A voice abroad

Alumnus Doug Drew helps launch Alhurra, a U.S. government television network covering news in the Middle East.

By Betsy Vereckey

Our First Amendment protects something many Americans take for granted -- their freedom of speech.

To change Middle Eastern public opinion, which has turned sharply against the United States, the U.S. government is using the tenets of the First Amendment for its 24-hour news channel, Alhurra. Doug Drew, BSC '78, a media consultant, was instrumental in the launch of the Arabic-language network. He was selected for the task because of his success and previous experience working with Middle Eastern journalists.

Drew is executive director of the news division for 602 Communications, a San Diego news and promotion training company that consults for companies including CNN, The Weather Channel and ABC in Los Angeles. Drew gained international experience when he helped re-launch and re-brand an Istanbul television network, TGRT, and worked with IHA, one of the largest news gathering agencies in the Middle East. He has more than 20 years' experience working as a reporter, anchor, news director and executive producer.

Drew's Alhurra "to-do" list was vast, and he had to work quickly. Alhurra means "The Free One" in Arabic. The government promotes Alhurra as reporting unbiased and objective news in an effort to improve the United States' image. It began broadcasting by satellite Feb. 14, 2004, from Springfield, Va., to 22 countries in the Middle East.

For most other networks, moving into a new facility and installing new equipment can take up to a year. Alhurra's broadcasting facility was put together in only four months. One of Drew's most important, time-consuming tasks was teaching the newsroom employees, who were hired from the Middle East, about American broadcasting standards and style as well as the basics of storytelling. To cover the news in the Middle East from its Washington, D.C.-area headquarters, the network sends correspondents to the Middle East and contracts with Associated Press Television and CBS.

Drew worked on Alhurra's launch for eight months to get the network up and running and spent several weeks every month in Washington, D.C. Once rehearsals started, he critiqued the shows and worked with the network's news management on the format of the programming.

Now that the network is up and running, the bulk of Drew's work is finished. He will continue to conduct training for reporters and producers as needed. 

One of the hardest parts of the job was being away from his wife, Theresa, and his 6-year-old son, Alexander, whom the couple adopted from Russia several years ago.

"My son," Drew says, "has really become the center of our lives."

Drew compares the U.S. government's role in Alhurra to Ohio University's relationship with WOUB. Although the University funds WOUB, the radio station runs independently and is allowed to determine editorial content, both positive and negative. Similar circumstances apply to Alhurra.

"Congress is funding the project, but they are not involved in the editorial process," Drew says.

Responding to critics and competitors who claim the reporting is not objective, Drew and News Director Mouafac Harb defend Alhurra and stand behind the network's claims of remaining free and unbiased.

The network's general manager and president say the responses they've received via e-mail and letters from Alhurra's audience have been overwhelming, especially considering how short a time the network has been on the air, Drew adds. 

"It's been very rewarding to read some of these e-mails and see how happy viewers are that the Middle East Television Network is available to them," he says.

Although there are many other television news channels in the Middle East, such as Al-Jazeera, Alhurra exposes Middle Eastern viewers to American thoughts and ideas, Drew says, and gives them a chance to see the news of the world presented in an unbiased format.

"To know that this channel might be helping shape the view people in the Middle East have toward the United States," Drew says, "is incredibly rewarding."

Betsy Vereckey, MS '04, is a former graduate student writer for Ohio Today Online.

Related links

National Public Radio's Feb. 7, 2004, coverage of Alhurra’s launch

A follow-up story from NPR's June 21, 2004, "Morning Edition" (scroll down to the headline "US-funded Arabic TV channel fights for credibility" to listen to the story)

602 Communications