DSE/DSL: Bush/Arab Media (REAC)

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

After repeated failed attempts to foster its image in the Middle East, U.S. lays blame on Arab media
Bush: 'Arabic television does not do our country justice'

By Pakinam Amer
Daily Star staff

CAIRO: Criticism of Arab media outlets by America's mainstream press and the U.S. State Department are escalating, while efforts to revamp the U.S. image in the Middle East are evidently failing.
Last week U.S. President George W. Bush was quoted as saying, "Arabic television does not do our country justice." Bush said that Arab media has put out propaganda that defames U.S. policies and
its administration.
According to the American president, the image Arab media present of the U.S. government - and even the American people - is unfair and exaggerated. "It doesn't give people the impression of what we're about ... You can't figure out America when you're looking at some of these television stations; you just can't, particularly given the message that they spread," said Bush.
Over the past decade, U.S. foreign policy has for the most part continued to provoke Arab reactions. Media and press veterans in the Arab world, with Al-Jazeera topping the list, have been systematically testing the limits in openly condemning the U.S. government and its policies.
During an interview with Al-Jazeera last month, Bolivian President Evo Morales was quoted as declaring Bush "a terrorist" and labeled American military intervention in Arab countries as "state terrorism."
Such statements, broadcasted on Al-Jazeera, are not unique. Since the American occupation of Iraq, vitriolic scorn and criticism of Bush and U.S. foreign affairs have almost become the norm.
"We are not being extreme in our coverage of U.S. politics," said Ahmad Moussa, deputy editor of the Al-Ahram daily newspaper. According to Moussa the Arab media balances out the "extreme" press coverage of U.S. media, which constantly sides with Israel and works to promote its country's interests in the Middle East.
"The American press adopts the same views and policies voiced by its government and powerful lobbies; views that are often against Arab and Muslim states and organizations," said Moussa. "This consequently pushes Arabic media to respond and defend their case."
Moussa said that by presenting their side Arab media succeed in putting forth a complete picture of the events in the Middle East and of the real foreign policies of the United States.
"Personally, I have not heard of an instance where the United States condemned the massacres and the bloodbaths that Israel is responsible for in Palestine. Mass killings and assassinations by Israelis are not mentioned," said Moussa. "On the other hand, you find the United States intervening in internal government policies [in the Arab world]; giving official statements whenever a riot breaks out in Egypt or an internal issue comes up ... it is certainly provoking," said the Al-Ahram senior editor.
However, Moussa insists that the Arab media, especially Egyptian, is objective in spite of the double standards of U.S. foreign policy and the prejudiced American press coverage of this policy. "We [as Egyptian media personnel] are keen on maintaining Egypt-U.S. relations, for instance, by being fair and accurate in coverage ... But these relations should not stop us from criticizing the United States and American policies," said Moussa.
Renowned British Middle East correspondent Robert Fisk has emphasized in many of his speeches that the United States and its media are indeed biased against Arab states. Fisk said in one lecture at Stanford University that he believed, "[American newspapers and television] are becoming alternative in the sense that they're not giving you a full picture ... [They report the Middle East] in a spineless, biased [and] cowardly way." The American press should not be called "mainstream" since it has become "so compliant in [its] reporting in the Middle East," as reported in the Stanford Daily. "[It] has fallen into line with the reporting style which avoids any serious criticism of one side: Israel."
Across the Arab world, attempts initiated by the United States to boost its image as "a country of freedom and democracy" or to cover Middle Eastern affairs "the American way," were often rejected.
Channels such as the Arabic-language Al-Hurra television channel and U.S.-funded Radio Sawa were shunned; sometimes accusations against them were harsh and unfounded. Some Arab journalists have gone as far as labeling Al-Hurra "Bush's mouthpiece in the Middle East."
Bush emphasized in his aforementioned speech that Americans need to find more effective routes to improve their representation in foreign countries, the Arab world in particular. The president said that a key reform was to introduce what he called a "language initiative" that aims at educating Americans in different languages so that they would be able to defend what they stand for in foreign media outlets.
The initiative will focus on languages such as Hindu, Farsi and Arabic. In a Reuters report, Bush said that the initiative is "part of a strategic plan to protect the United States and spread democracy." It is essential, according to the U.S. statement, to "America's standing in the world."
Bush's statement and initiative come after the United States allegedly closed down the youth magazine Hi, published in Egypt and other countries in the Middle East. The Arabic-language magazine directed at young Arabs was part of an earlier U.S. strategy aimed at boosting the American image. The magazine, supported by U.S. funds, has apparently fallen short of expectations, although earlier distribution reports were reportedly high and the magazine was believed to have a far-reaching effect when it kicked off more than two years ago.
One of the main reasons that some Egyptian youths were turned off by the magazine is the fact that it was U.S.-financed. "I do not believe in the U.S. media ... It is [especially] fraudulent in their coverage of politics," said Shady Sherif, the young publisher of several English and Arabic language publications aimed at Egyptian youth.
"Their [the U.S.] accusations against our media are driven by the fact that Arab media haven't been able to compete with the Americans' in the past," said Sherif. "Now we have channels like Al-Jazeera which presents the whole picture ... The American media is not used to our presence; they're not used to others challenging their views."
Commenting on the shaky status of Hi magazine, Sherif said that "[An American-founded magazine like Hi cannot compete with a magazine like ours ... One that is 100 percent local and Egyptian; run by Egyptian youth," said Sherif.
According to Sherif, local youth-directed media generally boasts more credibility among Egyptians, even though "it is not well supported by the old guard of the Egyptian media." Well-funded foreign magazines can only beat the local publications in financing; in addition to having its government support, according to Sherif.
However, according to recent press reports the halt may be only transitory. According to Reuters, Washington made its decision "following recommendations from an independent advisory panel" that the U.S. State Department needed to assess the magazine's readability and its ability to compete with other popular youth publications. This appraisal, according to the U.S. State Department statement, as reported by Reuters Washington, "is part of a broader effort to develop a 'culture of measurement' and to evaluate regularly the effectiveness of the department's public-diplomacy programs."
While many Arabs hold negative sentiments toward U.S. foreign policy, many intellectuals and youths across the Middle East are still open to American culture and community. Arabic channels often host American talk shows, serials and movies that are often hailed by Arab critics and mainstream viewers alike. American entertainment channels are widely popular, through which Americans arguably have more than an adequate channel to present their views and beliefs.

Link: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=21487