BBC Arabia or Al Jazeera?

Who will the US cable news watching audience see first: BBC Arabia or Al Jazeera?

In Rania Habib's (Kipp Report) interview of Hosam El Sokkari (BBC's head of Arabic services), there is mention of a deal "in the US with a cable company to offer BBC Arabic on cable there. BBC Arabic is not available on the current satellite provision there, although ART has started broadcasting a one-hour daily in the US, in anticipation of launching our 24-hour service on cable." ART (Arab Radio and Television) America is distributed on the EchoStar platform by International Media Distribution (Hagey).

Similar to Al Jazeera, BBC Arabia has had their share of controversy, most significantly when the BBC aired an episode of Panorama critical of the Saudi Arabian government, BBC Arabia's funders at the time, causing the entire broadcast to be canceled after just two years (Habib). El Sokkari had a brief stint at Al Jazeera, the network that the core of BBC Arabia staff went to work for in 1996 (Seib, 2005:601).

However, there seems to be a not-so-subtle explanation of how BBC Arabia is different from its (toughest) competitor:

"One of our key differentiators is that we don’t consider ourselves as party to the events;
we do not make the news. We do not have views, we report views. Our success lies in our
ability to take a distance and make it possible for various parties to express themselves
the way they want, and in our ability to bring detailed facts and comprehensive views."

This comment is both very BBC-esque in its effort to promote 'objective journalism'. However, it clearly indicates its recognition of the problems concerning their competitor's 'objectivity', agenda-setting or side-taking.

With this in mind, as BBC Arabia regains prominence in IB, is it this distancing that makes North American cable companies more keen on making a deal?

BBC & Gaza: Win-Win?

Keach Hagey at The National (Abu Dhabi) is reporting that BBC Arabic's handling of the Gaza-charity drama "was a testament to BBC Arabic’s methodical multimedia strategy that, when its listeners, viewers and readers did choose to voice their opinions about the broadcaster’s decision not to air a charity appeal for Gaza, it was able to use every form of mobile, online and traditional media at its disposal to make its audiences feel heard." (For some background on the story line, see previous post here).

So let me get this straight: (1) the BBC decides to not air the appeal for aid to Gaza, (2) a decision that sparks widespread protests, both physical (5000 outside the Bush House in London) and virtual (check out the online discussion here). As a result of the protests, (3) the appeal for aid actually gets more media attention than it would of had it simply been aired on the BBC, and (4) because "BBC Arabic used its newly expanded television schedule and multimedia channels to host a live debate about the decision," the BBC's image is actually strengthened as well. These times, they are a changin'

BBC/Firewall Update: Not so much (Updated 1/26)

Tony Benn (Britain's Secretary of State for Energy) to BBC: "If you wont broadcast the Gaza appeal then I will myself." He's also has publicly argued that the BBC has betrayed its public service obligations following its decision not to broadcast a public appeal for funds for Gaza, adding:

"I appeal to the chairman of the BBC Trust to intervene to reverse this decision to save the lives of those who are now in acute danger of dying through a lack of food, fuel, water and medical supplies."

So much for editorial independence...

UPDATE: AJE gets into the mix. I wonder if AJE's support of broadcasting the call for humanitarian aid actually makes it less likely that the BBC will reverse its decision? From The Peninsula, via Kim Andrew Elliot's blog:

DOHA: Al Jazeera English has contacted the UK’s Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) to support their call to broadcast announcements for humanitarian aid for the victims of the Gaza War. Al Jazeera English has pledged to run public service announcements in UK prime time on Al Jazeera English at no cost in support of the Committee’s appeal. The announcements will begin running tomorrow. The appeal will be broadcast to UK citizens both in the UK and across the world with Al Jazeera English’s global reach to over 130 million households. “We launched the Gaza Crisis Appeal as the devastation inflicted in the Gazan territory was so huge that British aid agencies were compelled to act and we are pleased with Al Jazeera’s support to broadcast the humanitarian aid appeal announcements,” said Brendan Gormley, Chief Executive of the Disasters Emergency Committee. Al Jazeera English can be seen in the UK on Sky Guide number 514, on Freesat 203, and online at www.livestation.com/aje.

Update (2): Is the BBC's decision to not air the DEC appeal actually generating more attention to the cause than it would have had there not been any controversy? Those clever brits!

The BBC has been on the receiving end this weekend of some fairly heavy criticism for not broadcasting an appeal from the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) for donations to help people in the Gaza region. The Archbishop of Canterbury, a group of 50 MPs launching an Early Day Motion, 11,000 viewers and protestors outside Broadcasting House have urged the corporation to reconsider its stance...As such, there’s an argument that the BBC’s refusal to broadcast the charity’s appeal is generating even more coverage for it.

11,000 viewers came out to protest an editorial decision? Really? I'm going to look for some photos of this...

Evidence of an effective firewall at the BBC?

Of relevance given our discussion of the BBC's different tasks last week. Would airing the appeal for aid actually impacted the credibility of BBC news, or is the BBC just being overly cautious given a history of accusations of having an anti-Israel slant in its coverage in the Middle East?

The Director General of the BBC has rebuffed a request from the Government to reconsider its decision not to broadcast a charity appeal for the aid effort in Gaza.

In a letter to Douglas Alexander sent this evening, Mark Thompson, the head of the corporation, said that even if it was possible to deliver aid to Gaza, the BBC would not transmit an appeal from the Disasters & Emergency Committee (DEC) because to do so would tarnish the broadcaster’s attempts to remain impartial in the conflict.

Mr Alexander wrote to chiefs of broadcasters this morning expressing his disappointment that no television appeal will appear, saying the humanitarian situation in Gaza is “dire”.