<\/p>\n
There are quite literally hundreds of Arabic-language TV channels out there, broadcasting from within the Arab world and beyond. But only two names usually sound familiar to most ears: Al Jazeera<\/span> and Al Arabiya<\/span>.<\/strong><\/p>\n There’s no doubt that\u00a0Al Jazeera<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0is the most famous and still most successful Arabic-language channel out there.<\/p>\n Its name “\u0627\u0644\u062c\u0632\u064a\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0631\u0629<\/strong>” means “island” in Arabic, referring to\u00a0\u0634\u0628\u0647 \u0627\u0644\u062c\u0632\u064a\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0631\u0629 \u0627\u0644\u0639\u0631\u0628\u064a\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0629<\/strong>\u00a0(the Arabic Peninsula.) Its current chairman is a relative of the\u00a0Qatari<\/strong>\u00a0Emir.<\/p>\n In addition to the main news channel, Al Jazeera also broadcasts\u00a0\u0627\u0644\u062c\u0632\u064a\u0631\u0629 \u0627\u0644\u0648\u062b\u0627\u0626\u0642\u064a\u0629<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(Al Jazeera Documentary) and the very popular\u00a0\u0627\u0644\u062c\u0632\u064a\u0631\u0629 \u0627\u0644\u0631\u064a\u0627\u0636\u064a\u0629<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(Al Jazeera\u00a0Sports Channel) ran by the Qatari businessman who now owns the prestigious French Football team\u00a0Paris Saint-Germain<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Since not too long ago, it provides\u00a0an\u00a0English<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Urdu<\/strong>, and\u00a0Serbian-Croatian<\/strong>\u00a0versions of its news content.<\/p>\n \n Second in prominence after\u00a0Al Jazeera<\/strong>\u00a0is\u00a0Al Arabiya<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0It was launched only a few weeks before the\u00a02003 US-led invasion of Iraq.<\/strong><\/p>\n The decision came mainly as a\u00a0Saudi<\/strong>\u00a0response to\u00a0Al Jazeera’<\/strong>s often irreverential coverage of the ruling\u00a0royal families of the region. And\u00a0large funds from the late PM of Lebanon\u00a0Rafiq Al-Hariri<\/strong>\u00a0were committed to its launching.<\/p>\n It is based today in Dubai’s tax-free city,\u00a0Dubai Media City<\/strong>, and is directed by the former editor-in-chief of\u00a0“\u0627\u0644\u0634\u0631\u0642 \u0627\u0644\u0623\u0648\u0633\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0637<\/a><\/strong>” (“The Middle East”) newspaper,\u00a0Abdelrahman Al-Rached<\/strong>, for a while closely linked with another Saudi businessman,\u00a0Othman al Oumeir<\/strong>\u00a0(owner of\u00a0Maroc Soir<\/strong><\/em>, a publishing group very close to the royal family of Morocco, as well as the self-declared “most liberal of Arab online publications”, the website\u00a0Elaph<\/a><\/strong>.)<\/p>\n \n To understand the news perspective of Al Arabiya, and why it is palpably different from that of Al Jazeera for example, you have to understand that it is part of the\u00a0MBC group<\/strong>, which celebrated last year its\u00a020th anniversary<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Today, MBC is equally shared between\u00a0Abdulaziz bin Fahd<\/strong>, the favorite son of the late Saudi King\u00a0Fahd<\/strong>,\u00a0and his maternal uncle.<\/p>\n The ties between media, politics, and other sectors of the economy in both Saudi Arabia<\/strong> and Lebanon<\/strong> are numerous: To illustrate this point, consider for instance that the other major business concern for the Saudi Abdulaziz is\u00a0Saudi Oger<\/a><\/strong>, one of the largest construction companies in the Arab region. Saudi Oger is actually owned by none other than the family of the aforementioned Prime Minister of Lebanon,\u00a0Rafiq Hariri<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There are quite literally hundreds of Arabic-language TV channels out there, broadcasting from within the Arab world and beyond. But only two names usually sound familiar to most ears: Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya. There’s no doubt that\u00a0Al Jazeera\u00a0is the most famous and still most successful Arabic-language channel out there. Its name “\u0627\u0644\u062c\u0632\u064a\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0631\u0629” means “island”…<\/p>\n