File spoon-archives/postcolonial.archive/postcolonial_2003/postcolonial.0303, message 151


Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2003 17:06:41 -0800
From: arnab chakladar <chaklada-AT-usc.edu>
Subject: Re: peter arnett





At 10:55 PM 3/31/03 +0000, you wrote:

>Arnab,
>
>on your broader question: I find two things deeply troubling: the
>targeting of Iraqi TV (the Serbian precedent was a bad one) by the
>"coalition" forces. And the vilification of Al-Jazeera. I think Al-Jazeera
>is extremely important for the flowering of freedom of expression in the
>Arab world -- and what one hears one may not like -- but that's what free
>expression is all about. I'm particularly pleased that the British media
>-- and responsible US media -- has been supporting Al-Jazeera (it won the
>Index on Censorship Award last week). But the stupid attacks on its
>websites, and the NYSE not granting its reporters access to the stock
>exchange -- all of that shows that the attack on civil liberties in the
>US, in the post 9/11 environment, particularly with an Ashcroft as an
>attorney-general, continues....
>
>Salil

thanks salil for this email and the one before.

to your most recent point (which i agree with deeply), here's the
transcript of a march 23 conversation on cnn between aaron brown and hafez
al-miraz, chief washington correspondent for al-jazeera. i'm not sure if
you saw this live. anyway, brown attempts to haul al-miraz over the coals
for al-jazeera's broadcast of tapes featuring american p.o.w's but things
don't go quite according to holier-than-thou plan. it can be found halfway
down this cnn transcripts page:
http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0303/23/se.05.html

cnn, by the way, does not really seem to subscribe to the principles of
american journalism that you described in your previous email. they've cut
away from iraqi press-conferences because "the pentagon would disagree
obviously with what they're saying", they frequently mix opinion with
fact--not just the anchors but on the ground reporters (and not just in the
sense that fact is sometimes just opinon with a fist or bigger budget
behind it)--and they are very selective about which unsubstantiated reports
they'll give hours of play to (the since discredited alleged chemical
weapons factory rumor from a week ago) and which ones they won't (the
bombing of the market).

BROWN: Hafez Al-Miraz is the Washington bureau =97 Washington =97 chief
Washington correspondent for Al Jazeera. And he joins us now. Good to see
you, good evening.

HAFEZ AL-MIRAZ, AL JAZEERA CHIEF CORRESPONDENT: Good evening.

BROWN: Look, I=92ll play this as directly as I can. Explain to me the
rationale that your network had for displaying what can only be described
as the most gruesome of pictures across the Arab world?

AL-MIRAZ: Thank you for the opportunity. I would like just to explain,
first of all, that Al Jazeera, as you know, an independent news media.
We=92re not taking sides in that conflict or in any other conflict. We are
reporting the news. And we are putting out footage that we feel it is
newsworthy sometimes for our own audience. This is an Arabic language news
network. We don=92t broadcast in English or at least not yet.
The Al Jazeera for the last three days have been putting out footages of
bodies of Iraqi dead Iraqis. They were both armies or civilians. And today,
the =97 we found that there are footages, or we have a chance to put out
footages, although it was shot by the Iraqi TV or part of it by Iraqi TV,
of the other side of the war. Also the =97 that the human suffering on the
American level, on the American side.
Some of the footages for your case or my case may be =97 would be
controversial. Do you need to put that much of the footage or the close-up?
And it is a debate, even in our newsroom for a while. People who feel that
it is the reality of war. And you cannot have just war as video games and
just the very sensitized image of the war. But the main point=85

BROWN: Mr. Al-Miraz.

AL-MIRAZ: =85is the footage of people who are dead and bodies were put to Al
Jazeera for the last two days of Iraqis. Today it was put on for American
victims. It is very =97 it=92s a tragedy. It is very painful and emotional issue.

BROWN: All right, sir=85

AL-MIRAZ: =85on both sides.

BROWN: =85respectfully, I understand that. And I, believe me, would be the
first to argue and have many times in my professional life, that we are not
in the business of sanitizing war or anything else. But is not =97 is there
not a line between sanitizing the news and simply putting something on TV
because it is gruesome. You can show the horror or war without zooming in
on the most gruesome =97 I mean, I don=92t =97 I=92m reluctant to even describe=85

AL-MIRAZ: Yes.

BROWN: =85what that 6.5 minutes looked like, because honestly, sir, it is vile.

AL-MIRAZ: And that=92s what happened. Al Jazeera, when we got the chance to
edit these tapes, first it was rushed and put out as is or mostly as is.
And I agree with you. Some of it is really terrible and horrible.
Unfortunately, some European networks, including Sky News, that is also the
owners of Sky News are the owners of other U.S. networks, put the pictures
as is. And maybe they did not edit out, but Al Jazeera did edit out after
that the pictures. And we made sure that it doesn=92t show a description of
faces or anything like that. That happened on =97 later on.
Also, we honor the request by the Pentagon to give them some time, not to
play the footage =97 not to play the video for the POWs until they identify
them and notify the families. That happens around 12:00 noon today. And the
=97 my headquarters did really respond to that request for humanitarian
consideration. And we honor this as of 12:00 noon, until like 8:00 p.m.
today, Al Jazeera did not put any of these footages or the POWs, while
other networks in Europe, including U.S. allies like Spain state TV,
Portugal, Belgium, others. They did put it out.

BROWN: And sir, and they have to =97 sir, they have=85

AL-MIRAZ: If I can finish, Aaron, on that.

BROWN: I=92m sorry, but they have to answer for themselves.

AL-MIRAZ: That=92s true.

BROWN: In this case, sir, you have to answer for Al Jazeera.

AL-MIRAZ: And let me just finish that point, please.

BROWN: Okay.

AL-MIRAZ: To explain to you what happen. So 12:00 noon Al Jazeera did abide
by that until the people in the Pentagon notified the families. And
unfortunately, half an hour after that, 12:30, I was watching CNN and I
found one of your reporters in the Pentagon reading names of three POWs.
And this is CNN in English for American families, while Al Jazeera would
not reach any American or English speaker audience in the U.S. And this is
what we=92re talking about.
BROWN: Sir, are you saying that this happened on CNN=85

AL-MIRAZ: Yes, sir.

BROWN: =85excuse me, let me finish the sentence. I wasn=92t quite done. On CNN
International or CNN domestic.

AL-MIRAZ: CNN domestic, sir.

BROWN: Because as you know, excuse me, as you know, there=92s a very
different audience and a very different issue there.

AL-MIRAZ: As =97 we=92re talking about CNN domestic, CNN America. We=92re talking
about 12:30. And the Pentagon did investigate that and talk to the reporter
who did that. And to =97 just to add to that also, look today at =93The
Washington Post=94 front page.

BROWN: Okay, that=85

AL-MIRAZ: =93The Washington Post=94 front page has an Iraqi POW. I don=92t think
that this is =97 two wrongs don=92t make a right. I agree with you.

BROWN: Stop.

AL-MIRAZ: As we know in about=85

BROWN: We=92re getting =97 no, no, we=92re veering all over the place. But let me
bring you back to one question. Let=92s not go to the POWs yet. We=92ll get to
the POWs if you want. How many times before noon when you pulled this =97
when you say you pulled this thing or edited this thing or whatever
precisely happened, how many times were the six minutes, and you know this,
sir, you know how gruesome that piece of tape is, how many times had that
been aired? And for what purpose could it possibly have been to air it in
that form?

AL-MIRAZ: Well, I haven=92t counted how many times. It might be twice or
three times, but also we have to remember we are in testing times. And this
is a war. And until you know there is a reaction like that, maybe people
didn=92t feel it, but once they felt that there is a very negative reaction
to some of these footages, they responded to that. And we should remember
also, Aaron, that in 1993, when CNN was 13 years old, Al Jazeera is now
seven year old, CNN put the footages of the U.S. soldiers bodies dragged in
Mogadishu, in Somalia City. And I don=92t think also would people judge on
CNN for doing that. People hated =97 those people who did that to the U.S.
soldiers, but not CNN because it carried=85

BROWN: Okay.

AL-MIRAZ: =85the bodies of U.S. soldiers in Somalia in 1993.

BROWN: Sir, this is =97 there=92s nothing easy about these issues. And there=92s
nothing easy about these conversations. And the one thing I would say,
hopefully for all of us, is we appreciate a lot your willingness to come on
and talk about it, because it is=85

AL-MIRAZ: May I add something, Aaron?

BROWN: =85I=92m sure you knew, this was =97 this is a tough one for both sides of
this conversation. Thank you very much.

AL-MIRAZ: May I add something, please?

BROWN: If you can do it in about 20 seconds.

AL-MIRAZ: Okay, just also the issue of POWs, even in your show, you put a
still photo of an Iraqi POW, I think, and you had a comment on it two days
ago. And I hope you all respect the regulations. Al Jazeera will respect it
as of now. And I hope you as networks will put Iraqi POWs should do the same.

BROWN: Well, okay, point made. And just to make the point back, I=92m almost
100 percent certain that the family of that POW, wherever they are, did not
see that picture on CNN. Thank you.

AL-MIRAZ: Same for us.

BROWN: Sir, thank you very much.



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