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Hasan Suroor

In terms of manpower and resources, CCTV9, Al-Jazeera (English) and France-24 are small change compared to the media giants they have set out to challenge. Nevertheless, they are brave efforts.

A HANDFUL of British and American media organisations have driven the international news agenda for so long that the idea that there could be an alternative has often seemed almost unthinkable, especially to those of us on the wrong side of the North-South divide. Attempts to promote the Third World viewpoint through projects such as the non-aligned news pool were too feeble and overtly political to carry much credibility even in member-countries, let alone the wider world.

But at last, there are signs that tectonic plates are starting to shift with the launch, in the past one month, of two high-profile international English language channels, both avowedly designed to challenge the Anglo-U.S. global media dominance. Although it is too early to kick off the celebrations, the arrival of Al-Jazeera (English) and France-24 is an important development and if the trend catches on, it could change the face of television news and transform the way we see the world.

Actually the lead was taken by China when it launched an independent global English language channel CCTV9 two years ago to cover world events from a Chinese perspective — and bring "greater diversity to the global information flow." It advertises itself as a "window on China and the world" and Beijing's "answer" to Western media giants. Today, CCTV9 is watched by a global audience of more than two million and it offers everything you would expect from a world-class network both in terms of coverage and professionalism.

Most crucially, it has proved that the non-Western world can also produce high-quality independent television news, and that "objectivity" and "balance" are not uniquely Western virtues which you can supposedly find only on channels beamed from London and Atlanta. Regular viewers of CCTV9 say they have not noticed any overt political bias either in its news coverage or analysis.

With the launch of Al-Jazeera (English) in November and France-24 earlier this month, there are now three alternative international English news channels to choose from. Clearly, these are not enough and there is no doubt that, thanks to years of conditioning, millions of people will continue to watch the BBC and the CNN out of sheer habit. But it is a beginning. At last there is a semblance of choice, and one is no longer forced to get one's daily fix of news and current affairs from British or American sources. This is not to say that the view from Doha, Paris or Beijing will necessarily be more "objective" or "balanced" but, for the first time, we are able to see the world through different eyes.

There are hundreds of excellent and influential domestic channels in different languages (French, German, Italian, Russian, Arabic, Urdu, Hindi, you name it) but if you want to speak to an international audience, especially the movers and shakers of the world, and influence opinion, you need to speak in English.

Currently, the news flow is heavily one-sided with a small band of British and American channels setting the agenda which everyone else follows. Very often, they are the first to tell us even about what is happening in our own backyard. (Remember how Afghanistan was covered in much of the Indian media?) And it is here that channels like CCTV9, Al-Jazeera and France-24 come in. They fill a very obvious and huge gap in the present international news regime, and bring some plurality to it.

I have not watched the French channel yet, but Al-Jazeera and CCTV9 are as professional, slick and glitzy as they come. And if it is a case of the "empire" striking back, Al-Jazeera has done it with a vengeance by getting some of the best-known professionals (David Frost, Rageh Omar, Riz Khan) from the British and American networks to defect. It is the familiar faces from BBC World and CNN speaking to a Western audience in their own language and their own accent — but from an Arabic platform — and providing a non-Western perspective. Or what the channel more diplomatically calls a "fresh perspective" on international news.

It is on a much bigger scale than either CCTV9 or France-24; it boasts of a higher international profile because of its trendsetting Arabic channel; and has a more ambitious agenda. Unlike the other two, which essentially seek to provide the Chinese and French perspective on world events, Al-Jazeera wants to establish itself as a "truly international" English language network.

In fact, what it does not want is to be simply known as an Arab channel in English. It emphasises that it is an English language news channel — aimed at a potential global audience of more than one billion English speakers — which just happens to be run by an Arabic company.

Al Jazeera's code of ethics, emphasising the importance of presenting "diverse points of view and opinion" and recognising the distinction between news, opinion and propaganda, is heavily borrowed from the BBC's guidelines on "fairness" and "accuracy"— a way of reassuring Western viewers that the channel intends to be as fair and accurate as their very own "Aunt Beebs." In a further sign that it does not want to be regarded as a mere extension of its parent Arabic channel, Al-Jazeera (English) has decided not to air Al-Qaeda videos or any material that might be seized by its critics to dub it a flag-bearer for any ideology or cause.

Yet, even liberal and enlightened commentators talk rather sniffly about Al-Jazeera and suspect a hidden agenda. The mocking headlines in British newspapers the day the channel was launched reflected a certain churlishness. It was almost as though critics were disappointed that it had taken off so smoothly without suffering any of the disasters they were apparently expecting to happen. So far, Al-Jazeera has lived up to its commitment to fairness. Even on the tricky Israeli-Palestinian issue, its coverage has been extremely balanced.

France-24 is admittedly a more modest affair. It will be international in the sense that it will cover the entire globe and broadcast in that most international of all languages — English — but do so "through French eyes." However, its aim is the same as that of CCTV9 and Al-Jazeera: to counter the Anglo-American "cultural imperialism." A brainchild of President Jacques Chirac, it is said to fulfil his dream of a French channel to rival the BBC and the CNN.

`CNN a la Francaise'

It has been reported that he felt the need for a "CNN a la Francaise" during the Iraq invasion when the French viewpoint suffered for lack of France's global media presence. The British and American media's coverage of last year's race riots in France also rankled the French Government — as did the way they reported the recent Lebanese crisis with apparently the BBC and the CNN not even bothering to report President Chirac's call for a ceasefire.

"You only have to look at how CNN and others covered the suburban riots in France which they misportrayed as a civil war to know that another viewpoint is welcome," a France-24 anchor said, while a senior executive complained about their "biased" coverage of the Lebanese conflict in the summer. Although France-24 is funded with public money, its chief executive Alain de Pouzilhac insists that it is "completely free" from political strings. "It will broadcast international news through French eyes — not the French Government but the French people. So it will carry our values — diversity, the French love of debate, discussion and confronting ideas," he says.

In terms of manpower and resources, the three new channels are small change compared to the giants they have set out to challenge. Nevertheless, they are brave efforts. A few more such enterprises and they could make a significant difference to world broadcasting.

But where is India — the great emerging power of the 21st century — in all this? A nation of one billion people has no voice in international media. I have yet to come across anyone who has watched the mythical Doordarshan International (does it exist?). Even the domestic DD does not have correspondents in major world capitals, including London. I hear that there is a move to launch an independent state-backed international news channel and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has cleared it in principle. But sources say "bureaucrats" are "sitting" on it. Well, the longer they sit on it, the more damage they are doing to India's capacity to influence world opinion. China has realised the importance of being an international media player. It is time India did it. In the olden days, if you wanted to have your voice heard you got hold of a hailer. Now, you need to get yourself a TV channel. And quick.

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