QATAR: Al Jazeera seeking to change its image

Al Jazeera English's managing editor says the news service's notority is a 'lie pushed around by neo-conservatives in Washington'

The Straits Times
Saturday, August 4, 2007

By Nilanjana Sengupta

Try as it may, Al Jazeera seems unable to shake off the 'controversial' tag that has dogged its Arabic news service.

It is still known in some quarters as a channel that shows beheadings and streams videos of Osama bin Laden praising the Al-Qaeda.

Mr Nigel Parsons, managing director for the Doha-based broadcaster's English language service, Al Jazeera English, refutes the allegations.

'Firstly, Al Jazeera has never shown a beheading nor would it. That was just a lie pushed around by the neo-conservatives in Washington,' he told The Straits Times.

'It was initially hailed as a kind of flagbearer for democracy and freedom of speech by the US administration.

'They only changed their mind when Al Jazeera was showing the ugly side of war in Afghanistan and Iraq.

'Secondly, every channel in the world has shown Osama bin Laden, not just Al Jazeera.'

The Arab world's answer to BBC and CNN has made inroads in both sides of the Middle East divide.

Besides the Arab countries, the company has also managed to gain entry into a majority of Israeli households.

Al Jazeera English upstaged BBC World in December last year when it was substituted for the British broadcaster by Israel's satellite provider Yes TV.

Unlike the foreign media which have often been accused of bias by both Israelis and Palestinians, Al Jazeera English has not experienced any problems in this regard.

'Israel would be the first to say that we are very balanced.

'The Israelis know very well as a channel we have a lot of sympathy for the occupied Palestinian people, but having said that, we also give the Israelis right of reply on any story,' Mr Parsons told The Straits Times in a telephone interview.

Even before the launch of the English-language channel, Al Jazeera already had a good track record for balanced reporting: its Arabic service has been serving Israeli audiences for several years.

At the time of the launch in November last year, The Jerusalem Post quoted Mr Daniel Seaman, head of the Israeli Government Press Office, as saying: 'I have only the utmost respect for (the Arabic service of) Al Jazeera in Israel.

'They've tried their best to be fair, and even if I disagreed with their coverage at times, it was not one-sided.'

Al Jazeera English, which also has broadcast centres in Washington, London and Kuala Lumpur, is looking to increase its presence in Britain, the US, and the Far East.

It has already established a foothold in Africa, where 12 of its more than 30 bureaus are based.

Mr Nigel Parsons will be speaking on Globalisation of Media Networks: Need for an Alternative Voice -- The Story of Al Jazeera at the Global Brand Forum in Singapore on Monday.

Date Posted: 8/4/2007