open letter
A letter from the International Press Institute to United States Secretary of State Colin Powell
Dear Mr Secretary,
The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists, is becoming increasingly dismayed at attempts by the US State Department to influence the flow of news in the Middle East.
Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Hamid bin Khalifa al-Thaniof, confirmed that he was asked by the US State Department, to use his government’s influence to soften the reporting stance of the independent Qatari-based television station al-Jazeera. The department [complained that] the television station has been rerunning an old television interview with Osama bin Laden and has provided air time for experts hostile to the US.
The emir of Qatar said: “Parliamentary life requires you have free and credible media and that is what we are trying to do. Al-Jazeera is one of the most widely watched in the Arab world because of its editorial independence and its willingness to provide a platform for controversy.”
Denying the criticism, al-Jazeera stated it gave both the US and Afghanistan positions equal air time. “We present both sides,” said Mohammed Jassem al-Ali, director general of the television station.
In the opinion of the IPI, the attempt to curtail the reporting of an independent television station is an infringement of editorial independence and has serious consequences for press freedom. Editorial independence protects news reporting and this includes the freedom to portray often uncomfortable or controversial viewpoints. Without this essential “firewall”, media organisations would face the danger of being annexed by governments or other powerful groups.
Al-Jazeera has a strong reputation for free and balanced news and both it and the Qatari government have faced continual pressure from Middle Eastern governments to curb its reporting. In 1999 Saudi Arabia and Algeria both sought to apply pressure on the Qatari government over al-Jazeera. Therefore, it is surprising that the US State Department has chosen to use the same methods, thus identifying it with countries whose record on press freedom is truly abysmal.
The IPI calls on the secretary of state to stop applying pressure on media organisations and to allow them to report freely based on their own editorial policy. IPI notes that the US presidential spokesperson, Ari Fleischer, recently said at a press conference “Watch what you say …” and we would invite the State Department to work hard to ensure that this statement does not become the US government’s guiding policy on the media during this critical period.
Yours sincerely,
Johann P Fritz, director, International Press Institute, Vienna
This is a shortened version of the International Press Institute letter
ENDS