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*[[Al Iraqiya]]
*[[Al Iraqiya]]
*[[Radio Sawa]]
*[[Radio Sawa]]
*[[Al Jazeera]]
*[[BBC Arabic Television]]
*[[Rusiya Al-Yaum]]
*[[Al Arabiya]]


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 16:46, 4 September 2010

Alhurra
TypeSatellite television network
Country
United States (external consumption only)
AvailabilityMiddle East
OwnerMiddle East Broadcasting Networks (US Government)
Launch date
2004
Official website
www.alhurra.com

Alhurra (or al-Hurra) (Arabic: الحرّة; strict transliteration al-Ḥurra [alħurra][1], "The free") is a United States-based satellite TV channel, sponsored by the U.S. government.[2] It began broadcasting on February 14, 2004 in 22 countries across the Middle East. U.S. Government sources generally refer to the channel as Al-Hurra. Like all forms of U.S. public diplomacy, the station is forbidden from broadcasting within the U.S. itself under the 1948 Smith-Mundt Act concerning the broadcast of propaganda.

Development

Alhura's "founding father" was Norman Joel Pattiz, at the time a member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), which oversees the government's nonmilitary international broadcasting services, including Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and Radio Free Asia.[3]

Funding

The budget for its first year was US$62 million, and $40 million more for an Iraq-specific station. $652 million has been requested for international broadcasting in 2006, which would include specific coverage for European Arabs. Dafna Linzer reports that "So far, U.S. taxpayers have spent nearly $500 million to fund these broadcasts." [4]

Operations

This network is operated by a non-profit organization called the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc., which in turn is funded by the BBG.

  • Alhurra has a staff of about 200 people, most of whom moved to the United States from Arab countries where many had worked for competing television channels.
  • Other related American-funded projects include the Arabic-language Radio Sawa.

Operations are based in the community of Springfield in Fairfax County, Virginia near Washington, D.C.

Content

File:Alhurra Studio.jpg
Alhurra TV, Broadcasting Studio, Anchor Mona Atari at the Alhurra news desk.

Alhurra broadcasts 24 hours a day, and, similar to other BBG-owned properties, is commercial-free. In addition to shows the network produces itself, it has broadcast Arabic-subtitled versions of programs familiar to U.S. (and global) audiences, such as Frontline and Inside the Actors Studio. A dedicated version of the channel called Alhurra Iraq is broadcast on the Nilesat 101 satellite.[5]

Formerly the top executives at Alhurra did not speak Arabic. In May 2007, ABC News reported that "That left decisions over al Hurra's content in the hands of its reporters and producers, who are, according to [Joaquin] Blaya, hastily-hired Arabic-speaking journalists with insufficient understanding of Western journalistic practices or the network's pro-Western mission."[6]

Blaya, a member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, was testifying in May 2007 before a subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The hearing was prompted by revelations that, on several occasions, Alhurra had broadcast terrorist messages, including "a 68-minute call to arms against Israelis by a senior figure of Hezbollah; deferential coverage of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Holocaust denial conference; and a factually flawed piece on a splinter group of Orthodox Jews who oppose the state of Israel...."[6] Blaya told the subcommittee that the problems were being addressed.[7]

Alhurra has sought to address some of the concerns, by tackling financial and accounting procedures. Also Alhurra has hired Tom Dine, a former head of Radio Free Europe and former director of AIPAC, the American-Israeli lobby group, as a consultant.[8]

Alhurra has over the years hosted a number of prominent politicians, journalists and intellectuals in one-on-one long format interviews. Guests have included Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, Former National Security Advisor Sandy Berger, Francis Fukuyama, Palestinian President Dr. Salaam Fayyad, Ahmed Qurea, Silvan Shalom, Meier Shetrit, Tom Friedman, David Brooks, Mary Matalin, Jalal Talabani, Paul Volker, John Bolton, and President Bush. Others who have appeared on Alhurra's political coverage include Terry McAculiffe, Joe Lieberman, Susan Turnbull, Robert Zimmerman, Steve Murphy, David Corn, Peter Fenn, Michael Steele, Tony Coehlo, and Eleanor Clift.

Viewership and reception

A pie chart of the responses about which international news broadcast is watched most in Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Egypt, KSA, and UAE.

Studies have repeatedly shown that Alhurra has been unable to reach Arab mass audiences. A poll conducted by the University of Maryland and Zogby International found in a majority of Muslim countries, including Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia, that the viewership for Alhurra was 2% in 2008, and dropped to 0.5% in 2009.[9] Alhurra's viewership is dwarfed by al-Jazeera and al-Arabiya, the two largest mainstream Arab news networks. A Zogby International survey done in May 2004 found that none of the surveyed Arabic audiences turned to Alhurra as a first choice for news, and only 3.8% picked it as a second choice. This trend continued in the University of Maryland and Zugby International Survey taken May 2009.[9]

A poll of satellite users in the greater Cairo area found that over 64% felt Alhurra was not a trustworthy news source, while 86% and 67% considered al-Jazeera and CNN, respectively, to be trustworthy.[10] However, a BBG-commissioned, seven-country survey showed that 29% of the adult satellite-viewing audience had tuned in to Alhurra at some point during one week in April 2005. The apparent discrepancy may lie in a difference in viewership between entertainment-oriented programs and news programs. Alhurra does not reach a large audience. While Alhurra has twenty-six million viewers every week, this only accounts for a small percentage of the population. Shibley Telhami, a Middle East expert from the University of Maryland and The Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. stated that "It doesn't mean people never watch Alhurra – they surf and watch multiple stations. But it's not where they go for news, and those numbers were consistent from country to country."[4]

A more positive evaluation of Alhurra's viewership was made in an Ipsos-MENA poll from March-May 2008. It showed that Alhurra was drawing slightly more viewers in Iraq than Al Jazeera.[11] Citing these figures, Alvin Snyder, former executive of the U.S. Information Agency, referred to Alhurra as a "go to" station in Iraq.[11]. However this conclusion is likely inaccurate as Alhurra is available to almost all viewers in Iraq, as it is now broadcast from 5 terrestrial transmitters covering the major cities[11]. Al-Jazeera does not have the advantage of any terrestrial transmitters in Iraq, and therefore is restricted to viewers with satellite equipment (expensive in terms of Iraqi earnings)[11]. Therefore Alhurra is likely to be watched instead of Al-Jazeera for viewers without access to satellite, simply because Al-Jazeera is unavailable to them, making the comparison unbalanced[11].

Alhurra recently purchased a one-year package of 45 BBC Worldwide documentary and current affairs programs in an effort to boost ratings.

The Heritage Foundation has argued that Alhurra should be allowed to broadcast within the United States since private, non-US government Arab television news networks are permitted to broadcast there.[12]

Criticisms of Alhurra

Alhurra has been criticized for its newscasters and its coverage. On numerous occasions, Alhurra has reported on issues that the American government did not find suitable. For example, one of the station's anchors declared on Easter that "Jesus is risen today," to the station's mainly Muslim audience.[13] Also, Alhurra covered a conference in December 2006 that denied the Holocaust, aired an unedited hour long speech from the leader of Hezbollah, and hired Lebanese employers with thin credentials. The reporter that covered the Holocaust conference was supposed to be fired after that report, CBS News stated. In fact, the Broadcasting Board of Governors told Congress that he had been fired. However, in an investigation, CBS News found that he was actually not fired until they had asked about his presence on the governmental payroll, 18 months after his alleged firing.[14]

In 2004, when an Israeli air strike killed leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin, Alhurra continued with a cooking show instead of interrupting regular programming.[13] In a 60 Minutes and ProPublica report, it was stated, "There appeared to be little oversight of the daily operations." William Rugh, previous U.S. Ambassador in Yemen and the United Arab Emirates, was quoted as saying, "There is no adult supervision there by people who know what is on the actual broadcasts." [4]

A release from the US Office of Inspector General noted that inspectors "heard consistent reports of poor communication in the news operation." [15] The inspector's main criticism was of the station's vice-president Daniel Nassif, who was highlighted in reports of "newsroom management issues that were reported to the inspectors to have arisen during his tenure or remain unsettled from an earlier time." [15] Several employed marriages have also led to accusations of nepotism,[15] including the employment of vice-president Nassif's wife.[16]

Perception in the Middle East

The perception of Alhurra in the Middle East has been largely negative. According to a Congressional Research Service's report for Congress titled, "The Middle East Television Network: An Overview," Alhurra has received mixed reviews by Arab critics. Negative reviews cite the white horses running free in the promotional spot, along with the stations name (meaning "free one"), as a patronizing symbol that implies Arab viewers have no alternatives besides state-controlled media.[17] According to Justin Martin, a reporter for the Columbia Journalism Review working as a Middle East correspondent in Cairo, "Most damning for Alhurra, though, is the fact that many Arabs don't know it exists; many of those who do, believe it's a PR tool for the U.S. military. This assumption is false, but not unreasonable, given that the network was conceived to improve America's image in the Arab world following the Iraq invasion." [18] The overarching trend of Middle Eastern media's attitude towards Alhurra, including Al-Jazeera and Islam Online, is to dismiss Alhurra as "slanted, arrogant and condescending... launched to polish the image of the United States within the region." [19] At the Arab Media Forum in Dubai on May 12, 2010 Joe Conason reported on panel including himself, Arab-American Institute president James Zogby, Al-Jazeera international news director Saleh Najm and others, who all agreed that "the U.S.-branded Alhurra has been a very costly mistake." Conason goes on to note that "rather than correct or scrap the flawed propaganda model, the board that oversees Alhurra keeps asking for more money." [20]

In addition to institutional criticism from competitors and governments, Alhurra has also been viewed negatively by its intended audience. William Rugh, in his testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 2004, noted that research has shown Arab viewers have the impression that the station was American-oriented. The subjects chosen and the time devoted to them "seemed determined from an American point of view rather than an Arab perspective." [21] Viewers also noted the language used to cover stories "did not match that of most Arab television stations". Rugh also noted that the first impression the Arabs got from Alhurra was an interview of President George W. Bush immediately after his inauguration. "Arab government-owned television stations have always given prominence to statements by their heads of state, and the Bush interview seemed to stamp Alhurra as just one more government-owned channel." [21] More recently a study conducted by the USC Center on Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School found in 2008 that Alhurra's programming was weak, lacked relevance to the audience, and was perceived to be biased propaganda.[22]

See also

References

  1. ^ The pronunciation differs depending on the variety of Arabic.
  2. ^ "Alhurra" Middle East Broadcasting Network, 2005
  3. ^ Whitlock, Craig "U.S. Network Falters in Mideast Mission", Washington Post, June 23, 2008
  4. ^ a b c Linzer, Dafna "Lost in Translation: Alhurra—America's Troubled Effort to Win Middle East Hearts and Minds" ProPublica" June 22, 2008 Cite error: The named reference "Lost in Translation: Alhurra—America's Troubled Effort to Win Middle East Hearts and Minds" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Lyngemark Satellite" "LyngSat" May 9, 2010
  6. ^ a b Ross, Brian "U.S. Government Gave Airtime to Terrorists, Official Admits", ABC News," May 22, 2007
  7. ^ "Testimony of Joaquin Blaya" Broadcasting Board of Governors, May 16, 2007
  8. ^ Linzer, Dafna "Alhurra Targeted for Review by State Dept. Inspector General" "ProPublica," September 17, 2009
  9. ^ a b Linzer, Dafna "Alhurra Bleeding Viewers, Poll Finds, But Spending is Up", "ProPublica," May 29, 2009
  10. ^ Moran, Daniel "Special Issue on Extended Deterrence, Security Guarantees, and Nuclear Proliferation: Strategic Stability in the Gulf Region" "Strategic Insights," Winter 2010
  11. ^ a b c d e Snyder, Alvin "Alhurra Locates the 'Arab Street'" "USC Center on Public Diplomacy," January 7, 2009
  12. ^ Pilon, Juliana "Obsolete Restrictions on Public Diplomacy Hurt U.S. Outreach and Strategy" "The Heritage Foundation," December 3, 2007
  13. ^ a b Whitlock, Craig "U.S. Network Falters in Mideast Mission" "Washington Post," June 23, 2008
  14. ^ "U.S.-Funded Arab TV's Credibility Crisis" "CBS News," June 22, 2008
  15. ^ a b c "Broadcasting Board of Governors Operations in Afghanistan" Broadcasting Board of Governors, March 2010
  16. ^ Linzer, Dafna "Inspectors Keep Up Pressure on Alhurra, Say Effectiveness Still in Question" "ProPublica," April 15, 2010
  17. ^ Sharp, Jeremy "The Middle East Television Network-An Overview" CRS Report for Congress, February 9, 2005
  18. ^ Martin, Justin "Hearts, Minds, and the Satellite Dish" "Columbia Journalism Review," February 4, 2010
  19. ^ "Alhurra" "Sourcewatch," December 17, 2008
  20. ^ Conason, Joe "Why nobody watches our Arab TV channel" "Salon," May 12, 2012
  21. ^ a b Rugh, William "Comments on Radio Sawa and al Hurra Television" April 29, 2004
  22. ^ "An Evaluation of Alhurra Television Programing" "USC Center on Public Diplomacy," July 31, 2008

Further reading

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