THE TELEGRAPH: Al Jazeera English, the international television channel belonging to the Emir of Qatar's news network, has a fight on its hands to conquer America.
The USA has been the downfall of many a foreign export but when you're a broadcaster based in the Arab world, bankrolled by a Middle Eastern autocrat and associated in the popular mindset with terrorist videos, the endeavour begins to look near-impossible.
When the English-language channel was set up in November 2006 to provide impartial competition for CNN and the BBC, the reputation of its Arabic sister channel, Al Jazeera, was already controversial.
Some observers claimed that it broadcast videos sent to the station from terrorist suspects, while US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had wrongly suggested that the network showed hostages being beheaded.
Since this inauspicious start, the Al Jazeera English team has been manning the PR battle lines against lobbyists anxious to keep the channel off US television line-ups.
So how did the Al Jazeera brand begin to convince US audiences that it serves a serious broadcasting purpose?
Tony Burman, managing director of Al Jazeera English and former Canadian TV executive, has found some of the answers while the station has built up an audience of 140m households in 40 countries – including Israel.
Among Mr Burman's priorities has been busting a few myths, hiring journalists from well-established rivals and focusing news coverage on the developing world.
The English-language channel is carried by satellite television operator Sky in the UK. More astonishingly, its commercial team is on the brink of signing several contracts with cable and satellite operators to give it a reach right across the US. Al Jazeera English Focused on Its American Dream >>> By Rowena Mason | Monday, March 23, 2009
