'Al Jazeera' to challenge 'CNN', 'BBC' from KL<\/p>\n
Chan Tien Hin, Bloomberg\/Singapore<\/p>\n
Al Jazeera, an Arabic broadcaster accused by U.S. officials of
\nbiased reporting in Iraq, will begin airing an English-language
\ntelevision channel from Malaysia next year to win over viewers in
\nAsia.<\/p>\n
The English-language channel is an \"attempt to gain
\ncredibility among\" Western and Asian audiences, said Bruce Gale,
\na political risk analyst at Hill & Associates Ltd. in Singapore.
\n\"It will be interesting\" to see how they fare, he said.<\/p>\n
Al Jazeera plans to operate a 24-hour English-language channel
\nwith 500 staff in four regional broadcasting centers worldwide,
\nincluding Washington, London and Doha, Qatar, with Malaysia as
\nits Asian hub, taking on Cable News Network (CNN) and the British
\nBroadcasting Corp. starting in the first quarter of 2006.<\/p>\n
The broadcaster has been banned in some Arab countries,
\nincluding Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, for featuring guests who
\nchallenge the legitimacy of those nations' ruling families. Saudi
\nArabia, the largest Arab economy and Qatar's neighbor,
\ndiscourages its companies from advertising on Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n
U.S. officials have repeatedly criticized Al Jazeera for its
\ngraphic portrayal of the war in Iraq.<\/p>\n
Al Jazeera \"covers all sides of the story, but they do show
\nthe dirty side as well, and that's clearly upset some elements
\nwithin this administration in Washington,\" Al Jazeera Managing
\nDirector Nigel Parsons said in an interview in Kuala Lumpur on
\nNov. 22.<\/p>\n
The Qatar-based network's Asian broadcasting center will
\noperate from an entire floor of the 88-story Petronas Twin Towers
\nin Kuala Lumpur, Parsons said.<\/p>\n
\"We're starting to build up quite quickly. At the moment we
\nhave only a dozen people\" in Kuala Lumpur, Parsons said. \"We are
\nrecruiting energetically and want to bring the staff numbers to
\nat least 60.\"<\/p>\n
Malaysian government support, lower costs and close cultural
\nand political ties to Qatar convinced Al Jazeera to select the
\nSoutheast Asian nation over Hong Kong or Singapore as its Asian
\nbase for the English-language channel.<\/p>\n
The government \"told us we would be free to operate here,
\nwhich was obviously important,\" Parsons said. \"They were keen to
\nhave us based here. It will raise the profile of Malaysia.\"<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who advocates a moderate
\nbrand of Islam, has long sought closer cooperation among Islamic
\ncountries.<\/p>\n
Kuala Lumpur \"is a natural place in the political sense,\" said
\nGale of Hill & Associates. Malaysia's government \"has always
\ncalled for an alternative news organization.\"<\/p>\n
Qatar, the richest Arab country in per-capita terms, set up Al
\nJazeera in 1996, investing US$350 million in the first Arabic
\nsatellite news channel. It hired staff from a failed Arabic-
\nlanguage station run by the British Broadcasting Corp. Last year,
\nit added a sports channel.<\/p>\n
\"We looked at Hong Kong and felt it's really part of China.
\nWe're not sure how much freedom we would have had there,\" Parsons
\nsaid. \"It's also a more expensive location. Singapore had all the
\nfacilities, but we felt costs were slightly higher and that it
\nwas a more sterile environment.\"<\/p>\n
Malaysia is also located between Sydney and Beijing, so it
\ncovers the whole region, Parsons said.<\/p>\n
\"There are cultural and political ties with Qatar,\" Parsons
\nsaid. Malaysia being a Muslim country \"wasn't an overriding
\nreason. Indonesia has an even bigger Muslim population. Malaysia
\nhas a good infrastructure, fairly low costs and a good labor
\nforce.\"<\/p>\n
\"Kuala Lumpur's brief is to cover Asian regional news. Kuala
\nLumpur is responsible for news from China down to Australasia,\"
\nParsons said. \"Doha will carry the signal for about half of the
\n24 hours and the rest will be divided among Washington, London
\nand Kuala Lumpur,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The network hired CNN International's Veronica Pedrosa as news
\nanchor for the Kuala Lumpur center. It has hired other veterans
\nfor its other English broadcasting centers, including BBC
\njournalist David Frost and CNN's Riz Khan.<\/p>\n
The channel will focus on current affairs, features, business,
\nsports and documentaries.<\/p>\n
\"We will create revenue streams through a mixture of
\nsponsorship and advertising, but the brief from day one is to get
\nthe product right,\" Parsons said. \"Get the audiences and
\nadvertising will follow.\"<\/p>\n
Still, Al Jazeera has been criticized, especially by U.S.
\nofficials who have accused it of bias in its coverage of events
\nin war-torn Iraq.<\/p>\n
U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said April 19 that
\nAl Jazeera fosters terrorism by broadcasting images of beheadings
\nand insurgent strikes.<\/p>\n
\"In terms of criticism from the White House, there has been
\nsome, although every time Donald Rumsfeld criticizes us, our
\nratings go up,\" Parsons said.<\/p>\n
Still, Al Jazeera International will probably moderate its
\napproach in Asia.<\/p>\n
\"It will be an experience for them. People in Asia are more
\nmoderate and live under the shadow of Christian, Buddhist and
\nother communities,\" Rohan Gunaratna, head of terrorism research
\nat Singapore's Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies, said
\non Thursday in a telephone interview. \"They will have to conform
\nto the norms and practices.\"<\/p>\n
Al Jazeera International is counting on a younger audience to
\nhelp boost viewer numbers, Parsons said.<\/p>\n
Al-Jazeera International is counting on a younger audience to
\nhelp boost viewer numbers, Parsons said.<\/p>\n
Demographics showed rising interest among younger, educated
\nprofessionals and decision-makers aged 20 to 35 years old, which
\nis an \"attractive group\" for advertisers, Parsons said.<\/p>\n
\"These young people in large parts of the world, they've
\nstopped voting and they've stopped believing whatever they're
\ngetting from old established players. That bit works in our
\nfavor, because they see us being slightly different, slightly
\nanti-establishment,\" he said. \"Al-Jazeera does actually have a
\nlot of 'street cred' among young people.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/al-jazeera-to-challenge-cnn-bbc-from-kl-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}