News channels are more about influence than money according to The Economist. I look forward to its next issue on religious affiliation at the Apostolic Palace and the sylvan defecatory habits of bears.

Whilst The Economist, like the rest of us, eagerly anticipates the November 15th launch of AJI, if only because television was invented quicker than it’s taken to launch, next month sees a far more political news event. The launch of a channel by one of Britain’s ancient geo-political rivals, which aims at putting the French point of view before a world dominated by Anglo-Saxon news values. But it tells you everything about the Anglophone media arena that this Quai d’Orsai of the air has generated rather less excitement than the doings in Doha.

The English language version of France 24 promises to be very different from Al Jazeera International in news agenda, cultural references, reporting style, analysis, and people. The only similarity is that it too is a little late getting to air, having originally been slotted for January 1st 2006. It’s funded to the tune of €80 million a year (US$102 million/UK£53 million) which is more than Sky News costs, but much less than CNN. Still, it’s a sum that should buy a few bottles of champagne for the launch party.

Now, there’ll be no excuse for ‘Year in Provencers’ not to get some idea of the geo-political leanings of their country of retirement. But that’s not the point. France 24 is broadcast in French to influence everyone from Beirut to Marrakech, but it airs in English to fight for France on the information front from Karachi to Kuala Lumpur. Next year the struggle moves on to Arabic, and then it ventures toward the Spanish-speaking world.

If The Economist really wants to do something useful, it could try putting together an index to measure channels’ influence. Then, in the absence of profit, British and French taxpayers – and the hyper-rich – might have a better idea of whether they are changing the world, or just buying more lunch.