<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>Al-Jazeera tones down 'violent' images </TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
<FONT COLOR="#333366"><FONT SIZE="4"><FONT FACE="Geneva"><U>http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,7493,1206276,00.html<BR>
<BR>
</U></FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT SIZE="4"><FONT FACE="Geneva"><BR>
<BR>
8am <BR>
------------------------------------------------------------------------<BR>
</FONT></FONT><FONT SIZE="6"><FONT FACE="Arial"><B>Al-Jazeera tones down 'violent' images</B></FONT></FONT><FONT SIZE="4"><FONT FACE="Geneva"> <BR>
<BR>
</FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Geneva"><H3>Claire Cozens<BR>
</H3><FONT SIZE="4"><B>Friday April 30, 2004</B> <BR>
</FONT><FONT SIZE="2"><BR>
</FONT><FONT SIZE="4">Staff at al-Jazeera have been ordered to tone down "excessive violence" in their coverage of Iraq, sparking fears that the Arab satellite channel's senior editors are softening in their determination to resist pressure from the US government.<BR>
<BR>
Al-Jazeera's unflinching approach to covering the violence in the Middle East has put it at loggerheads with the Bush administration, and this week the US secretary of state, Colin Powell, made an official complaint to the Qatar government about the channel. <BR>
<BR>
Mr Powell protested that what he claimed was the channel's anti-American bias was "clouding" relations between the two countries.<BR>
<BR>
The channel, which is based in the Qatari capital, Doha, has always refused to bow to such pressure - despite being funded by the autocratic Emir of Qatar, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, a staunch ally of America. The strategy has earned al-Jazeera a huge following throughout the Arab world.<BR>
<BR>
But now it has emerged that earlier this month staff received a memo informing them that editor-in-chief Ahmed Sheikh had been "upset" by the recent "extreme violence" on the station.<BR>
<BR>
"It is clear that scenes of extreme violence are filling our news bulletins. Many people are upset, not least Mr Ahmed Sheikh, the editor-in-chief," read the memo, dated April 11.<BR>
<BR>
"Violence that is true to life is regarded as desensitising viewers, although some might argue that its use may serve a moral or a social point. Therefore, consideration should be given to the suitability of scenes of violence in the news."<BR>
<BR>
The memo went on to say that shots containing "excessive" violence should be avoided altogether, and that editors should aim to strike a balance "between the demands of truth and the danger of desensitising people".<BR>
<BR>
There is nothing unusual in a desire to protect viewers from some of the worst atrocities in Iraq - the BBC World Affairs editor, John Simpson, recently admitted issues of taste and decency had severely restricted the channel's ability to show images of the crisis in Falluja.<BR>
<BR>
But al-Jazeera is famous for its no holds barred approach, and the latest edict comes at a sensitive time for the broadcaster.<BR>
<BR>
The dangers of working in Iraq, particularly for western reporters, mean that many of the world's broadcasters are relying on footage from al-Jazeera to cover the unfolding events, so a story that might have once been limited to the channel is now beamed around the world.<BR>
<BR>
The US government is said to have been angered by the BBC's decision to broadcast video footage, first shown on al-Jazeera, of the captured US soldier Keith Maupin, saying he had gone to Iraq unwillingly.<BR>
<BR>
But the channel was praised by the White House for not broadcasting the shooting of kidnapped Italian kidnapped Italian security guard Fabrizio Quattrocchi, after deciding the footage was too shocking. Many at the station believed the film should have been shown.<BR>
<BR>
Another bone of contention was the decision to pull two cartoons running on the al-Jazeera website.<BR>
<BR>
One showed the towers of the World Trade Center imploding to morph into two giant petrol pumps, while another depicted hordes of Hispanic soldiers in US military uniform.<BR>
<BR>
This was a reference to a story claiming the US authorities had used the promise of a green card to persuade non-citizens to sign up for the military.<BR>
<BR>
Staff at the Arabic channel say the cartoons were pulled following complaints from the White House, and some were angered by what they regard as capitulation to pressure from the US.<BR>
<BR>
"Journalists at the coal face are risking their lives to bring dramatic footage, but they are facing just as much flak from Qatar," one source told MediaGuardian.co.uk.<BR>
<BR>
David Miller, the editor of Tell Me Lies: Propaganda and Media Distortion in the Attack on Iraq, said the US military and government had made it plain that they saw al-Jazeera as part of the problem in Iraq.<BR>
<BR>
"Colin Powell's visit to Doha and the pressure being put on the Qatari government is one part of a pincer movement. The other is visible in Falluja, where the US required the single journalist inside the city [from al-Jazeera] to leave as part of its ceasefire terms," he said.<BR>
<BR>
"It is plain that the disquiet inside al-Jazeera relates in part to the pressure from management to tone down coverage seen as anti-American. The fact that this memo was leaked indicates the huge pressure under which al Jazeera is operating and is a symptom of the attempts by the US to destroy independent reporting on Iraq."<BR>
<BR>
No one at al-Jazeera was available for comment.<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<B>·</B> To contact the MediaGuardian newsdesk email <FONT COLOR="#333366"><U>editor@mediaguardian.co.uk</U></FONT> or phone 020 7239 9857<B><BR>
</B></FONT></FONT>
</BODY>
</HTML>