The demand by the Saudi Arabians that Al Jazeera be closed is deeply
ironical as they were unwittingly responsible for its original very
successful launch.
I was managing editor of the original BBC Arabic TV channel in the
mid 1990s. The Saudis objected so strongly to our output that they shut
us down by taking us off the satellite that they owned. At around the
same time, Qatar was trying to get Al Jazeera off the ground, but with
little success. This was chiefly because they could not get the right
sort of staff, but with the sudden closure of the BBC channel, they had
the pick of more than 150 talented BBC-trained Arab presenters, writers,
producers and technicians. So, in November 1996, the channel went on
the air, staffed chiefly by ex-BBC people who had taken with them the
corporation's ethos of balance, fairness and honesty. In addition, Al
Jazeera was able to buy at bargain-basement rates all the documentaries
and features that the BBC had not had a chance to broadcast.
I have no doubt that if the Saudis had not crushed the BBC channel
(not restored by the corporation until 2008), Al Jazeera would have
struggled to become the political and social force that it so quickly
did.
More on this by going to my website archive. You will find the articles HERE.
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