Here is the news - in Arabic
Tuesday, April 6, 2010 Last week I was interviewed for the Arabic television station Alhurra. Filming took place in Wardour Street, Soho, where Forest shares an office with a media consultancy that, by coincidence, has been working in the Middle East for several years.
I was struck not only by how friendly the two-man crew was but how sympathetic they were towards Forest's position on smoking in general. (The idea of banning smoking in cars, for example, seemed incomprehensible to them.)
Subsequent investigation revealed that Alhurra is operated by the Middle East Broadcasting Networks Inc (MBN), a non-profit corporation "financed by the American people through the US Congress". According to their website:
Alhurra (Arabic for “The Free One”) is a commercial-free Arabic language satellite television network for the Middle East devoted primarily to news and information. In addition to reporting on regional and international events, the channel broadcasts discussion programs [sic], current affairs magazines and features on a variety of subjects including health and personal fitness, entertainment, sports, fashion, and science and technology. The channel is dedicated to presenting accurate, balanced and comprehensive news. Alhurra endeavors to broaden its viewers' perspectives, enabling them to make more informed decisions.
Sounds like a good business model for the BBC.
Reader Comments (3)
Accurate, balanced and comprehensive news. Now wouldn't that be something on the BBC?
Sounds like a good idea.
Sounds like.
And since it is "financed by the American people through the US Congress" - and therefore NOT, one hopes, under the immediate control of the White House/Pentagon Goon Squad - I trust that it has already reported on the imprisonment-without-trial of Syed Fahad Hashmi in what has amounted to virtually complete isolation in a small cell for three years.
That's to say, under conditions that would send most of us quite mad quite quickly.
And in New York, too.
In the Land of the Free.
I'm sure that 'the American people' and Congress are aware that even 'suspected terrorists' like to be treated like human beings as well.
Even if they do have funny Arab names............
Rose, I would go as far as to say "Accurate, balanced and comprehensive news." would be quite a novelty these days and not just from the BBC.