American propaganda channel?' proved the most popular response."
The Guardian writes that "Al Hurra's debut passed without notice in some quarters: most Egyptians cannot afford a satellite dish. In others, it was given a sceptical glance. On Sunday, the daily newspaper Al Ahram mentioned its arrival in a few, short paragraphs. 'Empty Al Hurra channel ... Handmaiden won't clean the muddy face,' declared a headline in the latest El Osboa. The article argued that Arabs' fury with the United States will not change as long as it 'blindly bows' to Israel."
According to "Norman Pattiz, a member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors' Middle East Committee, the government agency which oversees Voice of America and now Al Hurra, explained that the newscasts would be free from government influence. The network's mission, he said, was to provide independent and credible journalism, not to sway hearts or influence opinions."
The Al Hurra web site states that the satellite television network is operated by a non-profit corporation called the Middle East Television Network, Inc. (MTN) and receives its funding from the Broadcast Board of Governors (BBG), "an independent and autonomous Federal entity."
According to a February 3, 2004, UPI news report, its creation "reflects the changing foreign policy priorities of an administration set on winning the global war on terrorism and the hearts and minds of the countries where terrorists recruit." The network was to be funded with $30 million in the U.S. State Department's budget request for 2004.
According to the February 9, 2004, Christian Science Monitor,[3] "One way the US will try to change its image, particularly in the Arabic world, is the Al Hurra, or 'The Free One,' network. President Bush announced last Wednesday that Al Hurra will start this week, and is designed as an alternative to Middle-Eastern broadcasts often critical of the US.
"The broadcasts will be transmitted from a facility in Springfield, VA., and will cost the government $62 million for the first year of operation. Mr. Bush said Al Hurra will aim to cut through the 'hateful propaganda that fills the airwaves in the Muslim world' and tell people 'the truth about the values and the policies of the United States.' The Los Angeles Times reports officials of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, the agency responsible for US government-sponsored international broadcasting efforts, promise that the channel will have high-quality production and editorial independence. Norman J. Pattiz, a board member and the founder of Westwood One, the largest US radio network, has been active in the project.
"Al Hurra is not the first attempt American governments have made in the Middle East to change Arab opinions about the US."
Islam Online, on Monday, February 16, 2004, "dismissed [Al Hurra] as slanted, arrogant and condescending" and as having been "launched to polish the image of the United States in the region."[4][5]
Launched in 22 Arab countries on Saturday, February 14, 2002, "Egyptian pundit Salama Ahmed Salama said according to Agence France-Presse (AFP) ... 'The channel and its presenters insist on the fact they are free, as if they were telling the Arab viewer he is not, that he is oppressed and the United States will teach him freedom. ... It's quite a stupid way of proceeding." Salama is "the editorialist for the government newspaper Al-Ahram who is often critical of the Egyptian political process."
"For the English-language daily, Jordan Times, the launch on Valentine's Day of Alhurra 'to promote the values of democracy and freedom' was no coincidence but part of a U.S. campaign to reach the hearts and minds of the Middle East. ... 'It is eminently more rational to promote such values by argument and example... than by brute military force,' it said in reference to the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq.
"The editor-in-chief of Al-Arab Al-Yawm daily, Taher al-Adwan, said Alhurra's first duty should be 'to provide proof on the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq which were the (U.S.) pretext for invading that country and occupying it ... The new American media campaign in the Arab world is not aimed at spreading democracy but hiding the truth, withholding information,' Adwan wrote."
SourceWatch Resources
External links
- Eli Lake, "Budget Focuses Foreign Aid Against Terror," United Press International, February 3, 2003.
- Paul Richter, U.S. to Reach Out to Arabs Via TV. Bush's answer to Al Jazeera is Al Hurra, a $62-million-a-year project that will strive to improve America's image in the Mideast, Los Angeles Times, February 5, 2004.
- Paul Richter, Bush says yes to ArabTV, BUPipeDream.com, February 6, 2004.
- Tom Regan, US image abroad will 'take years' to repair. Experts tell Congress 'bottom has fallen out' for US support abroad, Christian Science Monitor, February 9, 2004.
- Firas Al-Atraqchi, Iraqi officials argue with Alhurra commentator, YellowTimes.org, February 17, 2004.
