Fawning Over Pattiz in the Wall St. Journal

The front page of today's Wall Street Journal features Norm Pattiz, bleached teeth smiling out at the reader in one of the Journal's trademark illustrations. And why shouldn't the possibly lame duck member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors be smiling? His picture accompanies a fawning piece by Neil King, Jr., which portrays him as a public spirited gazillionaire who wants to "give something back" after his lucrative career at the helm of Westwood One.

According to "Sparking Debate, Radio Czar Retools Government Media" (under the kicker "Popaganda"!) , he "has brought the razzmatazz of commercial media to the government's stodgy overseas broadcasts, including the storied Voice of America," King writes. "Though direct comparisons are tough, Sawa now has an audience many times larger than its VOA predecessor in most of the Middle East." On the TV side, Al Hurra "has done better than skeptics predicted."

Well, OK, both stations have attracted an audience, no question. Sawa is delivering a popular, formula-driven pop format that was bound win an audience larger than VOA's late, lamented Arabic service, which King characterizes as featuring "English-language lessons, dramatized Edgar Allan Poe stories and government editorials on the Middle East peace process, with a market share of about two percent of adults.

Two percent. Hardly worth going after if you're selling toothpaste. But like most of VOA's traditional, full-service broadcast audiences, that two percent included government officials, business people, academics, students — in other words, the opinion leaders of today and tomorrow. And what King fails to note in his dismissive description of VOA Arabic's content is NEWS! Sawa serves up a few minutes of headlines and abbreviated stories twice an hour, and there are numerous anecdotal reports of Sawa listeners, even ardent fans, tuning to other stations during the newscasts. VOA Arabic, in sharp contrast, included serious newscasts and lots of other informational programming. People tuned in for the news, not in spite of it.

And what, exactly, is wrong with English lessons?

Over on the TV side, al Hurra, while having won an audience, still trails al Jazeera and other competitors, both in audience share and, more importantly, in credibility. Its ambitious schedule includes much filler material, some of which is benign (nature documentaries), some of which is in dubious taste (scantily-clad models in fashion shows), and some of which is just plain bizarre (a documentary on the Loch Ness Monster). Like the runway outfits, the news is often skimpy. Time after time, while al Jazeera airs a news report or live event or a discussion program, al Hurra is broadcasting some retread, subtitled program obtained by Mr. Pattiz on the cheap. Oh, excuse me, at "patrotic prices."