Former "Nightline" reporter Dave Marash has quit Al-Jazeera English, saying Thursday his exit was due in part to an anti-American bias at a network that is little seen in (the U.S.).
Marash said he felt that attitude more from British administrators than Arabs at the Qatar-based network.
Marash was the highest-profile American TV personality hired when the English language affiliate to Al-Jazeera was started two years ago in an attempt to compete with CNN and the BBC. He said there was a "reflexive adversarial editorial stance" against Americans at Al-Jazeera English.
"Given the global feelings about the Bush administration, it's not surprising," Marash said.
But he found it "became so stereotypical, so reflexive" that he got angry.
Marash, who's being replaced by former CNN International host Shihab Rattansi, said he was the last American-accented anchor at the network, which broadcasts from Washington, London, Kuala Lumpur and Doha, Qatar. He said there are more Canadians than Americans working at the Washington office.*
* Horrors! - BD :)
Will Stebbins, Washington bureau chief for Al-Jazeera English, denied any bias against Americans.
"We certainly evaluate U.S. policy rigorously," he said. "But we do our best to give everyone a fair shout."
Marash also apparently felt the channel was evolving away from a reflective approach to a more fast-paced one. He had also been told he would be used as a reporter in the future, not an anchor.
Here's an earlier post on AJE based on a Daily Show bit by Samantha Bee. Marash and Stebbins were in it, but unfortunately, we Canuckistanis are blocked from accessing the Daily Show's videos. The Comedy Network (a CTV property; I work for CTV.ca News) doesn't seem to have that archived clip.