United States"
Middle East Forum
April 11, 2008
Middle East Quarterly Spring 2008, pp. 63-69
http://www.meforum.org/article/1880
Daniel Nassif is the news director of Alhurra, a U.S.-funded Arabic
satellite television news network created in 2004, and has also been news
director of its sister network, Radio Sawa, launched in 2002. Nassif was
born in Lebanon in 1958. He immigrated to the United States in 1977 and
finished his undergraduate and graduate studies in political science and
public policy for international affairs at the University of Michigan in
1986. He currently resides in northern Virginia with his wife and two
sons. Adam Pechter, deputy publisher of the Middle East Quarterly,
interviewed Nassif on October 19, 2007, in Alhurra's offices in
Springfield, Virginia.
Breaking into the Arab Media Market
Middle East Quarterly: How do you think that the United States is
currently perceived in the Arab world? Can Alhurra make a difference in
that perception? Should it try?
Daniel Nassif: We are not a gauge for a popularity contest in the Middle
East. Our mission by law is to provide accurate and objective news to the
region. Alhurra's role is to report U.S. policy accurately to an audience
that has often not received accurate and objective reports, but our role
is not to advocate policy. We provide context and analysis so that
viewers can make informed decisions. We want to satisfy some of the
curiosity about America that many viewers in the Middle East share. The
latest political, military, and diplomatic developments tend to drive
news coverage, but that does not begin to exhaust the breadth of the
engagement between America and the Middle East.
MEQ: Where would you like to see the station in five, ten, and twenty
years?
Nassif: Whether it is five, ten, or twenty years, my goals are the same:
to make Alhurra one of the top networks in the Middle East. Alhurra has
already made successful inroads in the Middle East, and I want to build
on that success. Alhurra is a forum to debate issues that are taboo in
the region. We want these topics to become commonplace on television
networks. We have a distinct advantage because we are free to discuss any
topic while other networks in the region are limited by concerns about
offending their backers.
MEQ: Are you planning changes to Alhurra's content?
Nassif: We are always looking for ways to improve and strengthen Alhurra's
role as a place to turn for news and information. I want to ensure that
our programming menu includes the types of programs that cannot be found
on state-run television channels in the region—programs that focus on
issues of freedom, democracy, and human rights in the Arab world. We are
in the process of producing several new programs. The latest addition to
the Alhurra schedule is the new show, "Women's Views." A weekly program
will bring together four lively, engaging women to discuss social and
political issues that are largely regarded as taboo in the region. Each
of the hosts brings her unique perspective, and they address issues such
as sexual harassment, women in prison, discrimination against women, the
psychological impact on women who marry at an early age, and domestic
violence against women.
MEQ: What other sorts of women's programs do you air?
Nassif: In the Middle East, you are talking about an area where women do
not have rights. In Saudi Arabia, they are not even allowed to drive a
car. We have another program called Musawat—Arabic for "equality"—which
gives women a voice to challenge traditional views about them—for
instance that a woman's place is in the house raising children.
People in the Arab world tell me that Alhurra is very important because it
is raising the bar. Journalists at the other Arab satellite television
stations say Alhurra is opening up subjects that they would never dare
cover, but if Alhurra is doing it, they are encouraged and might tell
their bosses or the people who finance them that they should follow suit
and have the same topics. So, Alhurra is challenging all the taboos in
the Middle East.
MEQ: What would programs focusing on democracy do?
Nassif: You could have elections in Iran or in China—but they do not mean
anything. You have to create the culture, and this means creating a
mentality where people concede when they are defeated. People in the
Middle East don't concede. If they lose, it's a conspiracy: It's Israel's
fault or the United States' fault. It is better if there is an
understanding that a loss in elections means the loser improves and then
runs again.
MEQ: So how can Alhurra support this path?
Nassif: Don't forget that there are closed societies in the Middle East.
Most people have orthodox views. They are born into societies with these
views, and they grow up and die with these same views. At Alhurra, it is
our job to show that there are other opinions that they should consider.
I have to believe that people are smart enough and rational enough to be
able to tell distortion from fact because human beings are human beings
even if they are born in different environments or different cultures. At
the end, in the long term, reason will prevail. The truth will prevail.
Also at Alhurra, we show them the debate in Washington. We go beyond
reporting on the decisions but take an inside look at how that decision
was reached. There are many think tanks in Washington—from Brookings, to
the American Enterprise Institute. We tap into these institutions
extensively and interview their scholars about policy debates and current
affairs.
MEQ: You ran Radio Sawa for five years. Is there a difference between your
experience there and with Alhurra?
Nassif: Radio Sawa was targeted mostly to a specific audience of young
people—the bulk of the population of the region—who were not being
reached by Radio Sawa's predecessor. Its founders conducted extensive
research about audience preferences and chose a programming format
designed to reach the target audience that included news, features, and
music. This entire process was a public-private partnership spearheaded
by the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) and fusing some of the best
radio broadcasters, writers, engineers, and technicians at VOA [Voice of
America] with some of the top people in the private sector, including
newscasters hired from the Middle East. The result was an innovative
broadcast operation that is very successful in reaching its target
audience and has exceeded even the expectations of its founders.
I was a part of Radio Sawa's senior management as its managing editor and
its news director and have been energized by its success. Radio and
television are, of course, different mediums. Television is more
difficult to establish in the Middle East because of all the options
available to viewers. In addition, a congressionally-funded television
network—actually three networks because we broadcast separately to the
Middle East, Iraq, and Europe—automatically must overcome its own set of
suspicions above and beyond the difficulties of broadcasting news to an
audience that is inherently suspicious about many of the things it hears
from the United States. But these are not insurmountable obstacles. The
experience I bring to Alhurra from my work with Sawa is not just a set of
techniques and tools but a sense of hope that this new television venture
will find its niche.
MEQ: The funding for Alhurra was significantly more than it was for Radio
Sawa. Why is that?
Nassif: With television you need a lot more money, and it has to have
breaking news. The audience will watch debates to a point, but the
station will not gain a following by only airing debates. Because of all
of the state-run media in the Middle East, people are naturally skeptical
of the media. They want to see developments and breaking news for
themselves.
MEQ: How do you address this?
Nassif: I want to make the news the best news, so people will come to us
to hear stories that they do not hear on Al-Jazeera. What you have on
Al-Jazeera or even at Al-Arabiya is sensationalized coverage. They take
things out of context, for instance, Israeli soldiers firing on
Palestinians. They concentrate on it, and they will start doing eight or
ten hours of news about it without any background or second opinion. We
intend to give equal time to all points of view—not to terrorists—but
interesting, informative, and relevant opinions. So rarely does a show go
on Alhurra without having somebody from the State Department or from
Washington think tanks, refuting what stations like Al-Jazeera are
saying.
MEQ: You think you can do it?
Nassif: The Middle East is not like here. In the United States, the
average American does not care about politics. Sometimes, only 30 or 35
percent of eligible voters actually cast ballots. In the Arab world,
people are political. When they see each other, the first thing that they
talk about is politics, sometimes before they ask about the health of
their families.
MEQ: You have correspondents all over?
Nassif: On any story, we will have reactions from everywhere—and now we go
to Jerusalem, Cairo, Ramallah, Beirut, etc. You want to be there and tell
the people the latest.
MEQ: Do you have a Jerusalem correspondent?
Nassif: Yes, and he travels with the prime minister of Israel all the
time.
MEQ: How much funding does Alhurra receive from the U.S. government? Is it
enough?
Nassif: Alhurra, Alhurra-Iraq, and Alhurra Europe's annual budget is about
$67 million. Although Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya do not publicize their
budgets, it is safe to say that both channels receive more than double
what we put into three channels. I am confident that we put on a superior
product with what we have. Could we use more money? Of course.
MEQ: Does Alhurra do better in some Arab-speaking markets than others? If
so, why?
Nassif: When Alhurra launched almost four years ago, there was no budget
for an advertising or marketing campaign. We relied mostly on promotions
on Radio Sawa and word of mouth. We soon found that in the countries that
can receive Radio Sawa on FM and where Radio Sawa is most popular, Alhurra
thrived.
MEQ: In which countries does Alhurra do best?
Nassif: Radio Sawa and Alhurra enjoy a strong following in countries like
Iraq. In fact, preliminary research in Iraq shows that more people are
tuning to Alhurra than Al-Jazeera, in part because of Alhurra's
commitment of a second channel, Alhurra-Iraq, providing Iraqi citizens
with daily newscasts and talk shows that deal specifically with the
challenges facing modern-day Iraq.
Addressing Criticism
MEQ: Alhurra is based just outside of Washington. Most of the other Arab
broadcasting networks are based in the Middle East. Does Alhurra's
location hurt its effectiveness or damage its legitimacy in the eyes of
viewers?
Nassif: Alhurra's location in the Washington area enhances its credibility
as a go-to channel for coverage of the Washington debate on U.S. policies
relevant to the Middle East. There is no better way for them to plug into
the U.S. debate than by tuning in Alhurra. The regional media gives some
flavor of this debate, but it is often in skewed terms, lacking in nuance
and one-sided. I believe that Arab viewers want to make up their own minds
and are willing to be challenged with factual information that may not
reflect their own starting point on any given issue. I don't expect
viewers in the region to agree with everything we broadcast, but I do
want them to trust in our integrity as an independent news organization.
For regional news, Alhurra has correspondents throughout the Middle East
enabling us also to provide comprehensive reporting from the region. In a
region where seeing is believing, Alhurra needs to be more viable with its
on-the-spot coverage and more aggressive!
in its breaking-news coverage. We are looking to expand our network of
correspondents throughout the Middle East, focusing on hot spots.
MEQ: During your predecessor's tenure, several congressmen complained that
it was difficult to monitor what Alhurra was broadcasting. Have you taken
any steps to increase the station's transparency?
Nassif: We are all for transparency. Alhurra broadcasts on-air twenty-four
hours a day, seven days a week. You cannot get more transparent than that.
However, the Smith-Mundt Act of 1948 does not allow U.S. international
broadcasting funded by the government to be broadcast within the United
States. We currently have four programs that are on our website at
www.Alhurra.com, so that anyone anywhere in the world can watch them. We
are also looking into the possibility of live-streaming online.
MEQ: How do you respond to criticisms that the channel is "pro-American
[and] boring" and "a bland Lebanese station."[1]
Nassif: I don't mind Alhurra being considered an American channel, but I
would definitely not say we are boring. We are the American channel as
long as it does not mean propaganda—our strength should be the American
perspective—not the U.S. government's perspective. We cover all sides of
the issues. Recently, we had the most extensive live coverage of the
elections in Morocco, Oman, and Jordan and of the Annapolis peace
conference. Rarely does a news event take place without having Alhurra
there. We cover Washington comprehensively, and we go live with every
important speech, statement, or congressional hearing. For instance, we
broadcast a documentary series called "Americans." Crews went across
America and discussed political beliefs, the struggle of African
Americans, and how America became a melting pot. As for the criticism
that we are a Lebanese channel, that is not the case. We cover stories
throughout the Middle East and around the world. Alhurra's journalists
and my!
colleagues are some of the finest in the Arab language press. The Middle
East Broadcasting Networks[2] recruits throughout the Middle East and the
United States. Its journalistic team includes professionals from Egypt,
Sudan, Iraq, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and Syria.
MEQ: But is it the United States' job to reach out to Arab countries?
Nassif: Alhurra is in an extremely competitive market. Most notably the
French, the Russians, the British have all either created networks or
announced their intention to do so—everybody has an Arab satellite
television station. Even the Chinese have a radio station directed to the
Middle East. So everybody is in the market. America should also be a part
of that market of ideas and information in the Middle East. What we want
to provide the Middle East with Alhurra are accurate, objective news
stories with no distortion, no disinformation. This is the best way again
to counter propaganda in the area and, at the same time, we want to cover
American policy in clear terms. Nothing less, nothing more. We are not
there to spread propaganda for the United States. We are here to tell the
Arab world what Washington is thinking.
MEQ: Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya have had a considerable head start compared
to Alhurra. It would seem almost impossible for an American-backed station
to compete with these regional heavyweights.
Nassif: We are not afraid of competition and are not trying to replace our
competitors but welcome the fact that television viewers in the region
have multiple sources of information, at present more than 200 channels.
According to ACNielsen, Alhurra already has an estimated weekly reach of
20 million people, and more than 70 percent of the viewers find the news
credible.
MEQ: But several polls over the last couple of years have underscored a
trust gap between Alhurra and the Arab world. A Zogby International
survey in June 2004 found that none of the surveyed Arabic audiences
turned to Alhurra as a first choice for news, and only 3.8 percent picked
it as a second choice.[3] A poll of satellite users in the greater Cairo
area found that over 64 percent felt Alhurra was not a trustworthy news
source while 86 percent and 67 percent considered Al-Jazeera and CNN,
respectively, to be trustworthy.[4] Are these polls accurate?
Nassif: Without knowing the methodology of each of these polls, I cannot
comment except to say that a poll taken in June 2004 would have been only
four months after Alhurra's launch. But I will reiterate that
ACNielsen—one of the most respected television research companies and
using internationally accepted research methods—finds that Alhurra has a
weekly reach of an estimated 20 million people. That same research finds
that more than 70 percent of the viewers say Alhurra's news is credible.
MEQ: You don't think these earlier surveys are worth a hill of beans?
Nassif: These surveys were conducted in 2004, a while ago. Now we have our
own polls done by ACNielsen and others. We are not in the top two, but I
hope in a year or two, we will be there.
MEQ: Alhurra has been criticized for not having enough Arabic speakers in
management. Does this hurt the network?
Nassif: The editorial and news staff is composed entirely of Arabic
speakers.
MEQ: Testimony last May before Congress revealed that Alhurra broadcast a
68-minute call to arms against Israelis by a senior figure of the
terrorist group Hezbollah;[5] deferential coverage of Iranian president
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Holocaust denial conference; and a factually flawed
piece on a splinter group of Orthodox Jews who oppose the state of Israel.
Are broadcasts of this type necessary to gain trust with the Arab world?
Nassif: Absolutely not. These broadcasts were errors, not examples
indicative of any editorial position. On Alhurra, we tell the story
without giving an open microphone to terrorists. We can talk about a
speech by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah using a sound bite so viewers
hear the most newsworthy points of his speech without airing inflammatory
statements intended to play to audience emotions. Additionally, more
checks have been put in place to ensure that these mistakes do not happen
again. The starting point for my role at Alhurra is to prevent such
mistakes from recurring.
MEQ: You don't consider it wrong to broadcast Nasrallah?
Nassif: We should not be in the business of giving the microphone to
terrorists. But if Nasrallah is making news or a declaration, we are
going to cover it by reporting what was said. It is not necessary to
broadcast the whole speech or give him free time on Alhurra.
MEQ: Isn't there a correlation between anti-Americanism and popularity in
Arabic news coverage?
Nassif: We are not in a popularity contest. It's crazy to think that we
have to put on more anti-American stuff in order to be popular.
MEQ: Do you think that America will ever have a chance to win the "hearts
and minds" of the Arab world as long as it supports Israel?
Nassif: Alhurra and Radio Sawa report on policy; they do not make policy.
Foreign policy is the responsibility of the president, the secretary of
state, and Congress. It is our responsibility to report this process
thoroughly and factually.
MEQ: So where is all the criticism about Alhurra coming from? Are these
critics just trying to sink what you are doing?
Nassif: Well, you have hundreds of people who are graduates of Middle East
schools. When they see that there are US$67 million spent on a Middle East
project, they want to have a bite there. If you do not give them a bite,
they will take off. You cannot satisfy everybody.
If someone is pro-PLO, pro-Hamas, they will suggest the channel takes that
point of view. Everybody wants you to think what they think or to cover
the things that they want you to cover. At the end of the day, you have
to make decisions about what stories to cover and what guests to have. If
you don't call a particular expert or pundit, sometimes they complain or
imagine a slight where none is intended.
MEQ: How do you respond to the critics who claim that the model on which
Alhurra is based, Radio Free Europe, is an outdated relic of the Cold War
and that unlike Soviets or Cold War Poles, Arab populations today are not
shut out of free media, and therefore, we should abandon Alhurra and
encourage private industry in the Arabic broadcasting market?
Nassif: The Broadcasting Board of Governors is well aware of the
differences between Eastern Europe and Arab countries and designed
Alhurra and Radio Sawa accordingly. But an audience that has an abundance
of choices and is likely to be skeptical of, or hostile to, U.S. policies
and values is not an audience that America should ignore. Many media
sources in the Arab world are severely biased and lacking in professional
journalistic standards. The result is seen in poll after poll. For
example, one recent survey found that "only 3 percent of Pakistanis think
Al-Qaeda conducted the 9/11 attacks."[6] Many people in the Arab world
subscribe to the same conspiratorial beliefs. Simply getting the facts to
such an audience is an enormous job.
[1] The Financial Times, Nov. 6, 2005. [2] The nonprofit corporation that
operates Alhurra. [3] Anne Marie Baylouny, "Alhurra, The Free One:
Assessing U.S. Satellite Television in the Middle East," Strategic
Insights, Nov. 2005. [4] Ibid. [5] The New York Times, May 17, 2007. [6]
Worldpress.org, July 10, 2007.
----------------------------------------------------------------
This e-mail has been sent via JARING webmail at http://www.jaring.my
No comments:
Post a Comment