Qantara.de - Dialog mit der islamischen Welt

on: Waving the Flag in Arab Living Rooms, by Mona Sarkis

In the article "Foreign Television Broadcasters in Arabic, Waving the Flag in Arab Living Rooms," the author misrepresents Alhurra TV's audience and reputation in the Middle East. According to international research firms such as ACNielsen, Alhurra has a weekly reach of 27.7 million viewers, a majority of whom find the news to be credible. In fact, Alhurra's audience exceeds that of all other non-indigenous Arabic-language international broadcasters combined. Alhurra's mission is journalistic. Alhurra is required, by law, to be conducted in accordance with the highest professional standards of broadcast journalism; and include news which is consistently reliable and accurate, objective and comprehensive.

Alhurra has developed its reputation as a place to turn for news and is frequently cited in the Arabic and English press as a source of news. In fact, Associated Press and Reuters cited Alhurra's interview with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on the day this article was published. As the article points out, several other countries established Arabic-language channels following the launch of Alhurra. The success of Alhurra demonstrated to others that government-funded television networks could thrive in the Middle East. In the six years since the launch, Alhurra has grown into a reputable news and information channel and 27.7 million viewers seem to agree. Deirdre Kine Communications Director Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc.