Tony Burman, ex-Supremo of CBC News/All Media to Al_Jazeerah
Dan Say
in a sighting of a sandscape
blog with Burman's name on it.
However, he'll be at the Euro and NYC office often
NEWS BUSINESS
TheStar.com | entertainment | Ex-CBC editor joins Al Jazeera
Ex-CBC editor joins Al Jazeera
Tony Burman excited about working with Arab broadcaster
Toronto Star May 15, 2008 04:30 AM
Bruce DeMara
Entertainment Reporter
Retirement held little appeal for Tony Burman, so the former head of CBC News
has opted for the searing heat of Doha, Qatar, as head of Al Jazeera's
English-language news network.
"I left the CBC after a wonderful career ... so I certainly concluded it was
time to go. But I really never felt that it was the end of the line," Burman
said yesterday.
"I'm quite excited at this opportunity and I think it's the right opportunity
at the right time."
Burman, 59, spent 35 years at the public broadcaster, the last eight as editor
in chief of CBC News.
As a CBC executive producer, he covered the 1984-85 famine in Ethiopia and
other major stories in Africa and the Middle East.
"I've had considerable experience in the Middle East and I find this
environment and this culture wonderfully stimulating and fascinating, and the
opportunity to work with a whole range of nationalities, including some of the
world's finest Arab journalists, is something that is really quite exciting,"
said Burman.
With more than 60 bureaus worldwide and an estimated audience of 110 million
viewers, Al Jazeera's English language channel, which launched in November
2006, rivals broadcasters BBC World and CNN in global influence.
"In some parts of the world, we're No. 1," Burman said. "Outside of North
America, the Al Jazeera brand, so to speak, is incredibly influential and
respected."
Ironically, one of the few places in the world where Al Jazeera English is not
available is Canada and the U.S.
In Canada, the network received tentative regulatory approval, but cable
companies have not applied to carry its signal because of onerous monitoring
requirements aimed at preventing the spread of anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli
bias.
"That (lack of access) is something that we're all determined and hopeful will
change because I think Canadians, particularly Canadians, would respond
incredibly well to the richness and range of Al Jazeera's programming," Burman
said.
He's the latest on a growing list of Canadian journalists who've signed on to
the network, including filmmaker-journalist Avi Lewis, former ABC
correspondent Richard Gizbert and former Global correspondent Kimberly
Halkett.
That comes as no surprise to Burman.
"Without sounding like a typically self-righteous Canadian, we tend to view
things with a detachment that in journalism is a very valued asset. Canadians
are viewed in a very favourable way that I must say I find flattering.
"Canadians, for all of our flaws, don't have the political and historical
baggage that a lot of other countries have. We don't have, for example, the
political legacy of either the United States or Britain as it relates to the
Middle East. Both countries have been both the problem and the solution for
much of the Middle East," he added.
Working for Al Jazeera – the network that has famously broadcast videos from
Osama bin Laden, the world's most wanted terrorist – does come with a price,
said expat Patrick Raine, a senior news editor at the network's Washington
bureau.
"It's a bit of a hindrance professionally. A lot of people won't talk to us,"
Raine said, with two notable exceptions.
"We're well-watched and well-liked within the State Department and the
Pentagon."
Back in Doha, Burman said he's adjusting to the climate, where daylight
temperatures, in advance of the intense summer heat to come, hover around 40
degrees Celsius.
"Fifty degrees Celsius is not something that, as a Canadian, I'm used to. I
think I'll find myself hugging the air conditioner more than I ever have," he
said with a laugh.
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http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/425499