Syria Today | Celebrity and Infamy

News anchors here and abroad are subject to both verbal attacks and viewer adulation.

By Zeina al-Azem
Caricature Ala Rustom

Before the current crisis, Syrian anchors working for well-known channels like Al-Jazeera, BBC, Al-Arabiya and France24 were a source of pride for regular citizens, since their celebrity proved that Syria could produce highly qualified professionals. In contrast, local anchors used to struggle to acquire a similar popular base.

Now, Syrian anchors are facing new audience with new criteria for making judgments which are no longer only about their professionalism, but also about their characters and personal beliefs.

Patriotism or professionalism?
As the crisis erupted in mid-March, before foreign media were publically condemned for fabricating news, Syrian viewers flipped back and forth between channels to hear any news about their county. But as unrest escalated, patriotism became the new criterion by which Syrian anchors were judged, based on the perceived political orientation of the channels they worked for. Syrian anchors abroad received the most criticism for continuing to work for channels perceived as hostile to their homeland. Some postings on Facebook called on them to resign, while others implied a more extreme view by demanding the withdrawal of their Syrian nationality.

"They are traitors as they are taking part in the media mobilisation against their country. I recognise that they are professionals; however, they should have quit their jobs and shown a more patriotic stance when deliberately misleading reports about Syria became obvious [in foreign media]," Darin al-Rahwan, a worker at a private, pro-government online magazine told Syria Today. Her friends Rou'a Hamdan and Sonia Yonan totally agreed. "Those anchors did not justify their stance nor convince us why they stayed in conspiratorial media institutions targeting Syria," Hamdan continued.

However, Fadi al-Alloush, a reporter at private online magazine Syria Steps, disagreed completely. "Presenters are not responsible for their channels' policies. [The decision] to quit or not quit goes back to personal convictions, but it does not make anchors abroad less patriotic than local ones. Professionalism will be always the essential standard."

Rita Malouf, Syrian anchor at France24, also strongly criticised on her Facebook page how people are now "designing patriotism certificates for others!"

Malouf is not alone in condemning how the word patriotism is being misused during the crisis. Her voice resonates with some viewers' comments. "Unfortunately, citizens, including anchors, are being classified as loyalists or traitors according to how much they support the regime," said Tarek Azzouz, a business continuity consultant at a private firm. "I respect all Syrian anchors working abroad, especially those who faced threats and external pressure to quit," he added.

Indeed, the sensitivity of this issue made four Syrian anchors working abroad unwilling to speak about it to Syria Today. But evidence suggests that such threats are fairly commonplace.

Roula Ibrahim, a Syrian news presenter at Al-Jazeera with family in Syria, "was harassed by regime loyalists who urged her family to disown her," according to her statements to MBC.net on May 26. However, Ibrahim affirmed that she would continue her work at Al-Jazeera "in spite of all threatening messages she is receiving on Facebook."

On July 10, Al-Jazeera issued a statement denouncing the "threatening campaign against its anchors because the channel was singled out for its coverage of Arab revolutions." The statement added "threats undermined the anchors' and their families' safety." An official source at Al-Jazeera told UK-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi that the bulk of the threats come from Syria.

New stars
While Syrian anchors abroad found themselves suddenly obliged to pass a "loyalty to the homeland" test, local ones, particularly those working for the private pro-regime Addounia channel, acquired unprecedented popularity for working hard to "reveal the foreign media fabrications".

Presenters at Addounia, the only private TV channel working inside Syria, have shone during the unrest. People in the street stop them to chat or take photos with them. On her way to meet us, Salam Ishaq, an anchor at Addounia, was stopped by an aged man who said, "may God give you the strength to defend our homeland!"

"Of course I feel pleased when people praise my work," Ishaq commented. "However, since the crisis started, fame has not been our concern. We at Addounia all worked with self-sacrifice to confront the fierce media and psychological war against Syria."

Nevertheless, the number of fans who "liked" Addounia's official Facebook page has increased dramatically to exceed one hundred thousand since the unrest began. Ishaq explained that the new popularity of its anchors is because Addounia "enjoys a wider margin of freedom [than state-run channels]," and "its bolder approach brought the viewers closer."

At the same time, Ishaq rejects the label "pro-regime", arguing that her channel is rather "pro-homeland". Johnny Abo, an independent Syrian journalist, strongly disagreed. "Addounia defends the Syrian regime rather than the homeland! It is not an independent channel, but rather a semi-official one." Furthermore, he argued, "patriotism is not determined by belonging to a certain party or being affiliated with the authorities."

A media studies graduate from Damascus University, who requested anonymity, also does not share other viewers' positive perception about local anchors: "I did not notice any new stardom phenomena! Instead I dislike how anchors at Addounia fiercely condemn Arab media while they are doing terrible in covering events on the ground."

Perhaps because of these conflicting views, local anchors were not saved from intimidation either. "Our reporter in Dera'a was threatened…and our website was hacked more than once with a direct threat message sent to us," Imad Sarah, former news director at Addounia, told Lebanese daily As-Safir on April 27.

Seeking relief
Local anchors also provide a source of relief for viewers eager to hear any confirmation that "Syria is fine!"

"We stopped watching Al-Jazeera at home. We turn on local channels to hear news that comforts us; otherwise, I would not leave my home," Yonan said. Her friend Rahwan added, "even if they are lying, we, the Syrian people, want to believe these lies. Addounia anchors shone because they are saying what the people want to say and hear."

Ahmad al-Asfar, a Syrian sociologist, explained that "as Syria is passing through critical circumstances, it is normal for people loyal to their country to resort to patriotic stations and yearn for news that reassures the heart and calms the soul."

Abo disagreed, arguing that "local anchors met the emotional needs of some audiences only, while completely disregarding other viewers' needs."

In spite of all the criticism levelled at "misleading" foreign channels, they still attract many Syrian viewers who do not believe the local media is credible. "We need to know the full view, not to listen to anchors speaking only on behalf of regime supporters," Azzouz said.