Pacific Views

'Accurate and balanced', or just a US propaganda mill?

This past weekend saw the first broadcasts of Al-Hurra, a US-financed satellite channel aimed at viewers in the Arab world. Born largely out of Washington's frustration with the poor reviews its policies get from Aljazeera and other Arab broadcasters, the formal mission of Al-Hurra is to bring 'accurate and balanced' news to Arab viewers.

From the first announcement of Al-Hurra, however, Arab commentators have seen the new channel as a vehicle for US government propaganda. From Arab response to Al-Hurra's first broadcasts, the station has a long way to go if it plans to win hearts and minds in the region.

We were particularly struck by this editorial about Al-Hurra in the Palestinian exile paper Al-Quds al-Arabi:

It may be useful to bear in mind that the U.S.-funded Iraqi media is not that different from the old Baath party media. It only publishes misleading news that discusses the occupation's 'good works' and avoids anything else.

The era of this kind of media ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Soviet bloc, yet it appears there are some in the U.S. administration who want to transport us back some 40 or 50 years. They forget that their country talks to us about globalization, free markets, and the information revolution, and that they demand that we acquire a 21st-century mentality.

The fate of Al-Hurra will be that of the Israeli channel Al-Maqboura [the Arabic-language satellite TV station launched by the Israeli government in 2001] and most of the government-owned Arab channels: It will create jobs for government employees. The public reaction and the ratings are a different matter.

Al-Hurra's rather skimpy website is here.

Via World Press Review.