The SA Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is considering the possibility of dropping its CNN broadcasts in favour of Quatar-based Al-Jazeera, Persian Gulf news network.
The Star reports today that SABC spokesperson Ihron Rensburg said the key objective was to provide a range of perspectives and news events. However, no decision had been made.
Reuters reports from New York that Al-Jazeera may only launch an English language channel in 2004, and it hopes to offer English voice-overs by the middle of next year.
In the meantime it will reach out to the west starting in February with an English-language Web site.
"It will be original news in English tailored to a western audience," Joanne Tucker, managing editor of al-Jazeera's English-language Web site, said on Friday.
Al-Jazeera began broadcasting in 1996, bringing scrutiny to governments in the Middle East where many of the region's news outlets are under some form of official control.
It started an Arabic Web site, www.aljazeera.net, in January 2001 that offers news, analysis, video clips and programming from the channel. About 39% of the Arabic site's visitors come from North America and Europe, according to the Web site.
The English site is set to be the first leg in the network's English-language plans that ultimately could include an English-language television channel, Tucker said.
Al-Jazeera is already offering English subtitles on two talk shows about religion and politics. The channel is seen in the US by about 135 000 subscribers via the DISH satellite network.
Plans for an English-language service were in place even before the September 11 terrorist attacks on the US, Tucker said.
"It just took a while to materialise and to become concrete, and we basically want to reach the global audience we know from feedback that exists and that seems to be thirsty and demanding an insider, independent perspective on this part of the world."
Tucker said Al-Jazeera hoped to offer English voice-overs of Arabic news bulletins on the TV channel by the middle of next year and launch an English-language channel by the end of the year or early 2004.
"We do realise this isn't necessarily a short-term or medium-term money-making operation. It's much more about reaching a huge niche audience we have decided and realised needs to be reached."
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