War of Cultures Hits the Airwaves
Foks News will have to face some competition from the enemy and CNN question its appeal:
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Arab TV news station Al-Jazeera has started an English language program with the aim of redressing what it calls an imbalance in global news reporting. Its news director wants to "reverse the North-South flow of information." The project could boost the self-esteem of a depressed cultural nation.
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In Kuala Lumpur, Veronica Pedrosa, previously with CNN, is the prime-time face of Al-Jazeera for south and southeast Asia. The area between India and China not only has the most important oil customers of the future, but is also home to around 700 million Muslims who generally speak better English than Arabic. As AJI director Nigel Parsons points out: "We feel a natural empathy for the Asian Muslims."
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"We aim to reverse the North-South flow of information," states news director Steve Clark. "We want to establish a more evenly balanced perspective."
What he means by that becomes apparent on the first day of broadcasting in the form of unequivocal graphics -- "Great Britain: 400 atomic weapons, Israel: 150, North Korea: 1? Iran: 0? USA: 10,250." Images of Robert Mugabe, the controversial President of Zimbabwe, pop up on screen accompanied by catchwords: Dictator? Statesman? Fanatic? An African hero?
A New Voice from the Middle East: War of Cultures Hits the Airwaves - International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News
