Can the new Western Arabic channels compete?
“‘If Al-Hurra is anything to go by, then there’s no chance for these new channels to steal audiences from the existing ones,’ says Jihad Ballout, who has served as spokesperson for both Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya. ‘The BBC is different. It has a name and a culture, which is an asset. If anyone has a chance, it’s them.'” Variety, 16 April 2007. Posted: 17 Apr 2007 Permalink Aljazeera English and its lack of access to U.S. households. “At one major cable carrier, an executive said Al-Jazeera’s English programming was too similar to BBC World and there weren’t enough likely American viewers to add another foreign-centric news channel.” AP, 16 April 2007. “The lesson of Al-Jazeera English — for now, anyway — is that there are no sides, only an endless array of viewpoints.” Brendan Bernhard, New York Sun, 17 April 2007. International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) calls on “the US government to release Al-Jazeera cameraman, Sami al-Haj, who this morning started his 100th day of hunger strik
