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| Al-Arabiya, "balanced" rival to Al-Jazeera in Arab TV world
DUBAI, Nov 24 (AFP) - Dubai-based satellite TV channel Al-Arabiya, banned from broadcasting from Baghdad by Iraq's interim government, was launched in March with ambitions to overtake rival Al-Jazeera as a more balanced news provider. Majority owned by Saudi Middle East News and launched just seven months ago, Iraq's US-installed Governing Council banned it Monday for incitement to murder for broadcasting an audiotape purportedly made by fugitive Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. BizVantage – When knowing counts: Business, Investing, Technology. When it first went on air, the Saudi, Kuwaiti and Lebanese funded station promised "Arab viewers an alternative, covering news far from any deliberate provocation," criticising its Qatar-based rival for its more controversial coverage of volatile events in the Middle East. But since then, the Al-Arabiya logo has been increasingly associated across the world for purported audiotapes from Saddam, expelled from power by invading US-led troops in April. The offending tape, for which Al-Arabiya was banned, was broadcast on November 16. The voice urges listeners to fight "those who are installed by foreign armies," in a clear reference to the US-led coalition occupying war-torn Iraq, describing it as a "legitimate duty, patriotic and humanitarian." Ironically the Central Intelligence Agency said it could not verify that the tape was genuine despite deeming previous ones authentic. In August, the Governing Council said it would not consider banning any Arab satellite television stations after the United States slammed Al-Arabiya for airing footage of masked men threatening to kill council members. It said that if any channels were perceived to be inciting violence, the most it would do was sue. At the time, the US State Department urged its embassies and consulates in Dubai, and other countries where Al-Arabiya investors and network officials may live to formally protest the broadcast. "We find Al-Arabiya's decision to air the remarks of these masked terrorists to be irresponsible in the extreme," deputy department spokesman Philip Reeker said. On September 23, the Governing Council slapped a two-week ban on Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya from covering government activities for allegedly inciting violence against the US-led occupation and its supporters. The council also issued a list of rules it claims were broken by the two networks, and then served notice against all media that action without warning would be taken against any future infringements. Launched in 1996, Al-Jazeera shot to global fame for its coverage of the 2001 war in Afghanistan and for broadcasting exclusive tapes allegedly from the United States' most wanted man, terror mastermind Osama bin Laden. The channel's willingness to allow anyone to express themselves on air, however controversially, has offended virtually every Middle Eastern regime and seen many of its bureaus shut down across the region. bur-sam/jm/dab Iraq-Arab-media-Saddam-facts
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