This is a good one , just for you to read, no comment (IWC)

WESTERN MEDIA "ENVY SUCCESSFUL ARAB TV", AL JAZIRA TV SAYS

DUBAI 6 Oct. (IPS) The chief executive of Qatar's Al-Jazira satellite television slammed Western media Saturday as "envious" of the success of his channel, which he described as "objective and independent".
"(Some) Western media envy Al-Jazira's successful coverage of international news," said Mr. Mohammad Jassem al-Ali without naming the media concerned.
"These media claim that Al-Jazira's coverage is hostile to the United States, which is patently untrue" he said in a reference to reporting of the aftermath of the September 11 terror attacks on New York and Washington, the "Middle East On Line" reported Saturday from Dubai.
"Al-Jazira gives the US viewpoint as much space as it gives the Afghan viewpoint," Ali said, noting that the channel has three correspondents in the United States and is the only one authorized to broadcast continuously from Taleban-ruled territory in Afghanistan.
"Reporting Ben Laden’s news was independent and professional", he pointed out.
Qatar's Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, acknowledged during a visit to Washington Wednesday that US officials had raised concerns about the station’s coverage and said Doha would consider it as "friendly advice".
At the same time, he stressed that Qatar was rapidly evolving into a parliamentary democracy that embraced the whole scope of human and civil rights.
"Within two years (Qatar) will have a parliamentary life with a democracy that dictates that freedom of the press should be granted and that the press should enjoy credibility," Sheikh Hamad said.
US officials said they had expressed concern to the Qatari ruler about Al-Jazira's allegedly biased coverage of the September 11 attacks.
The officials said they were concerned that, in the aftermath of the attacks, Al-Jazira had repeatedly broadcast interviews and talk shows featuring commentators with anti-US and anti-Western views.
They said they wanted to see more balanced programming and wanted Doha to use its influence with Al-Jazeera to ensure that.
But informed sources say powerful and influential US television corporations such as the CNN are "simply furious" that Al-Jazira has managed a kind of monopoly on Taleban-related news, as the station is the only one in the world having two correspondents in Afghanistan, including one in Qandahar, where lives Taleban’s supreme leader Mollah Mohammad Omar Akhound.
Founded in 1996, Al-Jazira is the most widely watched news channel in the Arab world. The 24-hour channel has revolutionized the Arabic news industry through uncensored news programs and open debates.
The Qatari government is a part-owner of the station, which has made a name for itself in the Arabic-language news business with often-acclaimed reporting and an independent editorial policy that is rare in the region.
But independent journalists objected this view, countering that what has angered both the US Administration and TV media is that Al-Jazira was the first to disclose the capture of US special commandos by the Taleban as well as the downing of a US drone reconnaissance plane over Afghanistan.
Al-Jazira also it another "scoop" Friday by releasing a videocassette showing Mr. Ben Laden, the prime suspect in the 11 September terrorist operations in New York and in Washington D.C.
"It is only astonishing that a country where the freedom of the press is enshrined in its constitution is urging another nation to curb its press just because it does not pleases the Americans", one Iranian journalist observed, adding "if this not arrogance, what else is it?".
"There is no pressure on us by the emir who, since the launch of Al-Jazira, encouraged us to be independent and professional", Ali said.
"In the event of excesses occurring, the solution is to resort to the courts", he said.
Since its launch in November 1996, Al-Jazeera has gained considerable popularity among viewers in the Arab world, while annoying many governments for tackling political, social and sometimes sexual issues previously regarded as taboo, as well as providing a platform for Arab dissidents.
"At one point, we were accused of being agents of the Americans, the Zionists and the Iraqis at one and the same time" Ali pointed out.
US pressures on the Qatari ruler to harness Al-Jazira drew a sharp protest from several leading American and Western media and organisations concerned with the freedom of the press.
In a statement released Friday, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) expressed Thursday "deep concern" by reports that U.S. officials pressured Qatar in an attempt to influence the news coverage of the satellite channel.
Following a meeting in Washington, D.C., with U.S. secretary of
State Colin Powell, Qatari ruler Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani acknowledged that U.S. officials had asked him to use his influence to rein
in Al-Jazira's news coverage", the New York-based CPJ said in a communiqué.
On October 2, the, U.S. Embassy in Qatar filed a formal diplomatic complaint with Qatari authorities regarding Al-Jazira's coverage, CPJ further said, without mentioning which programmes or what coverage have raged the American Administration.
Although the Qatari government subsidizes Al-Jazira, the station has been widely praised for its editorial independence. Over the years, Al-Jazira has drawn a steady stream of complaints from Arab governments angered by its reporting.
"The U.S. Administration is effectively urging Qatari authorities to interfere with what is essentially an independent news station", said CPJ executive director Ann Cooper. "Arab government attempts to influence Al-Jazira have garnered widespread attention over the years. We are disheartened to see U.S. officials adopting similar tactics", she protested. ENDS AL-JAZIRA COUNTER ATTACK 61001