Unsurprisingly for a broadcaster which attracted so much US opprobrium post 9/11 that George W Bush apparently wanted to bomb its headquarters, 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, 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, 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, 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], 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". But with so much of the competition tightly focused on its target audience - whether defined by country or political worldview - does she not worry that AJI will end up a pale shadow of its sister network?
She says that misses the point and that simply by basing domestic reporters in the Middle East and the developing world, it will bring a revolutionary new perspective.
Rival broadcasters looked on agog as AJI embarked on a Roman Abramovich-style dash around the world's major news networks, signing up the ambitious, ageing, idealistic and disaffected on megabucks salaries bankrolled by the rich natural gas reserves of Qatar.
But Omaar, who will present a nightly documentary strand called Witness showcasing authored films from around the world, says that no one should ever have doubted the scale or ambition of the project. Beyond the undoubted allure of big salaries, Omaar says that what drew such signings as him, Sir David Frost, Nightline presenter Dave Marash, Khan and One O'Clock News anchor Darren Jordon, was the sense of freedom.
Potent weapon
With little or no ratings or commercial pressures thanks to the Emir of Qatar's fortune and with a remit to challenge the status quo, the new channel is a challenge that appeals to risk-taking journalists. "It has a freedom to perform a public service role and I think that's what's drawn people here," says the one-time "Scud stud".
In 10 short years al-Jazeera, created out of the ashes of a failed BBC attempt to launch a Middle Eastern channel and thanks to the Emir's farsighted assumption that a TV channel would be a far more potent weapon than spending his money on diplomacy or defence, has become a daily habit for 50 million people across the region and grown into a global brand to rival Google, Starbucks or CNN. And Omaar is more forthcoming about the nervousness back in Doha "When you have really sweated and, literally, shed blood for this channel that has broken the mould you're naturally going to feel very protective towards it," he admits. "It would be ridiculous to pretend there wasn't two different organisations. We have to learn and find our feet but I'm very confident that's going to happen."
Insiders at the London offices of the Arabic channel say that when the new English language service was first mooted bureau chief Yosri Fouda was openly hostile. Meanwhile, Arabic al-Jazeera was coming under increased pressure of its own due to the success of new Arab channels such as the Saudi-backed Al Arabiya and the impending launch of a BBC World Service channel in the region.
There is a curious mixture of backs-against-the-wall defiance and missionary zeal, even in some of the most experienced hands involved. "You're not going to get this again, are you?" whistles Cole, likening it to the buzz around the launch of Sky News. "Someone with deep enough pockets to launch an international news channel. No way, not with new media on the way."
Yet even the relentlessly upbeat Phillips will admit the delays have been "a little frustrating", keeping half an eye on the flat screen monitor that relays the "as live" pilot programming that has been running for more than two months while technical issues are resolved.
But she is insistent that it will be worth it. The obvious target audience for AJI is English-speaking Muslims around the world. But Phillips is confident that there is also an untapped well of other viewers, in the US in particular, craving an alternative view of the world. Much of that will depend on distribution and it remains to be seen how widespread US carriage will be.
All involved plead for time before making a judgment on the channel, which will broadly follow the same hourly cycle as other 24-hour news operations - the top of each hour devoted to rolling news and the other half an hour given over to a documentary, discussion or current affairs show.
Seismic change
In this "back half", alongside the big setpiece Frost Over the World interviews (Tony Blair is all but confirmed for the first on Friday), entertainment, sport, business and a media show presented by former ABC correspondent Richard Gizbert, the ambition is to empower documentary makers from around the world to tell their stories. Those embarking on this adventure are convinced that just as CNN forged a new path during the cold war era and the subsequent fall of the iron curtain, so AJI can become the news channel of record for a world that tilts on a Middle Eastern axis and is increasingly looking to Asia and Africa.
"What I'm impressed by so far is that we are finding local talent and local filmmakers to tell stories about places which they know," says Rebecca Lipkin, the evangelical London programming chief. "That is a seismic change, nothing less than seismic in the way journalism is done." Omaar is not too concerned. "How bad can it be? It's been bombed twice, how much damage can a couple of negative editorials do?"
Al Jazeera In English
Al Jazeera English launched this month. It is a long awaited channel that many in the international broadcasting community have looked forward to as a groundbreaking initiative. Afshin Rattansi is a former Al Jazeera Arabic producer who left the BBC to join Al Jazeera at the onset of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
Edward: As well as producing for Al Jazeera's flagship Arabic documentary strand, your novels are about working in the international media. When did you first hear about the channel?
Afshin Rattansi: Frontline Club members may have been among the first to hear that Al Jazeera was launching an English service or at least who would be the new channel's key personnel.
John Owen, chairing a meeting at the Club Forum way back in March of last year, spotted the fledgling channel's head of news and programming at the back of the hall, and challenged him to give us a preview of what to expect.
Edward: Clark said: "we intend to launch without any agenda whatsoever. We're not the English version of the Arabic channel; we are determined to be as objective, impartial. I'm just here as an observer and stood here at the back as far away as possible in the hope that no one would notice me." What's Clark's background?
Afshin Rattansi: Clark, who used to produce a chat-show hosted by The Sun's Richard Littlejohn may have looked a little embarrassed but it has to be said that it is no mean feat to create a new 24/7 global channel.
Despite millions of pounds from the Qatari Government, there were excruciating delays as well as resignations. The head of the new channel, Nigel Parsons, a former sales director at APTN opted for no advertising campaign, relying on reams of international newsprint speculating on whether Jazeera English would be just the thing to shake up an otherwise samey broadcast news landscape.
Edward: So what did you think?
Afshin Rattansi: Let's start with the good things. The graphics (bought in from the same company that supplied CNN International's new makeover) looked sprightly.
In the first week, two of the flagship programmes did well. David Frost managed to get an uncharacteristic slip-of-the-tongue remark out of Tony Blair on Iraq (he seemed to admit that the Iraq adventure had been a disaster) although some commentators put this down to luck.
As for Riz Khan's show, the former CNN anchor invited Nobel laureates like Harold Pinter on as well as introducing a fresh 'developing world' perspective on stories that we hear about every day.
Shahnaz Pakravan's Everywoman strand made excellent contributions to the debates surrounding how women are treated in so many developing nations.
Edward: So all good?
Afshin Rattansi: Only one strand was a disaster although it can only get better. An appalling culture-type show in which a journalist named Amanda Palmer failed to interview the new James Bond on Leicester Square's red carpet made one wonder what she has been up to the past couple of years.
The programme was a patchwork of PR electronic press kits. Given the myriad developing nation writers, musicians, artists and filmmakers the opportunity for an excellent culture strand is up for grabs. And, obviously, there is plenty of celebrity-access to Hollywood's finest given Tinseltown's penchant for the progressive.
Ed: Documentaries?
Afshin Rattansi: As for the other 'back half hour' documentaries - nothing really shone because nothing was particularly new or told in a way that threatened conventional wisdom on current events. A documentary on British troops training seemingly dim-witted Iraqis on the Shatt al-Arab waterway was dull at best. At worst it was shameful imperialist PR.
Edward: And the news?
Afshin Rattansi: But the news...oh dear, the news. Clark's vision for the channel is that money shouldn't be mentioned. The result is that whilst the first day saw excellent live shots from Darfur and Mogadishu, everything was dumbed down to the human interest story.
This was children's news that didn't tell us about cause, just effect. No anchor seemed to think of "following the money". Instead presenters looked dumbfounded after yet another shocking report of human misery from a place not usually covered by existing broadcasters.
This pointillist approach is likely to leave the viewer dazed, confused and feeling disempowered by the mess the world is in. There seems to be some vague "blame George Bush/if we just understood other cultures everything would be alright" agenda without any meaningful evidence.
It is, of course, international business that binds the world together but the channel is steadfast in its desire not to connect situations in developing world countries with the power of multinationals headquartered in G8 nations. Following the money would give the channel coherence. Democracy Now's Amy Goodman who does a daily net podcast from New York shows the developing world is not some "other": it is intimately connected with metropolitan lives.
Edward: Nothing on finance?
Afshin Rattansi: This inexplicable lack of news on anything resembling corruption or finance leads to odd gaps. There doesn't seem to be a Tokyo correspondent.
On the channel's launch day, the main news on every station was leading on predictions of a Japanese tsunami. Jazeera English led continuously on the Middle East: an Israeli woman had been killed by a Palestinian rocket. Since Jazeera English resolutely didn't offer statistics from say,
The Red Crescent (4,286 Palestinian deaths and 30,804 injuries since October 2000 according to their information), the channel would have perhaps made Israel's Ehud Olmert blush. There was no fair context to a story that Jazeera presented as an unprovoked attack on an Israeli civilian.
Edward: No money mentioned at all?
Afshin Rattansi: Because money is not mentioned on the news, Gaza again became a human interest story.
No interconnections were explained between events there and decisions in Europe (the EU has sanctions against the Palestinian Authority after the outcome of a democratic election). No connection was made with U.S. funding of Israel.
Edward: What about Iraq?
Afshin Rattansi: As for Iraq, Rageh Omaar interviewed an official who claimed that Iraq exported $25 billion worth of oil last year.
It was disappointing that instead of Omaar following up by asking what happened to all the money, his rejoinder was something like "but things aren't going well in Iraq, are they."
Edward: What about non Middle East news?
Afshin Rattansi: For viewers, there was no difference between Jazeera English, the BBC or CNN when it came to coverage of President Bush' visit to Moscow.
Sky News whose parent company owns Fox News as well as the distribution channel for Jazeera English in the UK offered more perspective on leading international stories. Yet Sky doesn't pretend to have a developing nation perspective. On Jazeera English's launch day there was "no news" from India and only fluff from China.
Edward: Of course, there was a killing in Lebanon.
Afshin Rattansi: The ultimate test for Jazeera English was the assassination of Pierre Gemayel in Lebanon -- he of the Falange party that carried out the massacres in Sabra and Shatila. Every other news station in the world was fingering Syria. Surely this was a time to show that Jazeera could excel when it comes to news fairness.
But no, the most enlightening interview was with The Independent's Robert Fisk who had already been on the other international stations. The basic journalistic question, "Cui Bono" or "who benefits" was not uttered by the now gormless looking anchors in London, Doha and KL.
They were blaming Syria even as the Baker Commission into the future of Iraq was envisaging a rapprochement between Washington, Damascus and Tehran.
Edward: What about the pictures?
Afshin Rattansi: Vaughan Smith at a recent Frontline Club event in London said that camera-people and editors should get on-screen credits, especially in conflict zones.
Given that many expected exclusive "shot for Jazeera" footage from Iraq, it was surprising that most of the pictures seemed to be standard 'anonymous' APTN/Reuters material that was present on other networks. There were no credits on Jazeera.
Edward: Why do you think it was so boring?
Afshin Rattansi: Whilst commentators around the world expressed surprise at the channel's perceived lack of imagination, there may be another reason for the channel's blandness.
Were something like the recent 34-day war in Lebanon to happen again, Al Jazeera English may protect the Arabic channel.
Edward: How do you mean?
Afshin Rattansi: The key to understanding Jazeera is that it has been banned in more countries than any other network. Whilst the wives of Arab dictators may love it, Arab rulers do not.
Nor, as we all know, does the present U.S. Administration. Al Jazeera English, at the time of writing, has no U.S. Carrier and can only be seen on the internet in the Land of the Free.
Edward: So it could be a safety device?
Afshin Rattansi: But what better for Al Jazeera Arabic then to have an unthreatening sister channel? Perhaps there are those in the Qatari government who feel that the channel can act as a flak jacket for its notorious relation. The U.S. bombed Jazeera bureaux in Afghanistan and in Iraq. In Baghdad, U.S. ordnance killed the channel's correspondent, Tareq Ayoub.
Al Jazeera English may not be spectacular but for all its resemblance to a faux CNN, it may help guarantee the safety of Jazeera's star Arabic reporters and camera-people.
Edward: So this may not be the new perspective that was billed?
Afshin Rattansi: As for international broadcasting, December sees the launch of a channel from Paris which the French government hopes will offer English speakers a Gallic perspective on international affairs.
We shall have to wait and see whether the 24/7 news channel concept, invented by CNN more than a quarter of a century ago, has truly come of age.
Afshin Rattansi produced for the BBC's Today programme and Al Jazeera Arabic and was launch editor of the Middle East's first international English language television news channel. His bestselling quartet, "The Dream of the Decade" was published in 2006 and concerns broadcast journalism.
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