Live from Virginia, It's Alhurra

[Chicago Democrat]

Live from Virginia, It's Alhurra
Arab News Channel to Broadcast American Perspective

Feb. 7, 2004 -- In the suburbs of Washington, D.C., workers have nearly finished building what they hope will be a bridge to the Middle East. It's a studio for a new American-run television news channel, based in Springfield, Va., that will broadcast by satellite to all 22 countries of the Arab world.

Alhurra, which is Arabic for "The Free One," is designed to provide an antidote to what its founders consider anti-American news coverage on popular Arabic channels such as al-Jazeera. On a recent visit to the studio, NPR's Steve Inskeep found the predominantly Arab staff working to prepare the channel's first broadcast, set for launch on Feb. 14.

The new Arab language channel is a product of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, a U.S. government board that also oversees the Voice of America broadcasts. The board has invested $62 million into Alhurra. Part of the channel's main mission is to encourage democracy in the Middle East -- and change an Arab public opinion that has turned sharply against the United States

More at...

http://www.npr.org/display_pages/features/feature_1658915.html

[Chicago Democrat]

1. Should be called El Whora

Josef Goebbels would be proud!

[no_hypocrisy]

2. The Arabic equation for Radio Marti (for the Castro Cubans)?! Clear

Channel owns enough media, doncha think?

[Newsjock]

3. Feathering the cap of another media whore, on our dime

I was just listening to this report in the car on the way home for dinner, and there was a very interesting tidbit in there that's not mentioned on the webpage. The head of Alhurra is a top executive with the Westwood One radio network, and the network is being built (and salaries paid) with something like $70 million (approx.) of taxpayer money. I'd be more specific, but my quick Google search doesn't yield anything.

So, more quid pro quo for media execs willing to play along with Bushco. Makes me sick.