BBC to Launch Al-Jazeera Competitor

[GreenPartyVoter]

LONDON (AP) - The British Broadcasting Corp. said Thursday it will launch a 24-hour Arabic-language TV news channel to compete with the Qatar-based satellite station Al-Jazeera.

The channel will be broadcast across the Middle East and Europe.

The new channel's $50 million in annual costs will be covered by the Foreign Office, which also provides funding for the BBC World Service's radio network.

The BBC is hoping to rival Al-Jazeera, which has aired many of Osama bin Laden's speeches and has been accused of anti-Western bias.

http://apnews1.iwon.com/article/20040624/D83DEI3O0.html

[qb]

1. This might work - I have heard quotes from Iraqis

saying they only trust news from Al-Jazeera and BBC.

[truthspeaker]

2. So the BRITISH are launcing an ARABIC news service

I think an Arab-owned company, based in an Arab country, should launch an English-language news service to compete with the BBC in the UK.

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. Al-Jazeera started off with BBC help

then became independent when the Sauids tried to control it too much.

"Barely a decade old, Al Jazeera came into being as a joint venture between the British Broadcasting Corporation and the Saudi government. Thomas said the aim was to create a non-state- controlled media operation. The venture bumped along until Al Jazeera aired an uncensored talk show critically examining executions, prompting the Saudi government ``to literally pull the plug.'

The Sheik of Qatar offered the fledgling agency a home and public funding in his country."

http://www.union-bulletin.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=18449