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Senior representatives of US-funded Arabic news channel al Hurra have dismissed claims foreign news broadcasters are irrelevant to Arab culture and society.
The denial follows claims by Saudi Arabian writer and academic Khalid al Dakhil who argued “foreign news channels add no value to the Arab world”.
The accusation was made during a panel discussion at the Arab Media Forum (AMF) held in Dubai last week. Al Dakhil continued by suggesting that foreign government-funded Arabic news channels, such as France 24 and Al Hurra, would struggle to access official sources within Middle East governments.
“There is no merit in that statement,” said Fran Mires, executive producer of al Hurra’s al Youm programme. “We interview officials everyday and have built up a significant roster of high ranking political figures that appear on the show.”
In answer to questions over impartiality, Joaquin Blaya, who sits on the
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“Six years ago US international broadcasting had a total weekly reach of one million people in the Middle East,” said Governor Blaya. “Today al Hurra has 27 million viewers and our radio station Radio Sawa, has 11 million listeners.
“The main function of the board that I sit on is to act as a firewall between the government and our journalists. The board consists of four Democrats, four Republicans and the Secretary of State. This board is the collective CEO of al Hurra and ensures that our journalists can go out and report whatever they like with balance and objectivity,” claimed Blaya.
Al Hurra broadcasts in Europe and the Middle East and has a dedicated stream serving
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