Abu Dhabi TV, the spoils of War

Q.How did Abu Dhabi TV prepare for the war in Iraq?

A. We started a few months ago. As the channel is not a 24-hour news channel to switch to 24-hour news coverage, we realized from the beginning, had a lot of implications, whether on human or technical resources.

We even had to think about the programs themselves - how would the grid be affected? We had a clear vision from the beginning that we need to be distinguished, to be different. We have to be in the place where everything's happening. We started with a team, new members were added to the team, to the newscenter.

Luckily, we do have a lot of competent, experienced reporters, so we could plan where they would go: the north, the south, Baghdad, Kuwait, Turkish borders, Iranian borders. Basically, they cover all the expected or anticipated hotspots.

Q. What do you mean by covering the news differently?

A. We decided from the beginning that we were not simply going to take the feed or be dependent on a big network like CNN or the BBC and broadcast the signals and do all our reports in-house, which would have been the easiest way out. We decided that we would cover the news and that we wanted to be first in.

Q. How is covering this war different from covering the war in Afghanistan?

A. Afghanistan was before I came, so I was looking at it as a viewer. But, looking at the team and looking at the equipment they have, and looking at being there in time - that's what made the difference. Basically, preparing ahead of time and not waiting to react to the crisis.

Q. How does Abu Dhabi TV compare with other Arab networks?

A. I think we have the best coverage from Baghdad. We realized form the beginning that Baghdad would be the decisive place to be. I think that's given us an advantage. I believe that Al Jazeera has a reporter in Mosul; we don't.

We have two or three reporters in the north of Iraq right now. That's also given us an advantage. Even in the south, we have some reporters. We would like to have reporters covering every single city - it's a big country. We decided on the places where we wanted to be. As the war advances, we have to be prepared for it.

Q. There have been conflicting reports on how successful the US-led forces have been in Iraq? Why do you think that is?

A. I'm not going to say that everybody has a different agenda. At the end of the day, if you're a professional journalist, you have a mission regardless of what network you belong to. Naturally the interest of viewers and the public opinion is taken into consideration.

We are addressing Arab viewers. Yes, people in the Arab world are more sympathetic to the Iraqi people. That also put more responsibility on us. We're not going to show horrific pictures just for the sake of attraction. We get the picture itself but we have to cover it from all angles. We cannot underestimate or ignore all those factors.

Some people would say that the West is watching a different war on TV than the Arabs. I think they are watching a different war because there is a different perspective. To start with, an Arab viewer and a Western viewer have preconceived ideas, definitely.

We try to maintain that balance. It's like standing on top of a basketball. I think the advantage of having Arab reporters is that they understand the culture and the language. Maybe the Iraqi people would be more open or they can communicate better with us. We know that in so many places they are not at liberty to speak freely.

Understanding their culture and understanding what they are going through gives us an advantage. Realizing that a big country like Iraq with a regime that has been in place for 30 years, that means you're talking about generations that don't know otherwise. They only know this regime.

Q. Do you think that Arab or Western journalists are more objective?

A. With professional journalists, it really doesn't matter what their nationality or network is. Sometimes, the place they're with - if they are embeds under the umbrella of the coalition troops they might have access to different material than if they are in areas that are still under the control of the Iraqi regime.

That might make a difference in the reporting to start with. Americans might go to some cities and classify it as 'liberation.' For us, we take all the elements into account. I don't want to say that we are addressing more of the Iraqi people's issues, but people expect us to do that as an Arab network.

Although we are showing, for example, the American and British aid given to the Iraqi people. Maybe we don't do it as much as the Western media. For us, it is not simply 'feeding the Iraqis.' We're looking at how the whole region will be. A network like Abu Dhabi cannot isolate itself from the region. The less destruction in Iraq, the better for the people.

Q. What are your views on the practice of embedding journalists?

A. This is the war with the highest number of embeds taken under the umbrella of the British or the Americans. By doing that, there is a risk. At the end of the day, a journalist is not a trained soldier, so there is a risk.

Because of that, you realize that you may be in the back line of the action; but being a journalist you always want to be ahead, you want to be in front.

That's the dilemma they have to face: security plus news plus being there and bringing news to the people at the exact second that it's happening. There are a lot of reports, whether on our network or another network, that are not live because of the security. But it is definitely a plus. You get a picture from where it's happening.

Q. During times of crisis, viewing numbers rise. Has this translated into a rise in advertising revenue?

A. For us, the viewership numbers are currently much higher - not only for people who only watch the news but also for people who don't usually watch the news. So the intake of news for ordinary viewers has increased.

For Abu Dhabi, understanding that was one of the main factors behind becoming a 24-hour news channel at this time. We knew the viewing habits would change - it's a big event, it's something happening in this region. People expect that an Arab network will step up and cover it. And this is not only a question of the language barrier. If you speak English, you can watch the news in English, but you really want to see it from an Arab perspective.

Q. Has there been a rise in ad revenue?

A. No, not really. The big advertisers are multinational US companies. A lot of advertisers pulled all their advertisements regardless of the coverage. They're saying: 'We don't want to go through this mess, we would rather be totally out. We don't want our brand to be associated with the war.'

Q. If there's no rise in advertising revenue, what is the benefit for networks covering the war? Is it just prestige?

A. That's not the only element. It's either you're in or you're out. With the change in viewing habits, you cannot continue doing variety and game shows if people want to watch something else.

That change in viewing habits affects your grid, what is shown on your screen. It is a question of not only maintaining but also increasing the number of viewers. If you are not there, if you are no part of the whole thing right now with war coverage, you'd be missing a lot.

Q. After the war is over, will Abu Dhabi TV go back to airing game shows and sitcoms?

A. We do not know how long the war will continue. But after a while, life will go on. People will not be watching only news all the time. The channel has the guts and the flexibility to say, We know that viewers will consume a lot of news. We want to have part of that. We don't want people saying, 'When the news is finished we'll watch channels like Abu Dhabi.' That was the challenge. People will watch news, so I'll provide them with news because that's where the interest is.

You can't switch from being a total news channel to a total variety channel. It's important that the transitional stage is carefully done. When the fighting stops, that doesn't mean that peace is there. It will take some time. We have to be careful about how much news we show after that.

You don't want people to get fed up with the news. But you don't want to ignore or underestimate the importance of the crisis on people's lives. The region is very small. Because of this geography, we will feel the impact afterwards more than America, more than the West. That's a fact.