BBC Arabic
Encyclopedia
BBC Arabic may refer to the Arabic-language radio station run by the BBC World Service
, as well as the BBC’s Arabic-language satellite TV channel
, and the website that serves as an Arabic language news portal and provides online access to both the TV and radio broadcasts.
The radio service is broadcast from Broadcasting House
in London
as well as from a BBC Bureau in Cairo
.
set up the Palestine Broadcasting Service in Jerusalem, a medium wave radio broadcast. This was created as a way to broadcast British views to the Arab world. This was partly in response to the Italian Arabic-language radio broadcasts that were transmitted by medium wave from Bari
, and also in short wave from Rome, beginning in 1934. After the Second Italo-Abyssinian War
, these broadcasts became strongly anti-British.
In the years leading up to the 1938 establishment of the BBC Arabic-language service, there were plans by the British Foreign Office to set up radio broadcasts based in Cyprus
. Cyprus at the time was a Crown Colony
in the British Empire
, and seen as more stable than Palestine, a British Mandate
. Also during this time, the BBC was insistent that its established news standards not be compromised in the name of broadcasting Arabic-language British propaganda
.
In 1938, 16 years after the British Broadcasting Corporation was founded, the BBC began broadcasting in Arabic. BBC Arabic is considered one of the oldest and longest running foreign-language news services.
The first broadcasts in 1938 featured one news bulletin. Later, by 1940, a second news bulletin followed the morning reading of the Quran. In 1942 a third news bulletin was broadcast at “midday” at 1045 GMT, 1245 local time in the Levant. While the news bulletins were essentially translations of the BBC’s English-language Empire Service, BBC London was in direct contact with the Foreign Office’s diplomatic posts abroad as a source if local news. In 1943 the Arabic Service established a Cairo Office, enabling direct news gathering in the Middle East.
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
, as well as the BBC’s Arabic-language satellite TV channel
BBC Arabic Television
BBC Arabic Television is a news and information television channel broadcast to the Middle East by the BBC. It was launched at 0956 GMT on 11 March 2008. The service was announced in October 2005 and was to start broadcasting in Autumn 2007, but was delayed...
, and the website that serves as an Arabic language news portal and provides online access to both the TV and radio broadcasts.
The radio service is broadcast from Broadcasting House
Broadcasting House
Broadcasting House is the headquarters and registered office of the BBC in Portland Place and Langham Place, London.The building includes the BBC Radio Theatre from where music and speech programmes are recorded in front of a studio audience...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
as well as from a BBC Bureau in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
.
Origins
In 1936 the BBC helped the British Colonial OfficeColonial Office
Colonial Office is the government agency which serves to oversee and supervise their colony* Colonial Office - The British Government department* Office of Insular Affairs - the American government agency* Reichskolonialamt - the German Colonial Office...
set up the Palestine Broadcasting Service in Jerusalem, a medium wave radio broadcast. This was created as a way to broadcast British views to the Arab world. This was partly in response to the Italian Arabic-language radio broadcasts that were transmitted by medium wave from Bari
Bari
Bari is the capital city of the province of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, in Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples, and is well known as a port and university city, as well as the city of Saint Nicholas...
, and also in short wave from Rome, beginning in 1934. After the Second Italo-Abyssinian War
Second Italo-Abyssinian War
The Second Italo–Abyssinian War was a colonial war that started in October 1935 and ended in May 1936. The war was fought between the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy and the armed forces of the Ethiopian Empire...
, these broadcasts became strongly anti-British.
In the years leading up to the 1938 establishment of the BBC Arabic-language service, there were plans by the British Foreign Office to set up radio broadcasts based in Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
. Cyprus at the time was a Crown Colony
Crown colony
A Crown colony, also known in the 17th century as royal colony, was a type of colonial administration of the English and later British Empire....
in the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
, and seen as more stable than Palestine, a British Mandate
League of Nations mandate
A League of Nations mandate was a legal status for certain territories transferred from the control of one country to another following World War I, or the legal instruments that contained the internationally agreed-upon terms for administering the territory on behalf of the League...
. Also during this time, the BBC was insistent that its established news standards not be compromised in the name of broadcasting Arabic-language British propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
.
In 1938, 16 years after the British Broadcasting Corporation was founded, the BBC began broadcasting in Arabic. BBC Arabic is considered one of the oldest and longest running foreign-language news services.
Early Programing
The BBC Arabic service started in 1938 as 65 minute broadcasts. In 1940 the broadcasts had grown to 1 hour and 25 minutes, and close to two hours by 1942. By the end of World War II, the Arabic-language program was three hours.The first broadcasts in 1938 featured one news bulletin. Later, by 1940, a second news bulletin followed the morning reading of the Quran. In 1942 a third news bulletin was broadcast at “midday” at 1045 GMT, 1245 local time in the Levant. While the news bulletins were essentially translations of the BBC’s English-language Empire Service, BBC London was in direct contact with the Foreign Office’s diplomatic posts abroad as a source if local news. In 1943 the Arabic Service established a Cairo Office, enabling direct news gathering in the Middle East.
Head Arabic Service
- Gordon Waterfield (from 1959)
- James Thomson (from 1964)
- Charles McLellandCharles McLellandCharles McLelland 'Fuzz' was the controller of BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2 from 1976 to 1978, and the controller solely of BBC Radio 2 from 1978 to 1980, when the two stations' management teams were separated. Under McLelland, Radio 2 started broadcasting 24 hours a day...
(from 1971) - Hamilton Duckworth (from 1976)
- Eric Bowman (from 1981)
- James Norris (from 1986)
- Bon Jobbins (from 1988)
Programing
BBC Arabic broadcasts programs and hourly news bulletins 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.Radio Broadcasts
- Hadeeth as-Saa'a (Hourly Updates)
- Tahqeeq (Investigation)
- BBC Extra (Daily program)
Television programs
- Nuqtat Hewar (Talking Point)Talking Point (BBC Arabic)Talking Point is a TV and Radio phone-in programme broadcast on BBC Arabic Service. It was launched on March 26, 2003. The first edition of Nuqtat Hewar presented listeners' views on the war in Iraq....
- 'Alimna (Our World)
- 4 Tech (Technology Program)
- Sa'at Hisaab (Tunisia two months after the revolution)
- Saba'at Ayyam (Seven Days)
- Hasaad al-Yowm (Today's Harvest, news round-up)
- Al-Ahamm wa al-Muhimm (The Most Important and the Important)
- Barnamaj liqaa' (Interview Program)
Television
The BBC launched an Arabic-language satellite channel on March 11, 2008.Web
BBC Arabic radio and television both use the BBC Arabic website as an online news portal. The website facilitates online access to the other two broadcasts.Further reading
- Partner, Peter (1988) Arab Voices: The BBC Arabic Service 1938-1988. London: British Broadcasting Corporation.