BBC Arabic makes comeback

We realised back in 1994 that this could be the medium of choice in the Middle East. And we wanted to be available in vision for our audiences there. However, that experience was not sustainable for various reasons and the commercial partnership was not sitting comfortably with our basic values of independence and impartiality. Since the closure of the first BBC Arabic television, we have been trying to get back into the market. Previously, we did not have the money but the situation has changed and we’re going ahead with our plans.

Where have the funds for the channel come from?

Re-structuring. The BBC has been trying since the experiment in the 1990s to get back on television in the Middle East. It was clear that the commercial partnership as a model will not work with the public service ethos. The fact that this model did not last beyond two years made us decide that we have to fund it from public money in exactly the same way that we are doing with the current radio and online operations. As the BBC could not get extra funding for it, the decision was made to re-organise the BBC World Service and move resources where the investment is needed. The BBC Arabic TV as well as global marketing and new media expansion were more of a priority.

Give us some of the launch details.

We are aiming for autumn this year. We will be operating from BBC Broadcasting House in London. We will expand on our presence in the region in Cairo, Baghdad, Beirut and other parts of the world.

How many staff will you have on the channel?

Not less than one hundred.

What about total staff?

Well, the whole service will probably be between 250. This is radio, online and television.

Are your television reporters going to be reporting for the radio and the web as well?

Our newsgathering operation will be supporting content production for all platforms. And our reporters will work to that objective. There may be some practical limitations.

When you left, there weren’t so many new channels in the market. It’s a bit crowded now. Why do we need one more news channel?

I am not sure it is crowded. You have quite a number of TV channels that are video, music and entertainment channels. But the number of news and information channels is actually very limited. The significant ones are no more than three or four. So in terms of numbers, it is not a market that is crowded with news and information channels.

In terms of why one more channel, we believe that there is a need. Our previous research indicates that at least 80 to 85% of the sample of people that we surveyed in seven different capitals in the Middle East is interested in seeing what BBC TV has to offer. And my own anecdotal evidence tells me that people are very interested in BBC Arabic TV. One of the first questions I always hear is ‘when will there be an Arabic TV channel for the BBC?’ Or ‘when will BBC Arabic television be back?’ So we do believe that there is a strong expectation from Arab audiences that the BBC expands its offer into another platform (TV) to sit side by side with current radio and TV operations. We are also comfortable that our integrated multimedia will be highly appreciated and will set a different standard in the region. Arab audiences will be able to get news and information from the BBC whenever they want, wherever they are and on the platform of their choice.

What will your USP be?

The fact that we are doing this as an integrated multimedia multi-platform offer. We have a radio station, we have a very successful web site, and we will have a TV operation that complements the offer. Add to this that we have compelling interactive content that has been appreciated by Arab audiences on both radio and online, and extending the experience to the TV world will take to a completely different dimension. I don’t think there is anyone in the Middle East that is doing that or planning for it in the same way.

Why should people watch your channel as opposed to another news channel? How do you intend to make your content different?

The content is different because our angle is different. We offer a range of angles on any story and we do not take sides in debates. It is true that some of the Arab satellite TV channels introduced views that have not been seen before on TV in the Middle East but it is the way these views are introduced that makes us different. We treat our guests differently and we aim to give them and our audiences a reasonably good chance of understanding what is really happening and the perspective of the different parties involved. Our presenters challenge guests but do not join some to attack others. We do not have a political message.

Lots of channels do not hide the fact that they are there to advocate what they believe is their audience’s causes. And that in itself is a position. We do not take positions on controversial issues; we tackle them fairly and explore them critically. We are there also to make it possible for audiences to have their say and to contribute. We want to make people comfortable that their views have been understood the way they want them to be understood. We train our journalists to help people to express their views so that they came across clearly. This is, I think, a radical difference. It is not something that you find very often in the media across the Middle East.

You say do not have a political message yet the BBC is using Foreign Office funds to set up the new Arabic channel. Why does the British public want to spend its money on a channel in the Arab world?

Back in the year 2000, Kofi Annan said that the BBC is Britain’s gift to the world in the twentieth century. He didn’t say that because the BBC is disseminating the British government’s views across the world but because the BBC has evolved as a unique media experience that uses public money to inform, educate and entertain. It is not a strange concept. There have been numerous occasions where the British government has not been comfortable with what we do in the BBC and recent history clearly demonstrates that the BBC does not follow any political line or at least attempts not to do so. So we are there to serve the public and the funding is available to serve the public.

Does it fall within the public diplomacy umbrella?

The public diplomacy umbrella extends to it. But it depends what you mean by public diplomacy. We believe that furthering understanding will help people make up their own minds about different issues. We do not believe that we have to change people’s views in relation to various issues. We just want to give them the opportunity to understand them better. It is a professional message rather than a political one.

Not Britain’s Al Hurra?

We have experience in covering the Middle East for the people of the Middle East that dates back to 1938. Our editorial values are going to be retained and enhanced. There are bound to be lots of questions as to how we are going to format and to pack our information. But there is no question as to whether we are going to adhere to BBC values that our audience in the Middle East has known since 1938.

We see that Ibrahim Helal is heading back to the BBC from Al Jazeera and several BBC veterans have turned up at the new Al Jazeera International. In short, it’s the same people in a different channel. If that is the case, will we really see a different point of view?

It is a healthy sort of dynamic equilibrium in a way. Salah Negm [another veteran of the original BBC venture who set up the newsroom at Al Jazeera and is the new director of news for BBC Arabic] joined us from MBC [where he was general manager, and formerly head of news at Al Arabiya]. I am not too sure that we really need a vast number of people who understand how to do television.

When we launched in 1994, there were a very limited number of journalists who had experience in television and those who had, had been working in state television, which was incomparable to what we wanted to do. We are looking for experience and expertise but we are also looking for talent, passion, ambition and potential and if you provide people with the right training within the right environment, I think they will be able to expand their experience and work with it.

Also, BBC Arabic television was the mother of all channels, because from that channel came all the experienced staff who built Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya and all the other channels afterwards. Certainly, having people who have been trained and who have had experience in different channels would be an asset to our station. But the BBC has a lot to offer journalists in terms of expertise across the whole organisation. And that is what we are going to build on if these experienced staff come back from other stations.

Why would journalists prefer your channel over another?

The core issue of professional journalism in the BBC is already established in the editorial values and guidelines. This is something, which attracts journalists to us, but it is not the only thing. It is also the system within which we work, the kind of respect that we have for everybody who works with us, the consultative approach that we have when it comes to exploring editorial issues.

We give our colleagues the chance to contribute their views and to offer alternative treatments for stories within the boundaries of our editorial guidelines. I think this is an attractive place to work-people feel safe when they work in the BBC. I have been flooded with applications even before we started recruiting and even before the announcement itself. So I am convinced that lots of people want to join the BBC, lots of people want to join BBC Arabic television, and I am sure it is going to be a unique experience.

This is an edited and updated version of the original interview, which can be viewed at
www.Arabmediasociety.com

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