Mosaic: World News from the Middle East

Last updated
Mosaic: World News from the Middle East
Mosaicmiddleeastnewslogo.jpg
Logo
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Original release
Network LinkTV
Release2001 (2001) 
2013 (2013)

Mosaic: World News from The Middle East was a daily news program offered by the free American satellite channel, LinkTV. "Mosaic" featured selections from television news programs produced by broadcast outlets throughout the Middle East. The news reports were presented unedited, translated into English when necessary. The "Mosaic" series was created by Stephen Olsson and Kim Spencer. Its founding producer was Jamal Dajani, a Palestinian American and it was co-produced by David Michaelis, an Israeli Jew. [1] From late 2010 until 2013, the daily "Mosaic" program was co-produced by Lara Bitar and Abdullah Edwan.

Contents

Awards

It won a Peabody Award in 2004. [2]

Distribution

Mosaic was broadcast on Link TV, a free informational channel available on DirecTV, Dish Network and some US cable TV systems; and is archived by the Internet Archive, from which it can be viewed.

Sources

Mosaic broadcast news programs from Al Jazeera, Nile TV (Egypt), IRIB 2 (Iran), Al-Alam News Network (Iran), Iraq State Television (defunct since the US war in Iraq. Replaced by Al-Iraqiyah), Israel Broadcasting Authority: Arabic Channel (Israel), Jordan Satellite TV (Jordan), Future TV (Lebanon), National Broadcasting Network Lebanon), 2M-TV (Morocco), Palestinian Satellite Channel (Palestinian territories), Syria Satellite TV (Syria), Yemen State Television (Yemen), Abu Dhabi Television (UAE), Dubai Television (UAE), Arab News Network (Based in London, United Kingdom), Al-Jazeera, Al-Arabiya, Al-Manar (Hezbollah's TV station. Dropped from Mosaic in 2005.)

Funding

Mosaic was supported by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Firedoll Foundation, and Link TV viewers.

Controversy

In January 2004, and again in January 2005, disputes arose over the airing of Mosaic on NewTV, the Public-access television cable TV channel of Newton, Massachusetts. Opponents of its airing argued that the program provides a distorted view of Arab broadcasts, and a venue for antisemitism, anti-Americanism, and "terrorist propaganda". [1] [3] Supporters of the program, while conceding that the broadcasts may on occasion contain "anti-Semitic and anti-American content", argued that they "give Americans a diverse array of information about how the country is portrayed in the Middle East", and that their broadcast is a free speech issue. [4]

Mosaic has also been criticized by the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America, which claims it "whitewashes terrorism and promotes extremism". [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al Arabiya</span> Saudi domestic and international television broadcaster

Al Arabiya is an international Arabic news television channel, based in Riyadh that is operated by the media conglomerate MBC Group which is majority owned by the government of Saudi Arabia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alhurra</span> US TV broadcasting to the Arab world

Alhurra is a U.S. government-owned Arabic-language satellite TV channel that broadcasts news and current affairs programming to audiences in the Middle East and North Africa. Alhurra is funded by the U.S. government and is barred from broadcasting within the United States itself under the 1948 Smith-Mundt Act.

Link TV, originally WorldLink TV, is a non-commercial American satellite television network providing what it describes as "diverse perspectives on world and national issues." It was carried nationally on DirecTV until January 2023 and is still on Dish Network. Link TV was launched as a daily, 24-hour non-commercial network on December 15, 1999. It receives no money from the satellite providers, but relies instead on contributions from viewers and foundations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al-Manar</span> Lebanese television station affiliated with Hezbollah

Al-Manar is a Lebanese satellite television station owned and operated by the political party Hezbollah, broadcasting from Beirut, Lebanon. The channel was launched on 4 June 1991 and it is a member of the Arab States Broadcasting Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Television in Israel</span> Mass medium

Television in Israel refers to television broadcasting services in the State of Israel, inaugurated on March 24, 1966. Initially, there was one state-owned channel, operated jointly by the Israel Broadcasting Authority and the Israeli Educational Television. In 1986, a second state-regulated channel was launched. This channel became a state-regulated commercial channel in 1993. An additional commercial channel was introduced in 2002, followed by the introduction of three commercial niche channels: an Israeli Russian-speaking channel, a channel of Israeli popular music and an Arabic-speaking channel. Colour transmissions were introduced gradually around 1977 and 1979. Multichannel cable television service became available to subscribers gradually since 1989, although illegal cable TV stations were present in the big cities during the 1980s. Satellite-based multichannel service has been available since 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al Jazeera English</span> Qatari international English language news channel

Al Jazeera English is a globally recognized 24-hour English-language news channel. It operates under the ownership of the Al Jazeera Media Network, which, in turn, funded by the goverment of Qatar. It is the first English-language news channel to be headquartered in Western Asia. Al Jazeera broadcasts in over 150 countries and territories, and has a large global audience of over 430 million people.

GOD TV is a word of faith Christian media network that started in the United Kingdom. The network's main offices are located in Plymouth, England, UK, and Orlando, Florida, US. Regional offices are situated in India, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana and Australia.

Kim Spencer is an American television producer and executive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Press TV</span> Iranian state-owned English-language propaganda channel

Press TV is an Iranian state-owned news network that broadcasts in the English and French languages owned by Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the only organization legally able to transmit radio and TV broadcasts in Iran. The 24-hour channel, which has headquarters in Tehran, was launched on 2 July 2007 and was intended to compete with western English language services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamal Dajani</span>

Jamal Dajani is a Palestinian-American journalist and an award-winning producer. He is the co-founder of Arab Talk Radio. He formerly served as Director of Strategic Communications & Media for former Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah. Prior to this he was Vice President of Middle East and North Africa at Internews. He is currently a lecturer at San Francisco State University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ma'an News Agency</span> Palestinian wire service

Ma'an News Agency is a large wire service created in 2005 in the Palestinian territories. It is part of the Ma'an Network, a non-governmental organization media network created in 2002 in the Palestinian territories among independent journalists throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It has partnerships with eight local television stations and twelve local radio stations. Ma'an News Agency publishes news 24 hours a day in Arabic, Hebrew and English, and claims to be one of the largest wire services in the Palestinian territories, with over three million visits per month. Ma'an News Agency also publishes feature stories, analysis and opinion articles. The agency's headquarters are based in Bethlehem and it has an office in Gaza.

Bridges TV was a Muslim television network in the United States. It was originally headquartered in Buffalo, New York. Premiering nationally in November 15, 2004, it was the first American Muslim television network to broadcast in the English language. The channel ceased operations March 15, 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Channel 33 (Israel)</span> Former Israeli television channel

Channel 33 was an Israeli Arabic-language free-to-air television channel, operated by the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA), which was primarily designated for Arabic-speaking viewers.

Television in Lebanon arose as a private initiative and not a state-institution. Lebanon was the first country in the Middle East & the Arab world to have indigenous television broadcasting. Various Arab televisions emulated the Lebanese model.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al Jazeera Media Network</span> Qatari state-owned media conglomerate

Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN) (Arabic: الجزيرة Al-Jazīrah, lit.'The Peninsula') is a Qatari state-owned media conglomerate headquartered at Qatar Radio and Television Corporation Complex in Wadi Al Sail, Doha.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al Mayadeen</span> Lebanese satellite television channel

Al Mayadeen is a pan-Arabist satellite news television channel launched on 11 June 2012 in Beirut, Lebanon. Its programming is predominantly news. It has news reporters in most Arab countries. In the pan-Arab TV news market, it competes against Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya, and also against Sky News Arabia and BBC Arabic Television. At its founding in 2012, many of Al Mayadeen's senior staff were former correspondents and editors of Al Jazeera. Al Mayadeen is viewed as pro-Hezbollah and pro-Syrian government.

Television in Saudi Arabia was introduced in 1965, but is now dominated by just five major companies: Middle East Broadcasting Center, SM Enterprise TV, Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation, Rotana and Saudi TV. Together, they control 80% of the pan-Arab broadcasting market. Saudi Arabia is a major market for pan-Arab satellite and pay-TV. Saudi investors are behind the major networks MBC, which is based in Dubai, and Emirates based OSN. The Saudi government estimated that in 2000 the average Saudi spent 50% to 100% more time watching television than his or her European or US counterpart. On average, 2.7 hours are spent daily watching TV in Saudi Arabia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Middle East Broadcasting Networks</span> US Arabic-language media organization

The Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN) is a U.S.-government-funded American Arabic-language non-profit media organization broadcasting news and information across the Middle East and North Africa region.

NewTV is Newton, Massachusetts’ community media center, paid for by taxes on local cable bills.

Al Jazeera Arabic is a Qatari state-owned Arabic-language news television network. It is based in Doha and operated by the Al Jazeera Media Network, which also operates Al Jazeera English. It is the largest news network in the Middle East and North Africa region. It was founded in 1996 by the then Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. Noted for its journalistic professionalism, Al Jazeera gained popularity in the Arab World as an alternative to the previous landscape of largely local state owned broadcasters, with its early coverage being openly critical of autocratic leaders in the region, as well as hosting a wide range of viewpoints, gaining credibility through its extensive frontline coverage of the Second Intifada and the Iraq War. Al Jazeera Arabic is editorially independent from Al Jazeera English.

References

  1. 1 2 Stewart, Rhonda. "Middle East News Reports Are Not Welcomed by All, The Boston Globe , February 5, 2004. Accessed July 31, 2006.
  2. 64th Annual Peabody Awards, May 2005.
  3. Viser, Matt. Mideast Cable Show to Air 5 days, The Boston Globe , January 6, 2005. Accessed July 31, 2006.
  4. "Supporters disagree, saying that the broadcasts give Americans a diverse array of information about how the country is portrayed in the Middle East. They say although there is anti-Semitic and anti-American content, it’s an issue of free speech." Andrews, Sarah. Arab News Program Sparks Outcry Archived 2007-03-11 at the Wayback Machine , The Newton Tab, January 20, 2004. Accessed July 31, 2006
  5. Hollander, Ricky. "'Mosaic' Deceptions", Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America, April 17, 2004. Accessed August 3, 2005.