Al Hurra joins battle for news, hearts, and minds

Al Hurra's newsroom bustles with some 75 staffers, most of them handpicked by Pattiz and his news director, Mouafac Harb. Most are experienced anchors, writers, and producers from Middle Eastern television stations. Ms. Haddad, for example, is from Lebanon; Mr. Sada is from Qatar; and Mr. Harb, also from Lebanon, has worked in both print (the Saudi-owned Al Hayat newspaper) and television (ABC News). Imad Mousa, a senior producer, is an American of Palestinian origin and came to Al Hurra from Al Jazeera.

These staffers say they want to bring a more moderate approach to covering world news for the Middle East. They say Arabs are deepy humiliated by the repression of Muslims in Iraq and the Palestinian terroritories, and the television emphasis on those issues only exacerbates the problem.

Harb and others say they cover all the news, including the negative and dismal. But they also want to offer a platform for moderate and alternative views, including more in-depth historical perspectives. Most of all, they say, they want to build a relationship with their audience and cultivate a mutual respect.

"When you tell the truth, it's a signal of great respect.... Friendly relationships should be based on respect," Harb says. "We're aiming to get their respect, then you can go on toward changing attitudes."

Besides the straightforward newscasts, they say, they are running "connectors." In these 15-, 20-, and 30-second spots, anchors explain how they came to Al Hurra - an attempt to build connections.

They have an array of programs ready - including top-of-the-hour news broadcasts and talk-show formats. Free Hour is patterned after Nightline and Larry King Live: Last week, for example, one program examined the US-Libyan relationship and what caused Col. Mohammar Qaddafi to dismantle his weapons program; another looked into whether Al Qaeda has spread into Iraq. Weekend talk shows run on Fridays (the Arab equivalent of American Sundays) and are patterned after NBC's Meet the Press and CBS's Face the Nation.

So far, reactions from Middle Eastern viewers - mainly journalists - are fair to critical. But even the negative publicity is helpful, Pattiz says. "It gets people looking at us for themselves."

Al Hurra won't shy away from any important news, he continues, and he believes viewers will recognize that. "There will be times when some governments [in the Middle East] get their noses out of joint with us," he says. " And there will be times when some members of Congress or members of the administration might get a bit of heartburn from what we do. But that's the price of credibility and a free press."

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