Al Arabiya English
This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2016) |
Type of site | News website |
---|---|
Available in | English |
Owner | MBC Group |
Editor | Mamdouh Almuhaini |
URL | english |
Commercial | Yes |
Current status | Online |
Al Arabiya English is the English language service of the Dubai-based regional Arab newscaster, Al-Arabiya News Channel. Its main audiences reside in the United States and the United Kingdom.[citation needed]
Foundation and early days
Al-Arabiya English began in 2007 along with Persian and Urdu.[citation needed] It carried wire news and selected translated articles from Al Arabiya's main Arabic language news site at first.
A number of editors were brought in to manage the service independently, including American journalist Courtney Radsch who linked her redundancy to a news piece she ran regarding fatigue levels among pilots and crew of Emirates Airlines.[1] Other editors have included Pranay Gupte,[2] who served between 2011 - 2012 and Faisal J. Abbas, who served as editor between 2012 - 2016 and was most renowned for relaunching and growing the page into a fully integrated news service providing original and exclusive reporting, as well as translated material from the main Al Arabiya channel and enhancing its presence on social media.
Prominent Saudi columnist Mamdouh al-Muhaini, appointed on 27 September 2017, is the current Editor-in-Chief of all of Al Arabiya's digital platforms, which include the English, Arabic, Urdu and Farsi websites.[3] He is renowned for managing the coverage of the Donald Trump election, the conflict with Qatar as well as many other various projects.
Relaunch
On 1 July 2012, Al Arabiya News Channel issued a statement announcing the appointment of Faisal J. Abbas, a Huffington Post blogger, Middle East correspondent and former Media Editor of London-based daily, Asharq Al Awsat, as Editor-in-Chief of its English Service.[4] Commenting on the appointment, Abdul Rahman al-Rashed, then General Manager of the channel said: “Faisal is among the most distinguished young journalists and it is a pleasure to have him on-board to continue taking the website forward.” [5] In November 2013, the site was re-launched.
Criticism
In 2012, Al Arabiya English published a series of stories which were based on revealing leaked emails belonging to Sherri Jaafari, the daughter of Syria's UN envoy Bashar Jaafari. The leaked emails showed Sherri requesting an internship with US television host Charlie Rose in exchange for securing an interview with President Assad. Furthermore, the emails revealed how Sherri worked with NY-based public relations company BLJ to produce a 2011 Vogue magazine feature about Asma Al-Assad, the Syrian first lady, which infamously labelled her a "rose in the desert" while Syria was undergoing a deadly civil war.[6] Al Arabiya English's stories were carried by a number of US media outlets, including New York Post[7] and The Huffington Post.[8] In response, Syria's UN envoy went public and urged media to leave his family alone[9]
Following an Op-Ed published on 5 March 2015,[10] calling for President Obama to "listen to (Israeli PM) Netenyahu" when it comes to the threat imposed by the Iranian nuclear deal,[10] many pro-Hezbollah Arab, Iranian and even Western media outlets criticized Al Arabiya English's editorial stance. Based on this Op-Ed, The Independent's Robert Fisk wrote a piece[11] on 6 March that the column, which was written by Al Arabiya English's Editor-in-Chief at the time, wouldn't have been published unless it was blessed by the Saudi Monarchy.[11] By doing so, Fisk was echoing unconfirmed claims that Al Arabiya is owned by the Saudi government and as such unable to publish views that weren't aligned with those of Riyadh. .
References
- ^ "Laid off for implicating Emirates Airlines | Reporters without borders". RSF (in French). Retrieved 2017-06-05.
- ^ "Pranay Gupte : My Career". Pranaygupte.com. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
- ^ "Mamdouh AlMuhaini Author Page".
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-09-19. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Faisal J. Abbas Named Editor-In-Chief Of Al-Arabiya's English Website".
- ^ "Al Arabiya obtains new leaked emails of Assad's New York-based media advisor". Al Arabiya English. 23 July 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
- ^ Bennett, Chuck (2012-07-28). "Aide to Syrian president asked Charlie Rose for a job while trying to arrange interview with boss". New York Post. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
- ^ "Syria Leaks: Al Arabiya English Reports On Assad's PR Firm". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
- ^ "Syrian U.N. envoy claims media 'fabricated lies' about him and his family". Al Arabiya English. 4 August 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
- ^ a b Abbas, Faisal J. (3 March 2015). "President Obama, listen to Netanyahu on Iran". Al Arabiya English. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
- ^ a b Robert Fisk (2015-03-06). "Who can the Saudis trust when they find themselves on Netanyahu's side?". The Independent. Retrieved 2016-10-16.