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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated

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From: LindyBill	8/29/2005 1:26:15 AM
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Al Jazeera's Competition August 29, 2005; Page A8 WSJ.com Although it's received little notice in the press, an 18-month-old U.S. initiative to bring greater diversity of opinion to Middle Eastern television and radio is making inroads into al Jazeera country. When President Bush announced the Alhurra network in his 2004 State of the Union address, the proposal to create an independent Arabic-language TV station run out of Virginia was met with skepticism and ridicule. But a new ACNielsen survey estimates Alhurra's weekly audience at 21 million viewers across the Middle East, up 15% from a year ago. Norman Pattiz, chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors that oversees the station, says this means Alhurra's audience is about one-third the size of Al Jazeera's and about one half that of Al Arabiya -- not bad for a station on the air just a year and a half. Perhaps more impressive is that Alhurra's credibility has also grown steadily. According to ACNielsen, 77% of Alhurra viewers rate its news coverage as reliable, up from 60% last year. "Considering all the people who said no one would listen to us and no one would care," Mr. Pattiz told us, "I think these numbers certainly prove these people incorrect." The fact that stands out to Mr. Pattiz is that "about 40% of viewers of al-Arabiya and al Jazeera watch Alhurra." Those viewers would seem to be open to an alternative perspective on Mideast events. "The sheer size of the audience suggests that we're reaching people who do not have a favorable view of the United States," Mr. Pattiz noted. Which is part of the point. To keep those people tuned in, Alhurra seems to be overcoming the perception that it's merely an organ of the American government. And that's a story that deserves to be told.

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