Now obviously, having grown up in America, and spent a lot of time here, America is much closer to my heart, and the American audience is much closer to my heart. All the years I spent in high school and college in the US, everything I did, even on a one-on-one level with my friends, was always reporting to them about what the reality of the situation is on the ground. So in essence I always felt myself [to be] an ambassador from the Middle East to the United States. But at the same time whenever I was in the Middle East, whenever I was in Gaza, whenever I was anywhere else, I was an ambassador of America to this part of the world. And when people would see me and see the opportunities that I had in the US and I would tell them and describe to them what life was really like in America, their misperceptions about America changed. So this was the ultimate platform in doing what has always been something that I did on a personal level. It was now the ability to do it on a massive, million-viewer [laughs] platform on a daily basis, through msnbc.com, through MSNBC, Nightly, Meet The Press, the Today Show, what have you.
To some of your American viewers, you may be less welcome than you were for the audience at Al Jazeera.
All I can say is that I believe in the American people. I really do. I really believe that they have the right spirit and the right attitude about tolerance, as a society, as individuals, and as a culture. It’s said over and over, not to be a cliché, but America is a country of immigrants and the stories of successful immigrants bridging the gap are tremendous, from every culture and every walk of life in the United States. And I think that over the past ten years, because of what has happened since 9/11, and America’s involvement in the Arab world and the broader Islamic world, the time is right for Arab Americans, Muslim Americans, and people from that background—who’ve been for decades integrated in the United States—to become more vocal and to become not just observers of American life, but to be participants of mainstream American life. And nothing can be more mainstream in America than reporting for an American network like NBC.
That’s why this decision weighed heavily on me, not just as a journalist, but as an Arab American. I knew that in some ways I would be paving the way. I’m not the first Arab American to work for an American network, but I’d like to think that it is breaking new ground for a lot of young reporters from all different kinds of backgrounds who may think that, you know what?—American media is generally of a certain type, out of a certain background, reporting to a certain audience, and we’re certainly going to try to push the envelope with that a little bit and see what the reaction is going to be like.
Great fun to read both of these icons of broadcast journalism in the same piece!
The kid sounds amazing and the Old Lion is as fine an interviewer that ever was,
NBC is the right home for the fierce young Arab-American. He is the newest kind of outsider to find a home for his work at NBC. I say that out of first hand knowledge and gratitude. In 1969, Mayor Richard J. Daley was was so offended by my reporting at Chicago radio station, WCFL, that he literally forced my employer to fire me. Daley then sent out the word. I was not to get another job in Chicago broadcasting. One station executive told me that I had been blackballed by City Hall and that I needed to, "Get the hell out of Dodge." For a scary 6 weeks I didn't know what would happen. I was making ends meet by freelancing for CBC Radio News when the phone call came from Angus "Bill" Corley, then the NBC News' Midwest Bureau Chief. He asked if I might like to come in for a chat. At 9 then next morning. Corley walked into the conference room where I had been told to wait, sat down opposite me and said, "Well, son, you've had a pretty rough time. Would you be interested in coming to work for NBC News?" The year before was the '68 Democratic National Convention and the police riot. I had the bizarre experience of being repeatedly pulled out of the way cops I knew--good brave and otherwise decent men--who proceeded to hit out-of-town reporters and camera crews. Then came to nominating night of the convention when an enraged Mayor Daley literally stormed the anchor booths of ABC News and CBS News, barging onto the air and excoriating the anchors for being anti-Chicago, anti-police, anti-American. The network anchors were stunned and did not respond effectively, allowing the Mayor to achieve an emotional victory at the expense of these most visible of journalists. NBC News was the last of the 3 sky boxes the Mayor planned to invade. But NBC News executive Reuven Frank had seen what happened to the other network anchors. So when Daley and his swarm of bodyguards arrived outside the NBC broadcast booth, a young NBC news clerk stood outside and followed Reuven;s orders. He told the Mayor that there was a dangerous high voltage problem and that NBC could not vouch for the Mayor's safety. The Mayor wanted to go in but his own bodyguards, who loved him, refused to let him enter. That was NBC News in '68. So hiring a 26 year-old reporter whose work had repeatedly pissed off the Mayor was only a small stretch, but one that I very much appreciated! I predict the courageous and brilliant Young Lion of AJE will love NBC News and they will grow together to the benefit of the audience.
#1 Posted by Jeff Kamen, CJR on Mon 19 Sep 2011 at 05:30 PM
Part of me wants to tell you to go fk yourself. Time to defund columbia schools of socialist propaganda.
suibne
#2 Posted by suibne, CJR on Mon 19 Sep 2011 at 07:51 PM
We have been glued to AJE this year -- we watch it online. And Mr Mohyeldin was brilliant. Re NBC: The last time I saw an NBC newscast I was struck by the ads for prescription drugs. I was watching the newscast with my 90-yr old father -- NBC's demographic I gather. I am sure Mr Mohyeldin feels he made the right decision -- but sadly we won't be watching him.
#3 Posted by K McKenna, CJR on Tue 20 Sep 2011 at 11:17 AM
Ayman, what is America for you? I've been living in Canada for the past 44 years and I'm still wondering what the West in general has become.
#4 Posted by Gamil Sadek, CJR on Tue 20 Sep 2011 at 02:47 PM
"If I find that there’s something in the coverage that is based on a policy or a guideline that has been in place for years— but is inaccurate as to the realities on the ground—I will do my best to speak up and try to change it. "
He will "speak up," but he will not change it. I do not doubt his sincerity but, in the end, he will have done it for the money. He is living in Egypt on what would be considered in the USA a very high salary and therefore, he will be capable of saving a great deal of money. Then, he will often be traveling on the expense account of NBC. Eventually he will be in a mansion on the Potomac, integrated into the American mainsream media's ideological hegomony.
#5 Posted by ARTH, CJR on Tue 20 Sep 2011 at 05:06 PM
Sorry to learn of your leaving Al Jazeera - a news channel i believe in. Will not be able to see you on NBC and as i dont like the way american news channels cover the news, I will not be watching.. Hope you havent made a wrong decision...Good Luck Ayman
#6 Posted by Dee, CJR on Tue 20 Sep 2011 at 06:09 PM
all the best to Ayman. If NBC is not giving the right opportunity, we hope the audience will start making demands. but then again, NBC is a different audience. oh well, see you, Ayman, on CNBC. that's the only NBC channel I'll get to watch from where I am.
#7 Posted by man syah, CJR on Wed 21 Sep 2011 at 06:29 AM
Salam and wish you the best Ayman. I have enjoyed your reporting at AJE and I am sure will see your good reporting on NBC or CNBC. As you know there are lots of oppositions to have Aljazeera English broadcasting on America mainstream media such as cables or satelites, so some of us here in the U.S. are working to bring Aljazeera English to be part of the the American mainstream media with the hope Americans will have another alternative. I hope you will join us in this struggle.....
#8 Posted by Fayez, CJR on Wed 21 Sep 2011 at 05:49 PM
Ayman, you did an impeccable job reporting in Gaza and Egypt. It's a shame to see you sell out like this, especially at such a pivotal time for the Arab World. You could have brought Al Jazeera to American audiences rather than bring American audiences to you. Good luck in your quest for stardom.
#9 Posted by Diana, CJR on Wed 21 Sep 2011 at 09:43 PM
Tis a sad day when the SPICE is gone out of your reports ...
I was there in EGYPT with you , every evening ...
I wonder WHO , of your caliber , is going to Ra Ra them , now !!!!!
#10 Posted by Luxmi Kumar, CJR on Wed 21 Sep 2011 at 11:27 PM
I am sadden that you have left Al Jazeera because I fear (and pretty much know) that at NBC you will not be able to bring to your reports an honesty and depth that are consistently available at AJ and that you brought to AJ on Gaza and the Egyptian revolution. For instance, in your first reports on MSNBC and NBC today (10/18), I immediately saw a restraint in your reporting of the release of Shalit and the Palestinian prisoners. We have already heard much about Shalit, but you offered nothing new to US reporting on the Palestinian prisoners. As Noam Chomsky said earlier this week at Barnard College, Palestinian prisoners in US media have been treated as un-people. NBC will NOT allow you to be the honest and probing journalist that we know you are. However, I do agree that you may hopefully break down the wall in U.S. media outlets that has limited opportunities for Arab-American journalists. While not an Arab American myself, I have always yearned for (and actually protested the lack of) representation in broadcast newsrooms of Arab Americans. The Arab-American perspective is crucial to understanding the Middle East and specifically the Palestinian story. For those of us who respect the work you have done in the past, we can only hope that you will persevere in making those perspectives heard. Perseverance at NBC you will certainly need!
#11 Posted by Sanna, CJR on Tue 18 Oct 2011 at 07:19 PM
Oh no! I'm American & only just found out Ayman's moved to NBC,which is a station I prefer not to watch.It's not international,or neutral enough.I wondered what had happened to Ayman on AJZ? But good luck Ayman.Don't get enclaved in by the NBC corporate establishment wall and if you run out of fresh,free,global 'air',come back? Keep reporting reality and the facts to the world and let's hope NBC's vision will widen?
#12 Posted by Mel, CJR on Tue 10 Jan 2012 at 04:42 PM
You crazy terriost! Why would anyone want to support mnbc and this fool! This is America. Get this retard out of the out try now!
#13 Posted by Robert, CJR on Thu 22 Nov 2012 at 01:29 AM