Ibrahim Helal

Is there a kind of "information imperialism" among Western-owned news networks?

Not exactly. The goodwill is there to cover news from the South, but goodwill isn’t always enough. There are a lot of stereotypes that overwhelm the way you look for example at floods in India or Pakistan, if you are working from the UK or the USA. 

Do they skew global perspective towards Western interests?

The war against Iraq in 2003 is a living example. Yes, some of these networks dealt with the issue of weapons of mass destruction with doubt, but when talking about how the Iraqi people would welcome theAmerican-British troops, their narrative was that it was a matter of time before stability and democracy would be seen in Iraq. Look at the situation now! 

Are you a media front for the non-Western world?

Al Jazeera English is not a media front for anyone. It aims at being a news service – a tool to get information and analysis of what is going on around the world. 

So what is the new element?

The new element we provide is the context. When covering the last G8 summit in Germany, we sent an African correspondent to examine how much the new promises are feasible, and how much the old commitments were met. 

Southern-oriented context?

This was pure accuracy by looking at the same fact sheets from different angles. For non-Western audiences, it may resonate with their beliefs; for Western audiences, it might be shocking sometimes. 

Isn’t there a contradiction in running an English news service that de-prioritises the largest English viewerships in the world, that is, Britain and the USA?

This assumption is not true - we do not deprioritise any viewer. The Southern perspective is well received in the North. Remember, the largest demonstrations against the war in Iraq were in the UK and the USA, not in the South. In the "geographic North" there are a good deal of Southern views. Even politics in many European countries could be analysed by a Southern perspective for the best interest of the Northern people. 

Al Jazeera has been accused of encouraging militancy by interviewing dissidents.

Perception and truth are two different things. Many know that Al Jazeera broadcast Osama’s tapes, but they don’t know we refused to broadcast his interview when it was not newsworthy and seemed like propaganda. I was the Editor on that day and took that decision after applying highest standard of journalism keeping the safety of our journalists in mind. 

But couldn’t that perception become a problem in India?

If perception is a problem any where in the world we will fight it with truth. AlJazeera English is already reaching more than 100 million homes worldwide and we are just about eight months old, so the ‘truth’ seems to be winning the battle. 

What about critics who say the network has an Arab bias?

Who is saying that? Being watched in Israel - and by the way, Al Jazeera Arabic is watched there as well – is living evidence that we do not have an Arab bias. Israel was supposed to have more suspicions about an Arab-based news network, but we convinced them that we only care about the Truth. 

What will attract Indian viewers over from CNN?

Al Jazeera is changing the information flow. We are focussing on the developing world: not only telling the stories differently but also striving to tell ‘different’ stories. We already reach more than 100 million homes worldwide. India, being part of the Southern hemisphere and developing world, should relate more withAl Jazeera English

A slightly shorter version of this appears in the print edition