The Rush To Join Al Jazeera: David Frost Joining Al Jazeera

By Rebecca Dana

Riz Khan, former host of the CNN talk show Q&A, shocked his friends when he told them that he was taking a job with the fledgling Washington bureau of the Arabic news network, Al Jazeera. Especially Colin Powell and George H. W. Bush.

“I think they were a bit surprised when they asked what I was doing next and I said, ‘I’m helping set up Al Jazeera International,’” he said. “I saw the expression on their faces, you know, were curious. I explained it was a fantastic opportunity to communicate with a part of the world we’ve lost touch with.”

He said he told them: “This is an opportunity to put senior U.S. officials in front of Arab viewers.” Then, he added, “Both of them seemed to have a much more positive attitude after that.”

Mr. Khan continued: “The administration seems to have turned around and realized that, actually, the prospect of an English-language channel broadcast internationally is an interesting one. People I meet from the State Department, from elsewhere, are far more keen to engage.”

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