In his important speech in Cairo last June, Obama asserted that the United States categorically rejects the expansion of Israeli settlements in the Palestinian West Bank, one of the clearest and boldest statements any sitting president has ever made about Palestinians’ core grievance. Fine. But why not dispatch more Arabic-speaking diplomats to Arabic news outlets to reiterate this policy when those networks assemble panels to discuss the conflict? The U.S. government isn’t bothering to effectively communicate changes in foreign policy that Arabs favor.
Ultimately, the United States will have to use Arab television to spotlight necessary adjustments in its foreign policy, in order to affect basic public opinion here. U.S. government-produced news and an opposition to extremist networks simply won’t do the job.
In January 2009, I was dining with a family of Iraqi refugees in Amman when Barack Obama’s first TV interview as president was broadcast on the Al-Arabiya network and translated into Arabic. The Iraqi family was astonished and proud. For a moment, this otherwise politically discarded family felt important, attended to, and relevant. After a few minutes, though, one family member said, “Well, that’s nice of Obama, but let’s see what happens in Iraq and with the Palestinian issue.”
Obama’s interview on Al-Arabiya, while momentarily uplifting to many Arabs, wasn’t enough. The United States must do a better job of discussing sounder policies on Arab TV in order to minimize anti-American sentiment in this part of the world.
Of course, the United States has no obligation to win a global popularity contest, and that’s not what diplomacy is about. But improving Arab public perception of the U.S. is one of our important security concerns, and it is also within the realm of the possible.
The satellite dish has for decades fed news of controversial U.S. policies into Arab homes. There’s no reason this same medium can’t be used to amplify news of our better policies.
Justin, Great article, I learned something new! love, Mom
#1 Posted by Sandy Martin, CJR on Fri 5 Feb 2010 at 05:29 PM
better idea - immediately end all aid to Muslim countries that want to kill Americans for any reason - starting with a UAV strike on Al Hurra
there will always be an excuse for jihad, just as jihad was waged long before the US existed, and will continue until....?
#2 Posted by Len, CJR on Fri 5 Feb 2010 at 10:30 PM
I totally disagree with you. Al Hurra to me is the only TV channel promoting freedom and democracy. If anybody were to seek accurate, objective and balanced news and debate, one has to watch Al Hurra and listen to Radio Sawa. Of course, the bankrupt diehard Arab natiobalists and Moslem fanatics will always go to Al Jazeera and Al Arabiyeh. Justin Martin is biased and obviously hang out and talk with the wrong people.
#3 Posted by Ali Ahmad, CJR on Sat 6 Feb 2010 at 06:07 PM
Thank you for this. Trenchant, Important. Does anyone know how to get this to the administration?
#4 Posted by Patty Grossman, CJR on Sat 6 Feb 2010 at 11:36 PM
We appreciate Mr. Martin’s interest in Alhurra Television. Unfortunately his article has several inaccuracies regarding Alhurra’s audience and mission that we wish to correct.
Contrary to Mr. Martin’s reporting, Alhurra has a weekly reach of 27.7 million people, according to independent survey research by ACNielsen and other leading pollsters. Since 2004, research on Alhurra’s audience has included mare than 20,000 interviews in 14 Middle Eastern countries; and its total audience exceeds that of all other non-indigenous Arabic-language international broadcasters (including BBC Arabic) combined. While we respect his anecdotal feedback, accurate audience measurement requires comprehensive sampling.
Alhurra’s mission is journalism, not propaganda. The network adheres to the highest standards of professional broadcast journalism, including consistently reliable and accurate, objective and comprehensive news and information. Its mandate extends to interviewing American officials and policy makers, not just the official position of the U.S. government. Were you a regular viewer you would know that Alhurra regularly covers U.S. foreign policy issues through a mix of interviews and reports.
Alhurra continues to evolve and becomes better and more successful each year. Alhurra’s latest innovations is Al Youm, a live, three-hour primetime news and information program that broadcasts simultaneously from four cities across the Middle East and Washington, D.C. Al Youm and other Alhurra programming bring unique topics, guests and views to the people of the Middle East. Alhurra was also one of the first Arabic-language networks to produce a documentary on the humanitarian crisis in Darfur.
Alhurra is, in short, filling a unique position in the complex media landscape of the Middle East. More than 27 million weekly viewers seem to agree.
#5 Posted by Deirdre Kline, CJR on Tue 9 Feb 2010 at 04:51 PM
Dear Ms. Kline,
Thank you for your response. I'm by no means the only journalist arguing that Al-Hurra's presence has been benign. I'm sure you've seen the following 60 minutes segment which reflects very poorly on your network: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/06/19/60minutes/main4196477.shtml
Again, thanks for your feedback. I'm not sure of the accuracy of your figure of 27 million, but based on my own research and that of others, Al-Hurra simply isn't taken seriously in this part of the world.
#6 Posted by Justin, CJR on Wed 10 Feb 2010 at 11:21 AM
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#7 Posted by gregshilpa, CJR on Fri 19 Feb 2010 at 06:01 AM
I recently presented a paper titled "for whom a-Hurra bells toll" to AUSACE conference in Cairo. Look for that paper to have more incit eabout the channel.
#8 Posted by mahmoud Galander, CJR on Fri 26 Feb 2010 at 11:56 PM
What you articulate about the US and Arab audiences/citizens pretty much applies to the US and other nations/cultures. The image of the US has taken a phenomenal beating during the George W. Bush presidency, and needs to be reconfigured, internationally. Well done!
#9 Posted by Oopali Operajita, CJR on Mon 1 Mar 2010 at 02:58 AM