Phil Taylor's papers
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BACK TO : INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING (see also Public Diplomacy)
Operation Broadcast Freedom from FP 
May/June 2004 Operation Broadcast Freedom On February 14, 2004, the United States launched a commercial-free Arabic television channel, Alhurra ("The Free One"). Funded by the U.S. Congress with a $62 million appropriation, and governed by a bipartisan board like its cousins Radio Sawa and Hi Magazine, the 24-hour outfit is Washington's latest move in the quest for Arab hearts and minds. FP sat down with director of news Mouafac Harb, a Beirut-born Muslim, in early March. What follows are excerpts from the conversation. FOREIGN POLICY: Does your station exist to blow the trumpet of democracy in the Arab world? Mouafac Harb: Yes, sir. FP: Do you think Al Jazeera fuels anti-Americanism? MH: Yes. The question is - are they doing it intentionally or not? If you measure Arab public opinion before Al Jazeera and after Al Jazeera, you will discover that anti-Americanism has risen. Is that the direct impact of Al Jazeera? It's debatable, but I think Arab media in general helps increase anti-Americanism. FP: Will your channel broadcast video of Osama bin Laden and other senior al Qaeda operatives? MH: If it is newsworthy, yes. FP: What is your station's official term for "suicide bombers"? MH: Journalists don't give opinions. We report the news and we describe the event. If a Palestinian guy blows himself up in a car, I will say it exactly the way I'm saying it right now: I will say a Palestinian guy blew himself up. FP: What do you call the barrier that Israel is building in the West Bank? MH: We call it the way we see it. In certain parts [where] it looks like a wall, we call it a wall. If it looks like a fence, we call it a fence. FP: How many viewers do you expect to have in a year's time? MH: Ah, it's so difficult, but we hope within a year we can be among the top channels that people rely on to obtain information. FP: The Arab population in Europe is substantial. Will you broadcast there? MH: We hope so. It's a funding issue. When we get the funding& FP: How do you measure success? MH: I measure success by whether people rely on our channel to obtain information that they trust. I can't think of any other way of describing success. How does this translate into helping America? I believe we have a good chance at winning people's hearts and minds if they respect us. |