Positive reaction for Al Jazeera – Nigel Parsons

“We are setting the news agenda and reversing the information flow from the global south to north,” Parsons said.

“We see ourselves as a bridge between cultures, increasing understanding between English speakers around the world. Africa is a priority for us and it is no accident that we have 12 bureaux in Africa and only two in Europe.”

Turning point

As the world is currently under the duress of so-called ‘war on terror' led by the US and Britain and mainly fought in the battlefield of Africa and Middle East, many African critics believe Al Jazeera English's arrival in SA marks a turning point in the tough terrain of news, where western TV news channels are often being criticised for their ‘one-sided', ‘sometimes unrealistic' and ‘politically-incorrect' reporting.

“The launch of Al Jazeera English around the world has seen as a new chapter in global broadcasting. We are the first global English-speaking news channel to be headquartered in the Middle East and looking outwards,” Parsons remarked.

Al Jazeera means island or peninsula in English and the station is based in Doha, Qatar's capital city. A total of 900 people from 47 ethnic backgrounds from around the world are currently employed by the channel.

“Unparalled access”

Parsons is self-satisfied about Al Jazeera's coverage across Africa. “We have unparalleled access and unrivalled expertise in the Middle East and Africa in particular,” he said, adding that he is delighted that MultiChoice has recognised the hunger for accurate, impartial and objective news coverage.

With its eternal wars, terrible diseases and poverty, state corruption, human rights violation, lack of freedom of expression and a bunch of heads of state who cling to power like a baby in a mother's lap, western analysts and political leaders see Africa as the darkest place on earth.

But Parsons insists Africa is one of the most strategic and exciting places in the world. “We will continue to report from across Africa, which we believe is one of the world's most pivotal places to report from,” he said. “As part of the developing world it will remain an important continent of us. We want to do more than cover Aids, famine and war.”

And despite the Bush administration and Tony Blair's government's objection to what they call ‘odd' methods of Al Jazeera, which they believe are ‘promoting' and ‘encouraging' terrorism, Parsons told Bizcommunity.com that the channel has been received extremely well across America and Britain and has wide carriage.

“We are building on our carriage and are also available on YouTube and through live streaming.”

Bureaux

The channel has bureaux in Cairo (Egypt), Abidjan (Cote d'Ivoire), Nairobi (Kenya), Johannesburg (SA) and Harare (Zimbabwe). “In addition,” Parsons said, “we share the resources of Al Jazeera's Arabic channel located in Ndjamena (Chad), Tripoli (Libya), Nouakchott (Mauritania), Rabat (Morocco), Dakar (Senegal), Mogadishu (Somalia) and Khartoum (Sudan).

Note that Al Jazeera has enlisted the services of three South Africans, namely Jane Dutton (formerly of e.tv, CNN, BBC World, CNBC Europe/US), Imran Garda (ex-reporter of SuperSport) and Kalay Maistry (e.tv, SABC, Radio 702 and Capital Radio).

Former CNN's Jerusalem bureau chief, Mike Hanna, has also brought his invaluable experience and contribution at Al Jazeera English.

Al Jazeera began broadcasting on 31 May 2007, DStv's channel 62.

For more information, go to www.aljazeera.net/English, or email .