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Questions for David Frost
Bye-Bye, BBC
Q As one of the most respected television journalists in Great Britain, why have you decided to take a job as an interviewer for an enterprise as freighted with controversy as Al Jazeera International, the new 24-hour English-language, Arab-owned news station that is scheduled to begin broadcasting in May?
Al Jazeera International is completely separate from Al Jazeera Arabic.
Aren't they both owned by the emir of Qatar, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani?
The ownership is the same. Absolutely. He's very liberal. He has friends in the American administration who no doubt try to persuade him to tone down Al Jazeera Arabic. But I think when viewers watch Al Jazeera International, they will be closer to watching CNN.
Not really. Its founder has specifically stated that it will differ from CNN or the BBC by offering an Arab perspective on world events. Which may explain why when Ted Koppel was recently offered a job in the Washington bureau of Al Jazeera International, he said he thought about it for about 38 seconds before turning the offer down.
We in the West have been broadcasting our views to the non-Western parts of the world for many years. It is only fair that these non-Western areas should have the chance to return the compliment.
But how do you know that Al Jazeera is not a propaganda outlet for Osama bin Laden and his hacks? It's certainly their preferred station for dropping off their audiotapes and videotapes.
Obviously, when I was approached, the main question which I asked here in London was whether the station had any links with Al Qaeda. I asked people in government. They came out with a clean bill of health. By the way, the thing about the beheadings is not true. They never showed beheadings.
They have certainly shown prisoners in the moments before beheadings. And their coverage of America has been generally harsh. Do you think it is justified?
I don't know because I don't speak Arabic. So one has a limited knowledge of exactly what they are saying.
Have you ever heard of a translator?
Well, it's just that it always amuses me because people talk about Al Jazeera as if they have been regular viewers. They haven't.
What if someone comes to you and suggests taking you on a very long ride to meet with Osama bin Laden. Would you interview him? I've been thinking about that for some time.
I would be tempted to say no. One's duty as a citizen should be to make a citizen's arrest of Osama. It would probably be impossible to do. You might be able to get in, but you probably would never get out.
Will you be lining up interviews with the leaders of Hamas? What do you make of their election victory?
On the surface, this looks like a blow to any hope of an ongoing dialogue in the Middle East. On the other hand, if you are trying to be optimistic, you can say that people with an extreme position can sometimes make more concessions than people from nonextreme positions.
What are you saying?
Well, Richard Nixon could go to China in a way that would have been difficult at that time for a Democratic president, who would have been seen as a Communist tool. So maybe Hamas could surprise everyone. But it is unlikely.
Is there anything you regret not asking Nixon in your famous interview with him in 1977, the first in-depth interview following his resignation?
We did the 12 days of interviews. After it was all over we realized we had actually forgotten one question, which was: "Who was Deep Throat?"
What would Nixon think of you taking a job with Al Jazeera?
He would certainly understand why I find it challenging because of his belief in the power of television. I remember during the interviews with him, President Carter was going on television one night with his address from the Oval Office. And Nixon said: "That's right. That's right. That's what matters. It's the tube." Deborah Solomon
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