Debate launches US-backed Arab TV

By Hala Saleh
BBC News

The new Arabic language satellite station funded by the United States, al-Hurra, has started broadcasting across the Middle East.

An al-Hurra journalist said they would give the unvarnished facts

Al-Hurra, which means "the Free One," began with a short videotape showing windows being opened to symbolise freedom.

But the question of whether it really is free, and not an American propaganda tool, is dominating how the Arab world is viewing it.

The station itself seems aware of this because one of its first broadcasts was a lively discussion between a number of commentators, including one of al-Hurra's journalists, on this very question.

Al-Hurra is aiming for a young modern sound, making full use of the vibrant Arabic pop scene in its promos.

On one of them it claimed to be the coolest of all the stations.

On the more serious question of how much influence American foreign policy has on its programming, al-Hurra decided not to duck its main challenge.

'Mission impossible'

In a programme called The Four Corners, a panel of Arab commentators discussed whether al-Hurra would be able to provide more objective and compelling coverage than its satellite competitors, like al-Jazeera.

Al-Hurra's defender on the panel - speaking in a streetwise Lebanese dialect, rather than the more formal classical Arabic - denied that "pressures" would be put on the station.

He said the station would tell the unvarnished facts; and opinion would be left to individuals, just like in the Washington Post or New York Times.

But another contributor - a journalist - said that whatever al-Hurra did it could not hide the fact that the United States supports the Arabs' enemy Israel.

He said the station was facing a mission impossible.

But a mission it certainly has.

As if to underline this, the discussion was followed by a family-oriented programme which included an item on an American initiative to get Arab and Israeli youngsters together.