Hip Hip Hurra

New at Reason: The market for it isn't booming; the audience doesn't seem to want it; and it doesn't do what we want it to do. So, Michael Young asks, why should we be paying for the new Al-Hurra television network?

Comments

[dj of raleigh]

> Al-Hurra is to be a propaganda station without propaganda. Somehow, that misses the point, doesn't it?

[dj of raleigh]

>...it also doesn't explain what will make Al-Hurra different from countless other Arab satellite news stations,

[nobody]

Couldn't one make the same arguments about PBS?

[Andrew Engblom]

Had the projects been potentially successful (and Al-Hurra may yet work), the ideas could have been sold to private-sector investors from the start; when it became clear they were not likely to be a hit, the government got involved anyway.

Success in this case should not be defined by whether it is directly profitable. To put it in market terms, one might call Al-Hurra a loss leader. It saves Americans on the backend. Reduced defense costs, reduced threat of terrorism, increased trade possibilities with friendlier populations.

Yes, it costs taxpayers $62 million and the market may not be large enough to earn a profit. But, if the program dilutes the hatred of the western ideas and attitudes--which I remain confident could be done with truth--then it could very likely be worth it.

Let's make access to the truth easy at the very least.

[Warren]

nobody,
No, because the proposition that PBS is funded by tax dollars is a canard. Some small amount of money can be traced back to the feds, but that's true of many private non-profits. PBS is supported by people like me.

[Josh]

The fact that PBS get its broadcasting licenses gratis doesn't hurt either.

[Mo]

What Andrew said.

[Warren]

True, but that's just drop in the "we need to abolish the FCC and privatize the spectrum" ocean.

[late for the boom]

Andrew, You have evidence that a TV station thats not being watched is influancing and diluting the anti-american sentiment in the middle east??

Amazing, osmosis through airwaves, just broadcasting something magicly changes everything. Why, this is the untapped potential for education reform in america. Just broadcast the information, the kids will magicly learn, just look at Al-Hurra!!!

[Warren]

Sing it late. More likely this is breeding more anti-american sentiment than it's diluting.

[Andrew]

That the politics is low-key seems appropriate to me. Interesting will be to see whether Al-Hurra will challenge some of the cultural taboos in the region. Yeah sexy-sexy whiskey-whiskey, but also an appeal to women, religious minorities (who speaks for Christians and Jews, much less Bahai's and parsees?) and ethnic minorities (Berbers and Kurds). Stir it up...in a low-key way.

[anon]

dj:

"That implies that "other Arab" stations are fair and balanced.
I didn't know Arab stations were fair and balanced!"

Arab stations are as much 'fair and balanced' as Fox news is.

Andrew: "Let's make access to the truth easy at the very least"

and where Al-Hurra is getting "the truth" from? You don't suppose that they have access to the same hot line through which God speaks to President Bush?

[Brian]

I agree with the last post by anonymous. Arab stations are no more biased than U.S. stations; neither is going to show the full story. If you are really interested in "truth," read more books, different newspapers, go online, travel, talk to people, etc. TV is not the #1 source of truth.

People in the Middle East do not dislike the West simply because they are misinformed. The people who hate the U.S. the most hate it as a result of their most deeply-held beliefs about life. They are not going to let go of these because of some new programming.

[Hick American]

Somebody help me out. Isn't most of the press in the Middle East government-run (Saudi, Iran, Syria, Egypt)? Is there a free press? I thought that the "arab street" was fed a steady stream of anti-american and anti-jewish propaganda.

[Douglas Fletcher]

We're paying for everthing else, why not throw another can of sardines on the check out counter.

[Matthew Goggins]

We should fund Al-Hurra because we're in a long and dangerous war against islamo-fascism. A major goal and strategy in the war is promoting democracy and freedom in the Middle-East. Setting up a network that is not operating under the constraints of a non-democratic state or society will hopefully be worth a lot more than $65 million.

[T Bone]

To answer Nick, Al Jazeera is not state run. There may be others.

The Broadcasting Board of Governers are the same people behind Radio Sawa, which is supposedly a hit - the most widely listened to radio station for it's target group (youngsters) in many Mid-East Countries.

Al-Hurra could do some good, especially if they pipe in music videos. Why resort to propaganda when all youth everywhere - especially those repressed by religeon - are just begging to be corrupted? (Corrupted, that is, from the perspective of their parents.)

[A lost Arab Soul]

Matthew:
"non-democratic state or society"

I undertand a non-democratic state, but what the hell is a non-democratic society?

BTW, there are many many Arab stations that are not state run. Some of them are all news (e.g., aljazeera, al-arabiyah), some mix entertainment and news (e.g., LBC, Future TV, MBC), and some are pure entertainment (ART TV). So, I'm not sure why are some of you proclaiming otherwise?

In almost every Arabic country (including Saudi Arabia), you can get countless TV stations in English and almost every other major language. For news, you have BBC, CNN International, Fox, CNBC, Bloomberg, etc.

You have options such as showtime (www.showtimearabia.com), Orbit (http://www.orbit.net/home/), Star TV, etc. You can even get Pat Roberston and other televangilists, for your televangelism fix. You also have numerous options for XXX movies around the clock.

So, my advice: do not make the claim that there are no choices for the poor arab viewer. It reflects badly on you, especially for any one who knows anything about the Arab World.

Now, you can go back to supporting al-hurrah. Make your donation today and help win the hearts and minds of the lost Arab souls.

[TM Lutas]

Most of the arab language media, as I understand it, took Baghdad Bob at his word and most people were surprised and shocked at the 'sudden and unexpected' fall of Baghdad. This definitely includes Al Jazeera, one of the few non-government media outlets.

For those who would want a private radio station, I suggest you imbibe a bit of reality. Al-Hurra isn't going to be shut down because there is no Middle East power with enough coercive force to shut them down. If you aren't backed by a bigger army than any of the local governments, a fair and balanced private media group will simply be closed down by order of one bureaucrat or another.

The Middle East does not have the rule of law. This implies that private media won't stay open if it doesn't toe the line, politically. Al Jazeera stays open because it has the backing of the head of the Qatari government who is personally giving them freedom and keeping his fellow gulf state despots from shutting down Al Jazeera.

Another thing, this station has not been on the air a month, much less a year. Isn't it a bit early to start going on about how it has failed in its mission?

If there is a legitimate function of libertarian governance, it is in a government interface with those states who could not compute dealing with a country made up entirely of free individuals. You have to have some sort of adaptor interface so we can venture outside and retain some protection from the statists beyond our borders. Part of this foreign policy function is going to be public diplomacy and part of that is going to be pushing the truth out to people who are woefully uninformed about the reality of the US.

Arabs hear all sorts of crazy stories about the US. We are arab despots #2 favorite scapegoat after Israel. How can a public diplomacy effort aimed at defusing violence and hatred against americans be unlibertarian?

[M. Simon]

As I understand the Arab criticism: it started before the station was on the air.

I think that is proof positive of a relatively big bang for the buck.

Think Radio Free Europe.

[Jennifer]

Instead of propaganda, al-Hurra should just show the type of American entertainment and cultural stuff that appeals to youngsters worldwide, anyway. That's 'youngsters,' not adults.

The other day I was watching a friend's kid, and thus saw several episodes of a cartoon called "Arthur," which airs on PBS and is of course extremely wholesome, but shows all sorts of things that Islamofascists consider evil--women who drive and work and show their faces outside the home, families who celebrate Hanukkah but are nonetheless terrific people. . .same goes for cartoons like 'Rugrats,' which I know is already translated into various languages.

Since even the most innocuous American entertainment would be considered offensive by the standards of the folks we're trying to beat, I think al-Hurra would be better off forgetting about propaganda per se and focus on the type of stuff that we view as wholesome entertainment, but nonetheless contains a powerful message, since it's all based on the assumption of a secular-democratic society.

[Tim Cavanaugh]

Have any of you, other than A Lost Arab Soul, ever watched five minutes of tv in a middle class Arab household? I can assure you, ALAS' list doesn't begin to scratch the surface of what's available. For that matter, have you read any of Chuck Freund's many articles on Arab music videos and media at Reason? Ambassador Vincent Battle's comments on the media in my interview with him? If you really think the Arabs are underserved in media terms, you haven't got Clue One what you're talking about. If you're suggesting it's a good idea spending my taxes to correct this non-problem, well, keep the hell out of my body bag.