[wvns] The 'Foxification' of Al Jazeera
Is There a `Foxification' Underway at Al Jazeera Television?
by Danny Schechter
Saturday, June 9, 2007
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/06/09/1773/
Sources inside Al Jazeera who are in a position to know what is going
on now confirm to MediaChannel.org that there is an internal struggle
underway that may dilute Al Jazeera's independence and steer it in a
more pro-western, pro-US direction.
"There is already a change of tone and focus in the news," a veteran
insider reveals. He blames the shift on a reorganization of the
network's governing structure a month ago that has put a former
Ambassador from Qatar to the USA in a commanding position.
Al Jazeera broadcasts from a state of the art facility in Doha, the
capital of Qatar, a wealthy independent state run by an Emir who has,
until this point, remained close friends with the US while allowing Al
Jazeera its independence.
"Nobody is talking about it publicly and nothing is quite clear yet
but it looks like there is new pressure from the government of Qatar
[the oil and natural gas rich Gulf state that bankrolled Al Jazeera],
as well as a political battle over how to manage the channel inside
its government with the US and its supporters, including the editor of
the Arabic edition of Newsweek, lobbying in the shadows."
The United States is a major trading partner with Qatar and maintains
a vast military facility there. The high profile Coalition Media (ie.
propaganda) Center was based in the country, and the Pentagon has used
the base airfield to supply the war effort in Iraq. Lebanese sources
report that US planes airlifted cluster bombs from that base to Israel
for use in its recent war against Hezbollah. Israel's relations with
Qatar are said to be close.
Washington and London were never happy with Al Jazeera's political
independence. Its offices in Afghanistan and Iraq were bombed in the
early days of the war, and more recently there have been reports that
President Bush considered bombing Al Jazeera's headquarters in Doha,
but was only stopped by a strong dissent by Britain's Tony Blair. Al
Jazeera has been denied access by the British government to documents
that would confirm this widely reported (and believed) story that has
also been officially dismissed.
"You don't need to bomb Al Jazeera to change its direction," said my
source. "There is a softer way to influence its direction by taking it
over from within and it can happen quietly almost as if in slow
motion. You `broaden' some programs, announce new `guidelines,' issue
new edicts reinforcing top-down control, purge some professionals you
don't like, and then give more positive unchallenged airtime to
backers of US foreign policy. Washington would not be open about any
behind the scenes role it is playing in all this for fear of
triggering a very negative public reaction."
The irony here is that for many years Al Jazeera made a point of
giving substantial airtime to US officials and their surrogates to
show fairness. This even led some hardliners in the Arab World years
ago to accuse of the station of being CIA-backed and even pro-Israel.
But whatever exposure they got was never enough for a Pentagon that
practices "Information Dominance" and seeks to exclude all contrary
views. They expect the kind of uncritical coverage they received on
American TV.
Ironically, a former US military briefer became so disgusted with US
media manipulation that he joined Al Jazeera.
Al Jazeera reporters have been killed by US soldiers, prosecuted in
Spain, and imprisoned. One remains in Guantanamo with no charges
against him. These external actions have only strengthened Al
Jazeera's resolve and won audience sympathy for the station. That may
be why a new internal intervention is underway.
The Friends of Al Jazeera website carries a post suggesting that this
is exactly what is happening.
"It is rumored that the new pro-US Board of Directors (which include
the former Qatari Ambassador to the United States, Hamad Al Kuwari and
Mahmood Shamam who are both are clearly sympathetic to the US Agenda
in the
region) and their representative at station, the new Qatari Managing
Director, Mr. Ahmad Kholeifi is a result of pressure placed on the
Emir of Qatar by the US Administration.
Rumours of a 'soft editorial shift' towards a more pro-Qatari and
pro-US agenda are already floating around media circles in the region.
Sources inside AlJazeera have confirmed that the Board has already
instituted radical changes that threaten the stations editorial
integrity and independence. In less than a month since the
pro-American Board of Directors was appointed, sweeping edicts
affecting the whole of AlJazeera have been passed down by the newly
appointed Qatari Managing Director, Ahmad Al Kholeifi."
My source believes the rumors of an imposed top-down change are true.
Al Jazeera's journalists are diverse and committed to the channel's
mission. They would not likely be silent if they felt their work was
under attack or being unduly pressured. On the other hand, for all
their independence, they know they are highly dependent on subsidies
from the Emir. If he is being pressured, they know that that will
eventually have an impact on the channel's managers.
Media owners have a tendency to meddle in news presentation, with
politics, ego and power tripping often motivating factors. Sometimes,
darker forces are involved.
In this case, why is a pro-US diplomat being given managerial
authority while a respected and experienced journalist/general manager
is apparently being ousted?
Until now, by and large, the internal politics of Qatar has not been
given a high profile on the air but that may be changing, I am told,
with more Qataris visible as pundits and interview subjects in recent
weeks.
Perhaps the Emir who is putting up the cash also wants more visibility
and is engineering compliance. Perhaps Qatar now wants to use the
channel to build a higher profile for itself. In the Middle East,
media and politics are often intertwined. If Al Jazeera is
politicized, it could lose the credibility it has earned.
Too much tampering could easily backfire and undermine Al Jazeera's
support.
Now ten years old, Al Jazeera has grown from an offshoot of BBC's
Arabic Service into a feisty and independent multi-channel media
company with a global satellite footprint that makes almost as much
news as it reports.
Brandishing the slogan "The opinion and the other opinion," Al Jazeera
is known for strong reporting and carrying diverse and outspoken views
including videos by Osama bin Laden and opposition voices to many
governments backed by the US.
Al Jazeera says its coverage is balanced but critics, especially on
the right in America, have targeted it as "terrorist TV," a slogan
designed to discredit its news and programming, which was first only
seen in Arabic but now has a separate English channel.
In some ways, the network's operations mirror and reflect the volatile
politics of the Middle East in which it is based, a region which is
itself torn by external interventions, conflicts with and among
wealthy and traditional elites, not to mention insurgency, war,
political conspiracies, and competing nationalistic interests and
internationalist aspirations.
Hailed as the fifth best-known brand in the world, the nature of that
brand is now being contested. Is an implosion on the horizon, or will
the Channel sort out its tensions and emerge even stronger as a
worldwide competitor against conventional look-alike, think-alike
corporatized media?
What is disturbing is that Al Jazeera had the potential of bringing
real diversity to the global news agenda with more reporting from the
Third World and even about the news world itself.
In an increasingly monopolized media marketplace with concentration of
ownership on the rise, with Rupert Murdoch bidding for Dow Jones and
Thompson taking over Reuters, there are fewer and fewer highly visible
independent outlets. A recent scandal at the ineffective US created Al
Hurra station may have led the Bush Administration to stop competing
with a more popular brand and try to take it over instead.
US cable outlets have kept Al Jazeera English off the air-one way of
marginalizing it with American viewers-but that also impacts on its
ability to make money-something, I am told many Qataris expect. Maybe
they are willing to trade the channel's integrity for a shot at the
quest for profitability that drives most of the media industry. But
being greedy could backfire if the channel's reputation suffers. We
still don't know who is leaning on whom?
As an innovator and an exception to the unbrave world of media, Al
Jazeera has been exceptional. It would be shame to see its core values
compromised just as it becomes a bigger player in a world that
desperately needs media outlets that care about the conditions of the
world's people.
It may be time for its viewers and friends to demand that Al Jazeera
be allowed to remain the respected and crusading force it has become
in broadcasting and world journalism. Let's hope some combination of
insiders and backers will be able to insure that outsiders with
parochial or imperial agendas cannot "fix" what isn't broken.
Journalists and media activists worldwide may need to get engaged to
send a message of concern to the Emir and the media hitmen (ie.
consultants) who are apparently now sneaking around in Washington and
Doha with the hopes of turning Jazeera into Foxeera.
Let Al Jazeera Be Al Jazeera!
Danny Schechter edits Mediachannel.org. He has attended three
conferences at Al Jazeera headquarters in Doha and interviewed key
journalists there.
Comments to dissector @ mediachannel.org
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