International TV News – The Way Forward

Edward Victor and Sarah Smith interview award-winning CNN, BBC and Al Jazeera journalist, Afshin Rattansi, on intelligence and his novel “The Dream of the Decade – The London Novels published by Booksurge and Amazon. com.

Edward Victor: Afshin Rattansi, your new book deals with, among other things, the way news is made in newsrooms. Since you have worked at three top networks, the BBC, CNN and Al Jazeera, you think it has a change since you wrote your book? Afshin Rattansi

: A character in the third novel of the quartet back to work at a large media companies around the time of the war against Yugoslavia. This war has been covered in an extraordinary way, and was widely criticized for it. After all, the coverage of hundreds of thousands of people die in the heart of Europe is what journalism textbooks have been after the Second World War and not yet written, someone out with a TV news what happened in Sarajevo would possibly have been mistaken. Only after the war, that some excellent programs have been made. “The Dream of the Decade” deals with unsuspecting unwitting bias or lack of balance. Each story was reviewed by the life experiences of the kind of people that get the jobs nuanced in newsrooms. Although the book deals with cover stories on the environment, health and many other topics, the in-built bias of journalists to its apotheosis in terms of war reporting. Whether the wars in Latin American countries in the 1980s or the war against Yugoslavia in the 1990s, it is remarkable how difficult it is for a viewer to listen to a range of views about each war.

Edward Victor: It also began the development of world’s first 24 hours English language news and current affairs satellite TV network in the Middle East. As to the man, you produce your news experience different? Afshin Rattansi

: I hope so. Although I was the editor of the station, there were the constraints of a manager about the way we would broadcast news. Recently, the BBC, you realize the limitations on a very well established network of reporting before the Iraq war. At the Dubai channel, we came from a developing world perspective and focused on the financial background. “Follow the money” was the slogan when we fall, say the war between Ethiopia and Eritrea, or the privatization of the management of natural resources demanded by the IMF. I always thought it was interesting that Business Week and The Economist sells well, that Business Week magazine was often the best source for really always a balanced view of history. Everything from the most local – for example, food resources, or crime prevention – most say global -, Kyoto, drug trafficking or nuclear weapons – usually has its own profit in the heart of it.

Whether Hollywood or the cause of Palestine, are after the money is a pretty good way for journalists to cover a story. . . and very wary of Microsoft’s “copy and paste” functions when used Reuters and AP wire stories. Reuters, after all, is primarily a financial services company, and although it has excellent journalists, the “daily wraps” the most important stories of the day will not be the ones that most concern ordinary people, certainly not the largest part of humanity, or most audience.

Sarah Smith: Al Jazeera launches an English-language station. The expert on Al Jazeera, Hugh Miles, wrote about (in Al Jazeera: How Arab TV News Challenges America), such as the Arabic language station hired as award-winning journalist, once the canal was always successful and wanted to raise their profile. Will you work for the English language station? Afshin Rattansi

: I have not been addressed, however. And while I think it has the potential of something big – even buildings will have on the work, the developing international stations have been making Dubai the station – I am still unsure about the direction of the channel below. They have taken on some excellent staff. I think what will be critical – not only for sound editorial reasons – is whether to carve a niche that separates it from industry leaders such as CNN, BBC and Fox. There are a number of free-to-air international TV stations, now. But Al Jazeera Arabic was different, because their perspective was divided by a swath of people from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean, that just was not compatible with the big names in corporate news.

Sarah Smith: But why did you not want a part of such an exciting project to be – in view of your published work on the control of the start-up TV stations, always have access to the cable, Writing tasks and so on? They were in fact the first English recruit to Al Jazeera. Afshin Rattansi

: So far I have been told that it does not miss any room for me on the network so of course they have something very important in the start-up of the new channel! But more seriously, it must be said that within the industry, there are some great journalists who would have thought I would have ideal recruits. International television channels start-ups are always complex and perhaps management of the new station has a long line plan, more commercial style, including BBC News at the beginning to gain market access. My first boss of the BBC, Paul Gibbs, is one of the directors of the new channel, so I know they have some heavyweights when it comes to the knowledge of the industry. He will start the program and at the BBC Business Unit has been known for innovative areas of programming.

Sarah Smith: The channel has a number of journalists very much set by the neoliberal right. David Frost, who is a friend of Israel also checked with the U.S. and the British government before he would take on a job at the station. Her head of news, Steve Clark, produces extreme right wing programs that were pro-Israeli. If you have concerns about the canal? Afshin Rattansi

: As I said, start-ups are always very tense. And we must not forget that there are a lot of people who are ready, the failure of Al Jazeera International. I know Steve and he seemed relatively healthy! I do not really think you can say – as some will claim – that the English language was the CIA station kidnapped or something, as some are in it.

What further disturbing news bits we get on the start-up of the English language Al Jazeera channel, I think we should wait and see. Frost is a big name stars and TV stations need. With all the money being thrown at the new channel, we hope that they are always the really first-class producers and journalists, and not those that merely the dregs of the big corporate news broadcasting, looking for a tax-free salary and a bit of sun ! Edward Victor: The book that TV news has concerns in “The Decade of the Dream” has been compared to Evelyn Waugh’s “Scoop.” Should it be read as satire or none of the things in the book actually happened. Afshin Rattansi

: Of all the books in the quartet that is, perhaps, “Good Morning, Britain” is the autobiographical. Unfortunately, some of the things are crazy about the naivete of reporters at bottom right. I remember certainly a very posh reporter who was nothing of public health and if he was a story about hospitals cover went to the only hospital he knew – a very expensive private one – so that the whole report was an advertisement for medical care, how wonderful was in the UK. I have also met my fair share of the war correspondents who delight in the perceived persona Hemmingway, the questions of geopolitical power in every theater of war darken.

Sarah Smith: What do you think broadcast news services are good and how journalism can generally better? Afshin Rattansi: I think there is some gold standard at the moment. One of them is BBC World Service radio, the shows, while in the small path of innovation and often obscures power-lines, still manages to be truly global. Obviously, CNN, when my little Bruderist anchoring is also excellent! I have to admit that Fox News, which is doing well in the ratings, at least puts her heart on his sleeve – which is implied, it has an angle. It is much more frightening to see messages indicating that it is unbiased, if it is.

will end it up to the kind of people are employed in journalism. fired on the BBC’s Today program – just before the editor was – there were the beginnings of a recruiting process that the group actually be in the newsroom on people of different origins was based. In Dubai, there were journalists from all the countries of East and South of Algiers. But it’s not just ethnic diversity, the diversity of its class. They would not have many journalists at the forefront of the BBC from London’s Peckham area, or on CNN by Dixie Hills. Ironically, the ratings reflect the programs they would do well, like something on TV employs the aspirations and concerns of the majority. However, I do not think the advertisers are interested, that in such available with low incomes. And in Britain, which has weathered to the dumbing down of international TV experience better than most places, officers in the government-funded station, the need – for complex reasons – to compete with commercial content.