After radio broadcasting since 1938, and an unsuccessful attempt in 1994-96, the British Broadcasting Service announced it will start a new Arabic television channel in 2007. The British Foreign Office will be investing £19M into the venture. It’s main competitors are al-Jazeera, al-Arabiya, and of course the ever unpopular al-Hurra, a US-based channel started in Feruary 2004. The BBC’s channel will probably have much more crediility than al-Hurra due to its long history of broadcasting in the Middle East. The question is can it step up to al-Jazeera and al-Arabiya? The BBC does have credibility with Arab audiences, says Jihad Ballout, a spokesman for al-Arabiya, “but there are now better sources about our region”Â? quotes The Economist. “Our region”: the BBC’s Arabic service will be based in London, as opposed to al-Jazeera in Qatar and al-Araiya in Dubai. This could create problems as reporters with foreign credentials are easier to keep out of certain areas if governments choose to do so. I wonder how the local Arabic populations will view the biases of each outlet? If they will consider the BBC too western, or if they will welcome an outsider’s perspective (an outsider more credible than US-backed al-Hurra)? I don’t know too much about how Arabic media is viewed on the ground. Can someone fill me in?
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