Marash Exits Al Jazeera English
Cites Network’s Anti-American Bias As Factor In Departure
By Linda Moss -- Multichannel News, 3/28/2008 5:58:00 AM
Veteran broadcaster David Marash has left Al Jazeera English, over concerns about editorial control at the network and what he claimed was an anti-American bias, according to published reports Friday.
Marash, a former Nightline reporter, had worked as an anchor at the international news channel, which is a sister service to Arabic-language Al Jazeera. Both networks are owned by the emir of Qatar.
Marash had a two-year contract with Al Jazeera English, but expires this month, and is leaving, according to both the Associated Press and The New York Times.
Marash complained that the channel’s management in Qatar had been increasing setting the editorial direction of the English network, and that that an anti-American stance had seeped into its coverage. Al Jazeera officials denied the charges.
Al Jazeera English, which launched in November 2006, has struggled to get distribution in the United States, after some critics claimed it was a mouthpiece for terrorists – a charge the network vigorously denied.
The service did manage to secure carriage on Buckeye CableSystem in Toledo, Ohio, and Burlington Telecom in Vermont.
The Guardian in Great Britain this week reported that Al Jazeera English had seen financial cutbacks, and that more than 15 staff members had left in recent months.
