Al Arabiya English

Al Arabiya English
Type of site
 News website
Available in English
Owner MBC Group
Editor Mamdouh Almuhaini
Website english.alarabiya.net
Commercial Yes
Current status Online

Al Arabiya English is the English language service of the Dubai-based regional Arab newscaster, Al-Arabiya News Channel. Owned and operated by MBC Group. It is a digital-only service which can be accessed via www.alarabiya.net/english and provides news, analysis, opinion and subtitling which provides users around the world the ability to watch the main (Arabic) news channel's news bulletins and current affairs shows. Its main audiences reside in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Foundation and early days

The English website, initially launched as English.AlArabiya.Net was first inaugurated in 2007 as part of several new languages the news channels were intended to be made available in; these included English, Persian, and Urdu. It used to carry wire news and selected translated articles from Al Arabiya's main Arabic language news site.

A number of editors were brought in to manage the service independently, including American journalist Courtney Radsch who linked her redundancy to a news piece she ran regarding fatigue levels among pilots and crew of Emirates Airlines.[1] Other editors have included Pranay Gupte,[2] who served between 2011 - 2012 and Faisal J. Abbas, who served as editor between 2012 - 2016 and was most renowned for relaunching and growing the page into a fully integrated news service providing original and exclusive reporting, as well as translated material from the main Al Arabiya channel and enhancing it's presence on social media.

Prominent Saudi columnist Mamdouh al-Muhaini, appointed on 27 September 2017, is the current Editor-in-Chief of all of Al Arabiya's digital platforms, which include the English, Arabic, Urdu and Farsi websites[3]. He is renowned for managing the coverage of the Donald Trump election, the conflict with Qatar as well as many other various projects.

Relaunch

On 1 July 2012, Al Arabiya News Channel issued a statement announcing the appointment of Faisal J. Abbas, a Huffington Post blogger, Middle East correspondent and former Media Editor of London-based daily, Asharq Al Awsat, as Editor-in-Chief of its English Service.[4] Commenting on the appointment, Abdul Rahman al-Rashed, then General Manager of the channel said: “Faisal is among the most distinguished young journalists and it is a pleasure to have him on-board to continue taking the website forward.” [5]

In November 2013, the site was re-launched at an event which took place at Dubai’s Armani Hotel under the theme of “Bridging the communication gap between East and West.” The event included two panel discussions which tackled the issues facing Arab lobbying in the West and another on how and why Western journalists sometimes misunderstand the region.

The event concluded with a gala dinner. HRH Princess Rym al-Ali, who is a former CNN reporter and the founder of the prestigious Jordan Media Institute, was the key note speaker.[6]

Editorial line

The website derived its editorial line from that of the main news channel, particularly when it came to the position on the Assad Regime crimes following the 2011 revolution in Syria. In 2013, Al Arabiya English compiled a US Iraq War style "Syrian Regime Deck of Cards",[7] detailing regime figures who have defected, killed or remain at large.[8]

During his editorship, Faisal J. Abbas opposed in his Op-Eds the ban on women driving and male-guardianship practices over women in Saudi Arabia.[9] Abbas also was a critic of the 2016 'Brexit' vote.[10] A series of columns by various Arab and American also criticised President Obama's pursuit of the controversial Iran nuclear deal.[11]

In September 2016, Abbas left Al Arabiya English when he took up the Editor-in-Chief position of Jeddah-based Arab News in Saudi Arabia[12].

Among its staff writers include Ismaeel Naar, who was named Young Arab Journalist of the Year in 2016[13]. Ehtesham Shahid is current the managing editor of Al Arabiya English while long-time staff member Eman El-Shenawi is a senior journalist with the team.

Ammar Ben Aziz is currently the Associate Editor of the website[14].

Criticism

In 2012, Al Arabiya English published a series of stories which were based on revealing leaked emails belonging to Sherri Jaafari, the daughter of Syria's UN envoy Bashar Jaafari. The leaked emails showed Sherri requesting an internship with US television host Charlie Rose in exchange for securing an interview with President Assad. Furthermore, the emails revealed how Sherri worked with NY-based public relations company BLJ to produce a 2011 Vogue magazine feature about Asma Al-Assad, the Syrian first lady, which infamously labelled her a "rose in the desert" while Syria was undergoing a deadly civil war.[15] Al Arabiya English's stories were carried by a number of US media outlets, including New York Post[16] and The Huffington Post.[17] In response, Syria's UN envoy went public and urged media to leave his family alone[18]

Following an Op-Ed published on 5 March 2015,[19] calling for President Obama to "listen to (Israeli PM) Netenyahu" when it comes to the threat imposed by the Iranian nuclear deal,[19] many pro-Hezbollah Arab, Iranian and even Western media outlets criticized Al Arabiya English's editorial stance. Based on this Op-Ed, The Independent's Robert Fisk wrote a piece[20] on 6 March that the column, which was written by Al Arabiya English's Editor-in-Chief at the time, wouldn't have been published unless it was blessed by the Saudi Monarchy.[20] By doing so, Fisk was echoing unconfirmed claims that Al Arabiya is owned by the Saudi government and as such unable to publish views that weren't aligned with those of Riyadh. .

References

  1. ↑ "Laid off for implicating Emirates Airlines | Reporters without borders". RSF (in French). Retrieved 2017-06-05.
  2. ↑ "Pranay Gupte : My Career". Pranaygupte.com. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
  3. ↑ "Mamdouh AlMuhaini Author Page".
  4. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-09-19. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
  5. ↑ "Faisal J. Abbas Named Editor-In-Chief Of Al-Arabiya’s English Website".
  6. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-09-19. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
  7. ↑
  8. ↑ "Al Arabiya’s ‘Lion’s Den’ tracks Assad’s inner circle". The Nation Press. 2013-01-13. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
  9. ↑ Abbas, Faisal J. (24 July 2016). "How can there be guardianship over women in a modern Saudi Arabia?". Al Arabiya English. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  10. ↑ Abbas, Faisal J. (27 June 2016). "Brexit and the Arab Spring: an uncanny resemblance". Al Arabiya English. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  11. ↑ Abbas, Faisal J. (September 29, 2015). "Hello, مرحبا !". Faisal J. Abbas. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
  12. ↑ "Faisal J. Abbas appointed editor-in-chief of Arab News". Arab News. 2016-09-26. Retrieved 2017-08-05.
  13. ↑ "Al Arabiya’s Ismaeel Naar named Outstanding Young Arab Journalist". english.alarabiya.net. December 6, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Ammar Ben Aziz Author Page". english.alarabiya.net.
  15. ↑ "Al Arabiya obtains new leaked emails of Assad’s New York-based media advisor". Al Arabiya English. 23 July 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  16. ↑ Bennett, Chuck (2012-07-28). "Aide to Syrian president asked Charlie Rose for a job while trying to arrange interview with boss". New York Post. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
  17. ↑ "Syria Leaks: Al Arabiya English Reports On Assad's PR Firm". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
  18. ↑ "Syrian U.N. envoy claims media ‘fabricated lies’ about him and his family". Al Arabiya English. 4 August 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  19. 1 2 Abbas, Faisal J. (3 March 2015). "President Obama, listen to Netanyahu on Iran". Al Arabiya English. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  20. 1 2 Robert Fisk (2015-03-06). "Who can the Saudis trust when they find themselves on Netanyahu's side?". The Independent. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.