The Arab media war

03.30.2003

Went out to eat w/ friends after Simpsons. Kampus Kabob was closed, so we ended up at Ali Baba's Hookah Lounge (ex-Boogie's Café). The food is good, but the service is always exceptionally slow. I think it took them a half hour to bring my humus and pita bread.

While we chatted away, Abu Dhabi TV (ADTV) played in the background on a giant TV screen. It was really difficult to know what was going; I don't speak Arabic and there was no translation. But I was impressed by two things:

One. The programming looked very sleek and professional. You really couldn't tell the difference from it and CNN, MSNBC or other major news networks. I'm not sure if this is the product of the much-maligned "globalization" or simply the fact that presenting news media in a standard format makes for an easier way to deliver news to an audience. But it certainly beat SCOLA or the images I've seen of Al Jazeera, which often look like amateur cable access TV.

Two. There were numerous anchorwomen and some female field news reporters. I think that's quite significant. Abu Dhabi TV does broadcast out of the United Arab Emirates into the wider Arab world. It may seem like a minor thing, but watching professional, educated women broadcast the news into countries where women are denied many educational opportunities (or even the right to drive a car) is a significant step in the region's liberalization.

I have no idea what the broadcasters were saying, though it was clearly related to the Iraq war. There was a brief segment w/ Colin Powell speaking (though dubbed over into Arabic). And more than one report from an embedded reporter. Yes, ADTV has reporters "embedded" w/ American military units (oh, and so does Al Jazeera).

A significant story of this war might be that there are now two semi-independent major news networks in the Arab world. As ADTV and Al Jazeera compete for audience market share - and the financial rewards it brings - they'll have to present themselves as reliable and credible news sources. Perhaps the opening salvos of the liberalization (and subsequent democratization) of the Arab world might come from the satellites of two rival Arab news networks.

Note: I realize that there are other Arab TV stations out there. But I'm pretty sure Al Jazeera and ADTV are the only "major" players in the region on a level like CNN or MSNBC (and that aren't clearly government propaganda tools).

Posted by Miguel at 11:02 PM

Comments

Miguel,
ADTV is definitely less provocative than al-Jazeera. It is widely watched right now but still less than al-Jazeera. Al-Jazeera is more anti-war (not necessarily because they support Saddam).
Regarding the ladies who are anchoring and reporting, these ladies are on all televisions (except the Saudi ones). However, the percentage of these ladies comparing to the ones who are not given the opportunity to use their talents is still unfortuantely very embarrassing.
I hope that you enjoyed your meal there. Take care!

Posted by: Moataz Fattah at March 31, 2003 01:52 AM

I watched a report about al Jazeera a few weeks before the war started. There were interviews with some women who are in leading positions at this station. Al Jazeera said it wanted to become the CNN of the Arabic world.
I think that Al Jazeera is somewhat biased towards the Arabic point of view as is CNN to the American point of view. However, I think both stations are trying to be objective.

Posted by: Marco at March 31, 2003 05:34 AM

I would say that Al Jazeera is more like FOX News than CNN, since it's a little more clearly biased.

Interestingly, I recently saw a senior editor from Al Jazeera (didn't catch his name) co-anchoring w/ FOX News for several mintues. Mostly they discussed each other's coverage and the minor (and not-so-minor) differences).

I've also seen a senior editor from ADTV sitting in on CNN.

Posted by: Miguel at April 6, 2003 09:48 PM

Give MR. Bush a chance!!
God bless you and America....

Posted by: Jaime at April 14, 2003 03:34 AM

halooo there...
first of I would like to thank all those people who highlighted the effective role of Arabs media.regarding al-jazeerah and AD tv,they were really competing against each other recently. and I think the winner will always be the watcher. regarding women reporters, dear we have a lot of such women in the arabs world,but those reporters are the only women whome you can see may be because they are on TV all the time. believe me ,arabic women now reached all high positions in our countries and they really can prove their capabilities in all fields. Im 19 years old,I cover but I have my freedom to drive,study and work wherever I wan as long as I do it ethically..

Posted by: Hanadi at April 14, 2003 05:46 PM