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Britain’s public diplomacy: BBC Arabic
The BBC is about to launch its new Foreign Office funded, 12-hour Arabic channel. This exchange between Asharq al-Awsat’s Faisal Abbas and the BBC’s Nigel Chapman sums up my feelings exactly. Reporting the status quo is not reporting. Q: You stated that you always strive to be impartial, but don’t you think that what many…
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A dot on the BBC map of the world
Enterprising young BBC journo Stuart Pinfold has produced a nice map showing how impressively broad is the BBC’s network of international coverage. Correspondents, reporters and stringers show up on the map as little dots and triangles. So what does it feel like to be a dot on the map: Funny that my name is on…
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How well informed are “official” sources?
The usefulness of diplomats has long been a mystery to me. Former British diplomat Carne Ross has an anecdote that should ring alarm bells with anyone who wants to know how valid “official” government sources really are: I will here admit one shameful episode from my own career: when I was posted to Kabul, I…
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Can you make kids media literate?
What exactly is media literacy? The British government takes it terribly seriously. At least it charges the UK broadcast regulator, Ofcom, with promoting it. And they chose to promote it with the BBC by putting on a news day – called School Report – for kids aged 12 to 13. You could retitle the exercise…