ISLAMABAD, Oct 24: Ahmad Zaidan, the Islamabad-based correspondent of Al-Jazeera television, is much-sought after by media persons these days. Just as the exclusive video footage from Afghanistan by this Arabic channel — the only one in the world with a live link to Kabul — is in much demand by major satellite channels like the CNN.
Amongst the visitors Zaidan has received recently in al- Jazeera’s modest bureau office in the capital is Robert Fisk. The latter is the Beirut-based Middle East correspondent for the London Independent , who has been described as the Britain’s most highly decorated foreign correspondent.
Little known outside the Arabic world in its five-year existence, the Qatar-based first 24-hour Arabic satellite channel broadcasting station shot to international limelight on October 7 with two scoops, sidelining major stations like the CNN in the process. The first was the live flickering green image footage of the start of the American bombardment of Afghanistan and the second was Osama bin Laden’s pre-recorded video message to the world.
The second scoop earned al-Jazeera the ire of the American leaders who accused it of airing vitriolic, irresponsible statements. Some even described it as the mouthpiece of terrorists. But for al-Jazeera, this was all in a day’s work.
“Al-Jazeera has been earning the criticism of governments across the Arab world from Libya to Iran since it was set up in 1996 by the new liberal-minded Amir of Qatar with an annual subsidy of $30 million,” said Zaidan. “This is because its objective has been to allow everybody to speak,” he added.
And allow everybody it did, including Israeli leaders, the Arab opposition and those who are openly critical of Arab regimes. All this was unthinkable, unheard of and never seen before in the government-controlled media of the Arab world.
Zaidan believes that allowing all points of view to be heard and thus democratizing the media, is the first step in democratizing the Arab society.
“Ironically it was the Americans who hailed al-Jazeera as ‘the spirit of new democracy in the Arab world’ when the station first came into being,” recalled Robert Fisk. Yet it was the Americans who had quietly asked the Amir before the strikes on Afghanistan began, if the station could put a damper on its coverage of that country. The Amir responded by telling the press about this.
Since it began, al-Jazeera has indeed proven to be “the spirit of new democracy in the Arab world” with its open news coverage and vibrant talk shows. The most popular of the latter is ‘The Opposite Direction’, a weekly programme in which two guests, refereed by a provocative host, vehemently argue opposite sides of an issue. The intensity of the debate has been such that some guests have stormed out of the studio midway.
“Also revolutionary are al-Jazeera’s incisive documentary series focusing on the internal political history of Arab countries,” said Fisk. One of these was about the civil war in Lebanon, which he said was the best ever dissection of the Lebanese civil war, incorporating the viewpoints of all the parties concerned. Fisk recalled that all of Beirut was quiet every Thursday night when the documentary was aired.
“The al-Jazeera producer of the documentary was banned by five Arab governments from entering their countries after that,” said Zaidan.
The rise of al-Jazeera is a lesson in journalistic principles for major western broadcasting stations like the CNN. The latter lost out in the Arab world to al-Jazeera over the past five years simply because it failed to provide the Arab angle to the news and coverage of issues that were relevant to the Arab public.