What took us so long?
A new Israeli 24-hour TV news station, i24news, is going live soon.
Spread the word.
There was a time when Israeli radio had a following far beyond its borders, in countries that were hostile to Israel. Throughout its range Arab, Iranians, Russians, whatever, knew that if you wanted to be properly informed about the Middle East and what was happening in their own countries listening to their local media was a waste of time. As a Russian soldier (i.e. oleh from the former Soviet Union doing his compulsory service in the IDF) once told me, “We knew that everything the government told us was a lie. So the stronger they opposed something the more we supported it”.
And then it stopped. Even worse,the Arabs began to get their information from Al Jazeera, which, except when reporting on Qatar, gained a good reputation for accuracy. It was hostile to Israel, of course, and gave publicity to Arab charges, but as an Israeli advocate once told me, “They quote accurately and in full and don’t play games to make what you say seem like you said something else”. I wish I could say as much of some Western media outlets.
It’s not simply that Israel will have an Al Jazeera or (heaven forbid) PressTV equivalent. The organizers say that they have not taken one shekel from Israel and never intended to be a propaganda machine. They will, hopefully, be an Israeli voice when one is missing now.
Perhaps, just as importantly, they will be a source of visual material. Even those media who want to be fair, find a dull Israeli apparatchik saying essentially, No comment too boring to broadcast. Moving pictures are another kettle of fish worth a thousand words that no one reads. 🙂
INFORMATION HAS A NEW NAME
i24news, the brand new channel is coming soon. Politics, international affairs, culture, sports and much more.
Stay tuned to be part of this big adventure.
I24news will broadcast around the clock in English and French – and five hours each day in Arabic. 39, a Swiss-born former French diplomat who was instrumental in launching and running France’s 24 hour news station – France24, was brought in several months ago to build up and run the endeavor. This coming year, Melloul, said, it will be possible to watch i24news via satellite in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia – with plans to launch it in the United States in 2014.
I24news will operate on a 24/7 basis and will present items on politics, international affairs, culture, sport and other subjects. Hopefully other languages soon. The plan is for news bulletins every 30 minutes with 70 percent focused on international news, and 30 percent on regional and Israel news.
Stay tuned
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/i24NEWS
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/i24news
Extra credit
- The beginnings of an Israeli Al Jazeera, Greer Faye Cashman, Jerusalem Post, 10 April 2013
- Move over Al Jazeera, Israel’s own 24-hour TV news station is about to go live, Danna Harman, Haaretz,26 June 2013
- Multilingual Israeli 24-hour news TV to launch July 1, France 24, 21 June 2013
Just one question. Will it be i24news or i24News or i24NEWS? Whatever, good luck to it and welcome!
