CNN, France 24, Russia Today: the Global Battle is On
Fabio Amato 12 January 2007

Being the last on the scene will be the hardest handicap for France24. The new 24/7 global satellite station started broadcasting on December 6, 2006, adding its voice to the multitude of global news channels. It is a growing market – France24 arrives after Al Jazeera English and Russia Today – and an expensive one too; establishing France24’s two channels cost one hundred million euros. Yet France doesn’t want to be excluded from the struggle for global cultural influence. Government invested directly in the channel and the main goal is as simple as it is ambitious.

With 170 journalists of its own, France24 will compete head-on with the most important international broadcasters, distinguishing its cultural perspective from mainstream anglophone CNN International and BBC World. That’s why in addition to English and French, the new channel will soon schedule Spanish and Arabic programming, focusing on debate and the role of cultural difference. Despite this effort, the established media seem very sceptical about French success, if not sarcastic like The Times: “France24 is product of a nation annoyed it couldn’t convince the world to speak French instead of English”.

Similar difficulties were encountered by Russia Today. Born on December 2005 to the news-agency Ria-Novosti, with 150 journalists, the channel seems to be too involved with Russian affairs to be considered “global”. Above all these new channels are ants-sized when compared to BBC world (250 employees, 26,000 whole BBC) and CNN (4,000). However, alongside the role of the two giants, who lead the chart in global audience, particular innovation has come from ten-year-old, Qatar financed, Al Jazeera. Its subsidiary “Al Jazeera English” was launched on November 15, 2006, representing the first English-language news-channel head-quartered in the Middle East.

Not just technical, this “detail” reverses the current flow of information, so that for the first time an Arab television could reach an estimated one billion English speakers. Indeed, by now its slogans – such as “Every angle, every side” or “If it’s newsworthy, it gets on air, whether it’s Bush or Bin Laden” – reach some 80 million households, much more than the predicted 40 million. And beyond the slogans both Al Jazeera and its anglophone rib provide a truly alternative point of view, conveyed to a western audience by well-recognizable journalists such as BBC veteran, Sir David Frost. The result is an original mixture of East and West, aired from four broadcasting centres – Doha, Washington, London and Kuala Lumpur – and 21 supporting bureaus.

Simultaneously, Al Jazeera goes on competing with Al Arabiya for pan-Arab audience. The latter was launched in February 2003, with financing from investors in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the Gulf States. Age does not necessarily establish audiences. In fact, a late 2003 poll by the US State Department in seven Iraqi cities found that among Iraqis with satellite dishes, 37% named Al Arabiya as their preferred news source, followed by Al Jazeera (26%), with the US-run Iraqi Media Network (now renamed al-Iraqiyah TV) well behind with only 12%. Nonetheless, Al Arabiya is often criticized for being much more affected by censorship than its competitor, and is usually considered “excessively moderate” towards Arab hierarchies. On the contrary, Al Jazeera approach has been called “revolutionary” – critics say sensationalist – for it often presents controversial views on many Islamic nations.

Paradoxically, this impudent attitude has led to a widespread US belief that Al Jazeera provokes strong feelings of anti-Americanism, although recent studies make clear that its effects on Arab audiences differ little from the influence of CNN or BBC. What’s more, it looks like the “revolution” won’t come to an end during 2007. According to its plans, the network will launch an Urdu channel, which would not only further expand Al Jazeera’s reach in globalized information, but also reduce the distance between Middle East and South Asia. And yet, despite growing audience and importance, the network has failed to achieve its financial goals. Although it was expected to be self-sufficient through advertising by 2001, Al-Jazeera remains directly financed by the Emir of Qatar. And, if so far it looks like Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani is satisfied with prestige, many – including channel employees – are afraid he could someday collect the political profit of his effort and withdraw his money.

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