Arab talk shows come into the spotlight at discussion group hosted by 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 programmes like HardTalk, suffered from insufficient mastery of English or from less articulate expression and presentation.

Khaled Al Maena, Editor-in-Chief of Saudi-based Arab News, said: " Anyone who respects himself and is not qualified to speak on TV, should not go on air - whatever TV that is."

Sebastian pointed out that politics is a performing art. "Part of the interviewee's job is communication."

The discussions took place on the sidelines of the 3rd annual Arab Media Summit that ended in Dubai on a highly successful note on October 8th.

Commenting on principles of journalism, Sebastian said: "Nobody gives anything to a journalist as a right. He has to go out and get it. Rights evolve because people keep pushing for their freedom and what they want. One of the ways is through the TV".

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.

"You have to keep pushing the boundaries. We have a right to hold our leadership to account because they affect our lives. It doesn't matter if you ruffle a few ministerial feathers, these are issues of life and death for many people," he said.

Commenting on his brand of aggressive interview techniques, Sebastian said, "for the purpose of the interviews, I take the opposing point of view because it is not very interesting to sit opposite and agree."

Before the show, the interviewee is researched thoroughly by a team of ten. Before the interview, the team figures out what it wants and afterwards, the editorial team evaluates what came out of it. "Programmes cannot be generalized. Some are good, some are not, depends on what we get out of them."

Sebastian said he has never engaged in self-censorship in his 27 years of service with the BBC.