Alhurra—America: One Big Failure
Pro Publica reports that ‘[a]n Arab-language television network and radio station, founded by the Bush administration to promote a positive image of the United States, has aired anti-American and anti-Israeli viewpoints, has showcased pro-Iranian policies and recently gave air time to a militant who called for the death of American soldiers in Iraq.’
So far, U.S. taxpayers have spent nearly $500 million to fund those broadcasts. The television station, called Alhurra, and the radio network, Sawa, were meant to provide an American perspective on world events and counter the wave of global criticism that had been building against the Bush administration since the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Instead, Alhurra’s four years of operation have been marked by a string of broadcast disasters that government officials believe are as negative as anything aired by Al Jazeera, the widely watched Qatar-based station that aired unedited speeches of Osama bin Laden.
Alhurra - meaning “the free one” - came under fire last year, after it broadcasted from the holocaust denial conference in Tehran. The Alhurra reporter even said that Jews had not been able to come up with any scientific evidence to prove that the holocaust did indeed happen.
There are several reasons for Alhurra’s failure:
1. There’s little to no oversight
2. The people in charge do not speak Arabic and have, as a result, no idea what their reporters are saying
3. The president, Brian Conniff, also has no experience in journalism. He’s an amateur
4. His news director, Daniel Nassif, grew up in Lebanon and has no background in television
5. Most Arabs, whether they are journalists or not, are not pro-America, nor pro-Israel
6. It’s unlikely that a pro-America and pro-Israel network will become popular
7. The Westerners in charge of Alhurra don’t know anything about Arab culture, and have no idea how to connect with their public
And that last point is important; this network can be transformed - it has to be of course - but no Arab will watch it if it’s too pro-America and too pro-Israel. They have to find a middle ground.
