LONDON: He knows the Middle East back to front, having worked across the region for the US Department of State. Now Ambassador Alberto M. Fernandez’s new role sees him take on a fresh challenge — turning around Alhurra Television, making the Arabic-language channel relevant to audiences in countries across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
Fernandez, the new president of Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN) — a US government-funded broadcaster that beams Alhurra Televsion, Alhurra-Iraq and Radio Sawa to the MENA region — arrives into the job from a long career in diplomacy.
But what will his experience mean for viewers, and can he make MBN’s channels of interest to an audience with a choice of hundreds of satellite channels, with diverse needs and political leanings? Fernandez explained his plans in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat.
Q: You’ve had a long career in the diplomatic service — which post was the most interesting?
A: For me the most interesting enriching post was Damascus. The years I was in Damascus were really interesting because there was an ugly, terrible, stupid regime, but wonderful people, wonderful writers, artists.
Q: Will running a news channel like Alhurra be more challenging than government diplomacy?
A: Yes, because in diplomacy there’s a lot that you yourself can do as an individual. You can make changes by the specific actions that you take, by who you meet and what you say. To change a network, to influence a network, or an organization with 800 people, it’s like moving a ship you want to turn around, and it’s very slow and cumbersome.
Q: Will you be revamping the Alhurra channel while maintaining its traditions?
A: I have to! Obviously you can’t shut it down, make changes and then come back on, so as we say in the US, “you build the plane while you’re flying the plane,” which is not easy to do — and in this case, it’s “rebuild the plane while you’re flying the plane.”
Q: What will be the main challenges in your new role at MBN?
A: I think it’s not much connected to Alhurra, it’s connected to the environment we’re living in in the region. I think there’s a dead end in much media today, where sectarianism is king, where political polarization is everywhere … There are always red lines in the Arab media — red lines have become greater rather than less. So there’s an opportunity here that can be filled … We can’t be all things to all people, but we can be a choice, not an echo, of what everyone else says.
Q: When Alhurra was launched soon after 9/11 there were few broadcasters competing against it, but the scene is now saturated, so is your plan to be a liberal alternative?
A: We want to offer viewers a choice, something different. The idea of Alhurra back in the day was to offer an alternative, but it’s stood still for many years … You need to have your own voice, your own image, you own identity, so that’s why I focus on a Iiberal world view and, by the way, a world view that flows from the American experience.
Q: What are your priorities in terms of coverage?
A: My immediate priorities are, one, to make sure that news is fair and objective … two, we need to have the ability to do investigative reporting that isn’t done by any of the others … three, we need liberal content … to highlight issues that people should know about. I definitely want to have a liberal agenda, and I don’t mean liberal in a political sense, but in universal liberal values, freedom of expression.
Q: When it comes to investigative reporting, Alhurra journalists have faced many threats, so how will you ensure the safety of your staff, while also ensuring you get those stories from the field?
A: Well, how does Western media get those stories? You have things you have to do; but you’re right, the margin of freedom, of safety, varies from place to place. It’s a sensitive issue, but it’s the same issue faced with Western media, every day, which is why Western journalists have been kidnapped and killed — in Lebanon many years ago, and in Syria more recently. And in Iraq terrible things have happened to local journalists. This is a threat, but journalism is a profession for the brave, for people who believe in the truth.
Q: Do you agree that investigative journalism is lacking in today’s world?
A: What’s happened in the Middle East is that media have become more crushed, because of regimes, because of politics, so it’s become more difficult. In the West … the economic crisis (has) affected Western media. One thing we’ve got is that although we’re independent we’re funded by the US government, so we don’t have to worry about selling advertising, or if people are cancelling their subscriptions. The traditional model of newspapers in the West has been upset. Social media has filled the gap, bloggers and websites, but some of it is good, some of it is junk.
Q: On the topic of social media: Your competitors in the Middle East have done much more on social media, with huge followings, so will you be working on social media with Alhurra as well?
A: Yes, but there’s a problem here. A lot of what (media) puts out is the wrong stuff. One thing that interests consumers is premium content, as in content you can only get at that one place. Digital properties are putting out stuff that everyone else has — that’s not very interesting. That’s not going to attract followers. You have to have voices, commentary that people find interesting.
Q: The channel currently focuses on a lot of US news, so will that continue under your leadership?
A: It will, but I’m interested in US news that highlights issues that would be of interest to a Middle Eastern audience.
Q: The US government supports the Kurds in Syria, so will you have any chance to cover their issues?
A: Often when you see TV news coverage it’s of military action against Daesh, which is fine, but I would like to see more coverage on civil affairs, the challenges of governance, and to do it in a respectful but open way. There are some freedoms in the Kurdish-controlled areas of Syria that are good, but you also have challenges.
You also have ethnic tensions, political tensions. I think you need a more rounded picture of Syrian Kurds, but also of everybody. You need ways to talk about Syria — you need ways to have nuanced discussion, nuanced coverage of the regime and the propaganda of the … jihadists.
• Originally published in Asharq Al-Awsat
New Alhurra boss pledges fresh start, liberal voice for Mideast viewers
New Alhurra boss pledges fresh start, liberal voice for Mideast viewers
Palestinian Authority clashes with Al Jazeera over Jenin coverage
- Palestinian Authority security forces have battled Islamist fighters in Jenin, as they try to control one of the historic centers of militancy in the West Bank ahead of a likely shakeout in Palestinian politics after the Gaza war
JERUSALEM: Al Jazeera television has clashed with the Palestinian Authority over its coverage of the weeks-long standoff between Palestinian security forces and militant fighters in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.
Fatah, the faction which controls the Palestinian Authority, condemned the Qatari-headquartered network, which has reported extensively on the clashes in Jenin, saying it was sowing division in “our Arab homeland in general and in Palestine in particular.” It encouraged Palestinians not to cooperate with the network.
Israel closed down Al Jazeera’s operations in Israel in May, saying it threatened national security. In September, it ordered the network’s bureau in Ramallah, to close for 45 days after an intelligence assessment that the offices were being used to support terrorist activities.
“Al Jazeera has successfully maintained its professionalism throughout its coverage of the unfolding events in Jenin,” it said in a statement on Tuesday.
Palestinian Authority security forces have battled Islamist fighters in Jenin, as they try to control one of the historic centers of militancy in the West Bank ahead of a likely shakeout in Palestinian politics after the Gaza war.
Forces of the PA, which exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank, moved into Jenin in early December, clashing daily with fighters from Hamas and Islamic Jihad, both of which are supported by Iran.
The standoff has fueled bitter anger on both sides, deepening the divisions which have long existed between the Palestinian factions and their supporters.
Al Jazeera said its broadcasts fairly presented the views of both sides.
“The voices of both the Palestinian resistance and the Spokesperson of the Palestinian National Security Forces have always been present on Al Jazeera’s screens,” Al Jazeera said.
‘Like a dream’: AFP photographer’s return to Syria
- “We didn’t dare to imagine that Assad could fall because his presence was so anchored in us,” said Al-Doumy
- Award-winning photographer has spent the last few years covering migrant crisis for AFP’s Lille bureau in northern France
DOUMA: AFP photographer Sameer Al-Doumy never dreamed he would be able to return to the hometown in Syria that he escaped through a tunnel seven years ago after it was besieged by Bashar Assad’s forces.
Douma, once a militant stronghold near Damascus, suffered terribly for its defiance of the former regime, and was the victim of a particularly horrific chemical weapons attack in 2018.
“It is like a dream for me today to find myself back here,” he said.
“The revolution was a dream, getting out of a besieged town and of Syria was a dream, as it is now being able to go back.
“We didn’t dare to imagine that Assad could fall because his presence was so anchored in us,” said the 26-year-old.
“My biggest dream was to return to Syria at a moment like this after 13 years of war, just as it was my biggest dream in 2017 to leave for a new life,” said the award-winning photographer who has spent the last few years covering the migrant crisis for AFP’s Lille bureau in northern France.
“I left when I was 19,” said Sameer, all of whose immediate family are in exile, apart from his sister.
“This is my home, all my memories are here, my childhood, my adolescence. I spent my life in Douma in this house my family had to flee and where my cousin now lives.
“The house hasn’t changed, although the top floor was destroyed in the bombardments.
“The sitting room is still the same, my father’s beloved library hasn’t changed. He would settle down there every morning to read the books that he had collected over the years — it was more important to him than his children.
“I went looking for my childhood stuff that my mother kept for me but I could not find it. I don’t know if it exists anymore.
“I haven’t found any comfort here, perhaps because I haven’t found anyone from my family or people I was close to. Some have left the country and others were killed or have disappeared.
“People have been through so much over the last 13 years, from the peaceful protests of the revolution, to the war and the siege and then being forced into exile.
“My memories are here but they are associated with the war which started when I was 13. What I lived through was hard, and what got me through was my family and friends, and they are no longer here.
“The town has changed. I remember the bombed buildings, the rubble. Today life has gone back to a kind of normal as the town waits for people to return.”
Douma was besieged by Assad’s forces from the end of 2012, with Washington blaming his forces for a chemical attack in the region that left more than 1,400 people dead the following year.
Sameer’s career as a photojournalist began when he and his brothers began taking photos of what was happening around them.
“After the schools closed I started to go out filming the protests with my brothers here in front of the main mosque, where the first demonstration in Douma was held after Friday prayers, and where the first funerals of the victims were also held.
“I set up my camera on the first floor of a building which overlooks the mosque and then changed my clothes afterwards so I would not be recognized and arrested. Filming the protests was banned.
“When the security forces attacked, I would take the SIM card out of my phone and the memory card out of my camera and put them in my mouth.”
That way he could swallow them if he was caught.
In May 2017, Sameer fled through a tunnel dug by the militants and eventually found himself in Idlib with former fighters and their families.
“I took the name Sameer Al-Doumy (Sameer from Douma) to affirm that I belonged somewhere,” even though he was exiled, he said. “I stopped using my first name, Motassem, to protect my family living in Damascus.
“In France I have a happy and stable life. I have a family, friends and a job. But I am not rooted to any particular place. When I went back to Syria, I felt I had a country.
“When you are abroad, you get used to the word ‘refugee’ and you get on with your life and make a big effort to integrate in a new society. But your country remains the place that accepts you as you are. You don’t have to prove anything.
“When I left Syria, I never thought one day I would be able to return. When the news broke, I couldn’t believe it. It was impossible Assad could fall. Lots of people are still in shock and are afraid. It is hard to get your head around how a regime that filled people with so much fear could collapse.
“When I returned to the Al-Midan district of Damascus (which had long resisted the regime), I could not stop myself crying.
“I am sad not to be with my loved ones. But I know they will return, even if it takes a while.
“My dream now is that one day we will all come together again in Syria.”
Rights group condemns Sudan’s RSF for journalist’s ‘heinous’ killing
- Hanan Adam and her brother died during an attack on their home in Wad Al-Asha
The International Federation of Journalists has condemned the killing of Sudanese journalist Hanan Adam by the Rapid Support Forces, describing it as a “heinous” crime.
The media rights group called for urgent action to address the escalating climate of fear and violence against journalists in Sudan.
Adam, who worked for the Ministry of Culture and Information in Gezira state and was a correspondent for Al-Maidan, the newspaper of the Sudanese Communist Party, was killed alongside her brother, Youssef Adam, during an RSF attack on their home in Wad Al-Asha on Dec. 8.
“We mourn the loss of our colleague, Hanan Adam, and her brother Youssef, and extend our deepest condolences to the family,” IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said in a statement on Tuesday.
“The IFJ calls on the Sudanese government to launch an investigation and take concrete action to end the climate of fear and violence that journalists endure in the country.”
Her employer, Al-Maidan newspaper, released a statement on Facebook mourning Adam’s death, highlighting her dedication to journalism armed with “only paper and pen.”
Adam is the sixth journalist killed in Sudan this year, making it the deadliest country for media professionals in Africa in 2024.
The RSF has been directly implicated in the deaths of at least five journalists since the conflict erupted in April 2023, cementing its reputation for targeting members of the press and media workers.
The IFJ’s call for justice comes amid growing international scrutiny of the RSF and the deteriorating safety of journalists in Sudan with the country mired in a conflict fueled by a power struggle between rival generals.
Iran lifts ban on WhatsApp and Google Play, state media says
- Most of US-based social media remain blocked
DUBAI: Iranian authorities have lifted a ban on Meta’s instant messaging platform WhatsApp and Google Play as a first step to scale back Internet restrictions, Iranian state media reported on Tuesday.
The Islamic Republic has some of the strictest controls on Internet access in the world, but its blocks on US-based social media such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are routinely bypassed by tech-savvy Iranians using virtual private networks.
“A positive majority vote has been reached to lift limitations on access to some popular foreign platforms such as WhatsApp and Google Play,” Iran’s official IRNA news agency said on Tuesday, referring to a meeting on the matter headed by President Masoud Pezeshkian.
“Today the first step in removing Internet limitations... has been taken,” IRNA cited Iran’s Minister of Information and Communications Technology Sattar Hashemi as saying.
Social media platforms were widely used in anti-government protests in Iran.
In September the United States called on Big Tech to help evade online censorship in countries that heavily sensor the Internet, including Iran.
Slovenia calls for Israel’s exclusion from Eurovision 2025
- Slovenia threatened to withdraw from Eurovision if its demand to exclude Israel over Gaza attacks is rejected by the European Broadcasting Union
- Organizers cautioned that Israel’s plan to privatize its Kan broadcaster could lead to the country’s removal from the competition
LONDON: Slovenia has called on the European Broadcasting Union to disqualify Israel from the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest over its ongoing military actions in Gaza, Israeli media reported.
Slovenia’s public broadcaster, RTV SLO, formally submitted a letter to the EBU urging Israel’s exclusion, citing its attacks on the Gaza Strip as grounds for disqualification.
The broadcaster warned that Slovenia might withdraw from the contest entirely if its request is denied.
The controversy follows Slovenian President Natasa Pirc Musar’s recent comments condemning Israel and Russia for violating the UN Charter with their respective wars in Gaza and Ukraine. She emphasized that Israel’s actions were on a “much larger scale.”
Eurovision, which celebrates its 69th edition next year, has faced repeated criticism over Israel’s participation.
In the most recent competition, several artists called for Israel’s boycott, arguing that its military operations in Gaza conflicted with the contest’s values.
Protests also erupted earlier this year in Malmo, Sweden, during Israel’s qualification for the finals.
Organizers resisted calls to disqualify Israel maintaining that Eurovision is a “non-political event” and noting that Russia’s exclusion in 2022 was due to the suspension of Russian broadcasters from the EBU for “persistent breaches of membership obligations and violations of public service values.”
Israel’s place in Eurovision faces further uncertainty amid domestic moves to privatize Kan, the country’s public broadcaster.
While Israel qualifies for Eurovision as a member of the EBU, the union warned this week that Kan’s privatization would result in Israel’s removal from the organization.
“Privatising Kan would lead to its removal from our union, limit Israel’s role in international events like Eurovision and prevent Israeli viewers from accessing content such as the 2026 World Cup” the letter from EBU read.
Alon Gellert, Kan’s representative in the Knesset, described attempts to exclude Israel from Eurovision as part of efforts by “antisemitic organizations and Palestinian activists.”
He warned, however, that dismantling Kan could inadvertently achieve those objectives.
“The state of Israel fights tirelessly to prevent such exclusion. Now, through our own actions, we risk achieving their goals,” Gellert said.
The Eurovision Song Contest is scheduled to take place in May 2025 in Basel, Switzerland, following the country’s victory in 2024 with Nemo’s song “The Code.”
