Al-Hurra 'US propaganda tool'

Al-Hurra - "The Free One" - is based in Washington and was launched in February to counter broadcasts by Arab channels deemed anti-American. But it has failed to gain the popularity of its rivals, notably al-Jazeera and al-Arabiya.

The Dubai-based al-Arabiya, which also aired an interview with Bush today, is Saudi-funded and considered a credible news source by many Arabs.

Al-Arabiya covered the war in Iraq aggressively. After the war, it often aired audiotapes purported to be from former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein until his capture. It also has aired tapes from senior al-Qaeda members.

In November, the US-led occupation authority in Iraq banned the channel from reporting in the country after it aired a tape purported to be from Saddam Hussein, which the US-appointed Iraqi Governing Council called "incitement to murder".

Its coverage of the war in Iraq drew criticism from the United States, which accused it, along with the Qatar-based al-Jazeera, of being anti-American and aimed at inflaming Arab emotions.

Bush snubbed al-Jazeera, the most popular Arabic-language news channel. Al-Jazeera did, however, interview US national security adviser Condoleeza Rice on Tuesday.

"Apparently we weren't asked. Surely al-Jazeera has the widest reach, but the impact of the president's comments remains to be seen," said Jihad Ali Ballout, a spokesman for al-Jazeera.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,9483665%255E1702,00.html

Al Hurra, "the free one," is the new Arabic-language American satellite TV channel based in Virigina, financed by Congress, and "beamed across the Arab world" and "aimed at viewers in the Middle East." Dubbed as the "American answer to Al Jazeera, the station went online Saturday, February 14, 2004.
The day after the broadcast began, according to the Guardian/UK, "few people in downtown Cairo confessed to tuning in for the inaugural broadcast
http://www.disinfopedia.org/wiki.phtml?title=Al_Hurra

Unlike other US-funded forays into Arabic-language media, al-Hurra, with an annual budget of $62m, could be quite sophisticated and possibly effective in reshaping the beliefs of the politically important and demographically dominant Arab youth scene. The new channel has a stable of proven Arab journalists - one senior producer is a Palestinian who was poached from al-Jazeera, while the channel's top managers are Lebanese Christians with proven journalistic track records.
On the other hand, the channel is based in Virginia, includes Colin Powell on its board of directors and its first broadcast was a pre-recorded interview with George W Bush, none of which bode well for winning Arab hearts and minds.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1200854,00.html

NPR fluff piece on Al-Hura:
http://www.npr.org/rundowns/segment.php?wfId=1658915

Al Hurra-Al Who?: Haven't heard? We're Free, They're Not!
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0309-06.htm

Arabs Watch U.S.-Backed Channel With Skepticism
http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/article.cfm?archiveDate=03-05-04&storyID=18409