Advice for al-Hurra

As noted in the update above, the rumor I reported this morning about a major management change at the American Arabic language TV station al-Hurra has been confirmed as true.  Muwafic Harb is out, and Larry Register, an experienced American journalist, is in.  Not that anyone has asked, but I thought I would offer some advice to the new management of al-Hurra.  Here, in no particular order, are some suggestions:

• Be realistic about the Arab television market and what you can realistically achieve.  The Arab satellite TV market is exceptionally dense and crowded already, and intensely competitive.  Most niches have already been filled, by stations which do not have the built-in dead weight of an American identity.   Al-Jazeera already has competitors, al-Arabiya already serves as the outlet of choice for American officials who want to reach a wide Arab audience, a wide range of stations offer American or American-style entertainment. 
• With that in mind, there remains one niche which has not really been filled in which al-Hurra could actually have a competitive advantage:  coverage of America and of American politics.  Not too long ago, al-Arabiya shut down Hisham Milhem's Washington-based program, leaving it without a single talk show covering the American foreign policy debates.   Al-Jazeera has a good DC-based talk show, From Washington, but other than that America is poorly and thinly covered by most Arab satellite television.   Al-Hurra should fill that void by offering intense, detailed, and informative coverage of American politics and society.   That coverage should demonstrate the diversity and contentiousness of American society, not try to put a pretty face on America.  Consider how useful it could be for Muslims trying to make sense of political Islam to be exposed to the wide range of deep debates among Americans about the role of religion in politics (evangelical Protestants, for instance).   That coverage should feature the full spectrum of American views on foreign policy, as well, not just the policies of the current administration.  Don't just tell Arabs how great democracy is:  show them how democracy works and doesn't work in America, in all its ugliness and beauty.   At a minimum, this could challenge monolithic stereotypes about America;  beyond that it could illuminate Arab political debates in new ways, and it could even be great TV.
• At the same time, acknowledge that you are an official American station and don't bother trying to hide it.  Al-Hurra should be the first place that Arabs check to find out the official American view of things happening in the region or the world - and al-Hurra should have a real advantage over its Arab rivals in getting interviews and news with American officials.
• This might be too politically problematic, but I'll suggest it anyway:   irritate American diplomats with your coverage.  Focus on an agenda of promoting democracy and liberalism throughout the entire Arab world, including American allies.   Cover political protests and demands for change everywhere, and give a forum for dissidents and for reformist officials alike.   This will likely infuriate the regimes in Amman, Cairo, Riyadh, and elsewhere - and will likely get you angry phone calls from other parts of Washington telling you to back off.  Good.  Establish your independence and this "Freedom Agenda" thing which the President's people used to talk about - and stick to it.  If your own government gets mad at you, good - that's a story!  Run with it!

I'm sure there's much more, but hopefully that will be some food for thought for the new al-Hurra.  Good luck. 

Comments

[dirk]

makes perfect sense...sadly what do you think the chances are of them actually doing this?!

[Carmen Grayson]

Perhaps your advice to al-Hurra suggesting in depth, realistic coverage of American politics would do as well for ABC/FOX/CNN/CBS etc. etc.

[praktike]

heh, carmen. funny.

[Tiffany Campbell]

I think that the sugesstions might be taken to heart because the climate is ripe for changes like this to be made- I think the powers that be have realized that publications, like "Hi" magazine, etc are not the way to proceed.

Being open and honest in a journalistic setting is so very difficult when eveyone has a spin- and it seems impossible to seperate an American TV station's programing philosophy from the $ that created it...perhaps we should all pool our $ and buy our own Arab Satelite TV station and become VJ's.

What is the rubric for establishing effectiveness of the television programing once the new format is established? For that matter, other than counting viewers, how was the effectiveness of the old format evaluated? I've read the GAO reports and I understand that PD efforts are being compared to PR efforts, and a "feedback loop" should be established...but what about people not technologically engaged?

[The Lounsbury]

Wise advice, although not likely to be followed.

[khayyam]

to Prof. Lynch and to the above posters: why do we "want" al-Hurra to adopt these ideas and reform and be successful? and why do we want to volunteer them advice and counseling in the first place?
al-Hurra is a government sponsored media outlet, it is not even allowed to broadcast within the US (as you probably know, the American law protects its citizens from government-sponsored propaganda).
I understand that it is more or less normal for American academics to meet with state officials, consult with American security agencies and the like. But you guys take it too far at times, and act like unappointed government consultants. In my home country, if we as much as suspect that a colleague of ours has dealings with security or military services, he would probably be shunned and boycotted (not that several of our academics don't do it regardless).
Now, I understand that it has to do with different ideas concerning the role of "the intellectual" (and there are very few debates about this topic among academics in the US-save for political theorists, and who -among state officials- wants their advice anyway?).
But my point is, professor Lynch: if you want to carry yourself the way you do, you should not be surprised when Arabs view you and your American colleagues with suspicion, and you should not expect me, when I am back home, to say very nice things about you to my colleagues.

[aardvark]

Well, I'd like you to say nice things about me to your colleagues, but I really can't make you...

But as to why offer advice (and the role of the intellectual in offering policy advice) I think you're totally wrong. The fact is that the US is going to use its power and do things in the Arab/Muslim world no matter what. I'd rather that it do what I consider to be good things and to use its power wisely. Following your counsel and not offering advice to policy makers just means ceding the field to people who - in my opinion - either have bad goals or bad advice about what to do. Anyway, if it makes you feel better, I don't think anyone in power actually listens to my advice. But it would be irresponsible to not at least try.