ITV

Tag: Salah Negm

  • Al Jazeera strengthens coverage of Nepal earthquake

    Al Jazeera strengthens coverage of Nepal earthquake

    MUMBAI: Al Jazeera, which was one of the first news outlets to report live on the earthquake that devastated Nepal on 25 April, has further strengthened its coverage in the mountain country.

     

    The 7.8 magnitude earthquake has been described as one of the worst to hit Nepal in decades, with the most recent death toll of over 4000 expected to rise significantly.

     

    Al Jazeera English’s Nepal correspondent Subina Shrestha was live from Kathmandu minutes after the earthquake struck, feeding through immediate audio and visual reports as the situation unfolded. Initial reports were followed by updates from senior correspondent Andrew Simmons, who arrived in Nepal on 26 April.

     

    Al Jazeera correspondents Faiz Jamil and So Rahman have since joined the network’s newsgathering team in Kathmandu. In the coming days, coverage will focus on the relief effort, the impact on remote areas of the country and reaction from the Nepalese community living abroad. A special half hour live broadcast scheduled for 0600GMT on 2 May will mark one week since the earthquake hit.

     

    Al Jazeera English director of news Salah Negm said, “Nepal has experienced a shocking tragedy that has claimed the lives of thousands. Having a bureau in Kathmandu meant that Al Jazeera was well placed to report on the situation in the immediate aftermath of the quake. We will remain committed to telling Nepal’s human stories of survival, rescue and recovery in the weeks to follow, and will be there every step of the way as the country rebuilds itself.”

     

    With five teams deployed across Nepal, Al Jazeera’s in-depth coverage of the earthquake aims to document all aspects of the disaster and provide viewers with constant updates.

  • Al Jazeera shuts China bureau following journalist’s expulsion

    Al Jazeera shuts China bureau following journalist’s expulsion

    MUMBAI: Qatar-based news network Al Jazeera has closed down its Beijing bureau following the Chinese government’s refusal to to renew the press credentials and visa of Melissa Chan, its sole correspondent, and allow a replacement journalist.

    Expressing disappointment at the Chinese government’s decision, Al Jazeera English said it has been requesting additional visas for correspondents for some time and which has not been obliged with.

    The news broadcaster said it will continue to work with Chinese authorities to re-open the Beijing bureau.

    Al Jazeera said Melissa Chan, who has been Al Jazeera English’s China correspondent since 2007, has filed nearly 400 reports covering stories about the economy, domestic politics, foreign policy, the environment, social justice, labour rights and human rights.

    Al Jazeera English Director Salah Negm said, “We’ve been doing a first class job at covering all stories in China. Our editorial DNA includes covering all stories from all sides. We constantly cover the voice of the voiceless and sometimes that calls for tough news coverage from anywhere in world.

    “We hope China appreciates the integrity of our news coverage and our journalism. We value this journalist integrity in our coverage of all countries in the world. We are committed to our coverage of China. Just as China news services cover the world freely we would expect that same freedom in China for any Al Jazeera journalist.”

    The ruling Communist party in China, which has long been known as hostile to international media, has found itself to be at loggerheads with foreign media many times.

    The Communist party has been giving state broadcaster CCTV and the official Xinhua News Agency a major push into foreign language media in a bid to spread its own pro-China take on domestic and international events.

    The move “seems to be taking China’s anti-media policies to a new level,” said Committee to Protect Journalists’ Asia coordinator Bob Dietz in a statement.

    According to Dietz, Chan’s case “marks a real deterioration in China’s media environment and sends a message that international coverage is unwanted”.

    The last time a journalist was expelled was when a German and a Japanese reporter were expelled in late 1998.

    According to Associated Press, Chan has left China for California, where she will be taking up a Knight Fellowship at Stanford University.

    China had pledged to relax restrictions on foreign journalists as part of its hosting of the 2008 Summer Olympics, but changes have been minor and conditions have in some ways grown even more hostile.

  • Al Jazeera International sees delay in launch

    Al Jazeera International sees delay in launch

    MUMBAI: The proposed English news and current affairs channel Al Jazeera International has delayed the launch of the channel from April to September at the earliest.

    The channel an offshoot of the Qatar-based Arabic network has pushed the launch date on account of series of constructions and technical glitches at its four centres in London, Doha, Kuala Lumpur and Washington, according to The Guardian.

    The channel is said to be still experiencing problems and thus, the launch has now been stated to be early September.

    The executives of the channel are said to be increasingly fed up with the slow pace of progress. “Staff are extremely frustrated, as is the management, who are tearing their hair out at the inefficiency of support staff,” said a source to the publication The Guardian.

    The bosses at the English-language service were concerned about “meddling” from Al-Jazeera’s Arabic owners, who are thought to be worried the new channel could end up a “watered down version of the BBC or CNN” and a “damp squib managed by non-Muslim westerners”.

    Although the broadcaster has inked a deal with the Sky Digital in UK, it is however finding difficulties in striking deals in the key American market.

    The Al-Jazeera spokeswoman speaking to The Guardian said that the broadcaster was not releasing an official launch date. However, she said the channel’s management had a particular date towards which they were working.

    “They are waiting on their technical requirements to be fulfilled,” she said.

    CNN and BCC are the main competitors to the Al-Jazeera International targeting the English-language news audiences, particularly in its coverage of the Middle East.

    The broadcaster has already roped in high-profile personalities, including Sir David Frost, former CNN Riz Khan, former CNN Rageh Omaar, Channel Five news presenter Barbara Serra for the London newsroom, and as well as other journalists from Sky, ITN and elsewhere.

    Recently, the channel hired a host of presenters for sports coverage.

    Al-Jazeera launched in Qatar in November 1996, bankrolled by the Emir of Qatar, but came to international prominence during the US attack on Afghanistan in 2001 when it was the only foreign broadcaster in Kabul.

    Al-Jazeera, which has been credited with changing the face of Arab television news, has faced criticism from the US as well as several Arab states. The channel is always surrounded by controversies by screening messages from the most-wanted man Osama bin Laden, the leader of the terrorist group Al-Qaida.

    The British Broadcasting Corporation has announced plans to set up its own Arabic news channel next year and has roped in former Al-Jazeera executive Salah Negm as news editor.

  • Salah Negm is BBC Arabic TV editor

    Salah Negm is BBC Arabic TV editor

    MUMBAI: UK pubcaster BBC’s division BBC World Service has appointed Salah Negm as news editor for its Arabic television service which will be launched next year.

    He was a BBC programme editor, and is currently Middle East Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) GM in Dubai. His wide editorial and management experience in the region also includes working as director of news after the launch of the Al Arabiyah satellite channel and roles with the satellite broadcaster, Al Jazeera.

    He says, “I am very excited about re-joining the BBC to help launch and run its Arabic TV service. It is the best job in broadcasting for me – a chance to use my experience as a journalist to offer a television audience throughout the Middle East, a news and information service in Arabic informed by the BBC values of accuracy, independence and impartiality. I don’t underestimate the challenge – or the competition in a crowded media market-place.

    “But BBC Arabic will be the only major international news provider in the Middle East offering a service in Arabic across television, radio and online – sharing views and perspectives across the region and the wider world with access to unrivalled resources for gathering and analysing news which will have wide appeal.”

    BBC World Service head of Africa and the Middle East Jerry Timmins said, “Salah Negm is a well known journalist with a long and distinguished track record. He is committed to the values which have won the BBC huge respect in the Middle East.”

    BBC World Service director Nigel Chapman says, “Salah is joining a powerful team who will lead this channel to success. We are fortunate to have someone of his calibre and track record who understands both the competitive market in which our Arabic TV service will operate – and the core BBC values which will underpin the new service.”

    The BBC World Service Arabic TV service will be the first publicly-funded international television service launched by the BBC. International and major regional issues will be covered along with multi-media discussion programmes and debates in conjunction with the BBC’s Arabic radio and online services.

    BBC Arabic will be the only major international news provider in the Middle East offering a service in Arabic across television, radio and online – sharing views and perspectives across the region and the wider world. Recent research from seven capital cities across the Middle East indicates that between 80 and 90 per cent of those surveyed are likely to watch an Arabic Television service from the BBC.

    It will draw on 68 years of BBC experience covering the Middle East in Arabic – supported by its global newsgathering operation: 250 news correspondents reporting from 50 bureaux allowing a global rather than purely regional perspective.