The usefulness of Arab talk shows came into limelight during an active discussion hosted presenter of the HardTalk interview program of BBC World, Tim Sebastian.
General opinion was that Arab satellite channels had started off well, being very active on the ground during the Afghanistan and Iraq wars and in conflict zones in the Palestine. However, their talk shows tend to be with less substance and are more oriented towards pleasing the audience through highly charged debate.
It was also pointed out that Arab talks shows were in their infancy could not be compared to the mature productions of the West as yet.
The 20-odd participants on The Western and Arabic TV Talk Show: Differences and Similarities debated the question whether Arab interviewees on Western programs like HardTalk, suffered from insufficient mastery of English or from less articulate expression and presentation.
Editor-in-Chief of Saudi-based Arab News Khaled Al-Maena said “Anyone who respects himself and is not qualified to speak on TV, should not go on air – whatever TV that is.”
The discussions took place on the sidelines of the 3rd annual Arab Media Summit that ended in Dubai on October 8, 2003. From his tours through the Middle East, Sebastian felt there is more openness from the governments, but there is also more self-censorship in the media. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
