Changes

According to the ''Washington Post'', Al Hurra broadcasts 24-hour a day, is run out of Springfield, Va., and "airs two daily hour-long newscasts, and sports, cooking, fashion, technology and entertainment programs, including a version of 'Inside the Actors Studio' dubbed in Arabic. It also carries political talk shows and magazine-type news programs, including one about the U.S. presidential election. "Eighty of Alhurra's 150 journalists moved here from Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Iraq and other Middle Eastern countries. Fifty remained abroad to work in the network's bureaus in Amman, Baghdad, Beirut and Dubai."[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33564-2004Oct14.html]

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."

Al Hurra news director [[Mouafac Harb]] responded to charges by saying, "We're state-funded, but not state-run. I don't recall getting a phone call from someone trying to steer the news. Ever." The Post pointed out, however, that U.S. Rep. JosT E. Serrano (D-N.Y.) said at a hearing in April, that's exactly why Congress is funding it. "Do not tell us it's not propaganda, because if it's not propaganda, then I think ... we will have to look at what it is we are doing," Serrano said.[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33564-2004Oct14.html]

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."

"Al Hurra is not the first attempt American governments have made in the Middle East to change Arab opinions about the US."[http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0209/dailyUpdate.html?s=mits]

[[Imad Musa]], who worked in [[Al Jazeera]]'s Washington bureau before becoming a producer for Al Hurra, "said he received assurances of journalistic freedom before taking the job and has not felt pressure to slant a story. There are, he acknowledged, differences between the policies of his current and former employer. Alhurra's reporters are told not to refer to the U.S. presence in Iraq as an occupation. Those who set off explosive devices attached to their bodies are called suicide bombers, not martyrs." Musa also said that Al Hurra reporters covering Iraq "focus on more human-interest and positive stories. For instance, 'electricity has arrived in this neighborhood,' not 'this neighborhood still doesn't have electricity'." [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33564-2004Oct14.html]

'''[http://www.prwatch.org/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3732 Forum Discussion]'''

In November 2005 the ''Financial Times'' reported that the [[Broadcasting Board of Governors]] had asked State Department's Inspector General to investigate Al Hurra for "possible irregularities" with procurement and contracting as well as "concerns that viewing figures might be inflated." The BBG oversees Al Hurra, which has a budget of $49 million for 2005. The House of Representatives subcommittee on oversight and investigations is also looking into the Virginia-based network, which broadcasts to 22 countries. The FT reports [[Kenneth Tomlinson]] -- BBG chair and until very recently a member of the [[Corporation for Public Broadcasting]] -- and Al Hurra news director Mouafac Harb will be called as witnesses for the November 10 hearing. According to the FT, Harb called the inspector general's investigation a general review into whether al-Hurra was fulfilling its mission. "There's a campaign against al-Hurra by some people in this city who don't like our dedication to freedom and democracy," he said. [http://news.ft.com/cms/s/04b325be-4ce6-11da-89df-0000779e2340.html]

*[[Hi Magazine]]

*[[Iraqi Media Network]]

*[[war propaganda]]

===Reports===

*[http://www.usembassy.it/pdf/other/RS21565.pdf#search=%22%22Middle%20East%20Television%22%22 "The Middle East Television Network: An Overview,"] by Jeremy M. Sharp, Middle East Policy Analyst, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division, [[Congressional Research Service]], updated August 17, 2005.

===2006===

*Anatol Lieven and David Chambers, [http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-lieven13feb13,0,1331772.story?coll=la-news-comment-opinions Opinion: "The Limits of Propaganda,"] ''Los Angeles Times'', February 13, 2006 (syndicated in [http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1140006066173&call_pageid=968256290204&col=968350116795 ''The Toronto Star'' (Canada)]; [http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7&section=0&article=77899&d=16&m=2&y=2006 ''Arab News'' (Saudi Arabia)]; and [http://www.radikal.com.tr/haber.php?haberno=178718 ''Radikal'' (Turkey)]. Article concludes by saying "Al Hurra should be closed down at once."

[[category:war in Iraq]] [[category:Iraq]][[category:propaganda]][[category:media]]