Abu Dhabi TV, the spoils of War (page 1 of 3)

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.