7iber: Jordan’s ATV: The Untelevised Revolution
Jum3a
· 2 years ago
this is not a truthful interview, but I understand that Mr. Muhannad Khatib has to protect his CV and standing so he turns the ATV flop into some sort of mysterious government campaign against innovation and progress.
The most credible stories to date range from lack of quality programming which disappointed the investors or potential investors, lack of readiness, which was evident by the constant slippage in deadlines long before the AVC was blamed, the last story was poor management. It's not to Mr. Khatib's advantage to accept any responsibility at a time when talks of restructuring are being heard again and again.
He will be job-hunting soon, so he is trying to position himself as a martyr of some sort of an official plot. Actually, many observers say the AVC saved Mr. Olayyan and Mr. Khatib for a colossal failure which would have been broadcast to millions of viewers. if ATV get ready by Ramadan, the show will go on, if it does not, they will most likely sell it off or change management.
Expect many possible lawsuit or out of court settlements.
Like the Hamzeh Hospital debacle, ATV is being managed by newbies whose only claim to their positions is their political and personal allegiances and loyalties. ATV is a victim of the intractable Jordanian culture of patronage.
Mr. Khatib is not a manager, he was a TV show host on AlArabiya TV. before, he was a field reporter to ART TV in the US. Many of the top managers of ATV are also inexperienced but collect outrageously high salaries and only higher friends and relatives.
Whether the investors are willing to pay more and more to salvage ATV will be seen before Ramadan.
when more and more ATV employees depart, we will know more of the real story.
It just doesn't fit... If you had a multi million dollar project in MEDIA would you ever think about investing in Jordan after this!?
Samson
· 2 years ago
Did we forget Nourmina TV, True TV, 7 Stars TV, Mamnou3 TV, etc. All of these are/were private sector satellite TV channels launched in Jordan with the promise of changing the landscape of Jordanian TV. Where are they?
for some strange reason Jordanian talent shines outside of the Jordan incubator. There is something horribly wrong. Jordan is not a nurturing environment for creativity and excellence. It's a destructive environment.
it all goes back to corruption and the entrenched system of political/tribal patronage and the state's excessive paranoia and fear of losing control, all of these forces suck the life out of anything good in Jordan.
we lost the IT race, then the media race, then the health care race, then the higher education race, and even with Petra being declared a wonder of the world we failed to capitalize on that to boos tourism.
There is something fundamentally wrong with a country that has world class citizenry but 3rd rate government.
Jeries
· 2 years ago
jum3a, i'm sure there are many stories out there and soon people will know what happened, but one should not give an opinion based on bs. what do you mean by "lack of quality programming" do you know what programs they have? and how good/bad they are? how many hours of fotage do you think they have? are they technically good? i'm sure you dont. how did you decide which stories are more credible?
salameh
· 2 years ago
Jeries, is this a joke. you must be an employee of ATV. they seem to have hired anyone who speaks or writes english.
here is a tip for you. learn to respect people's opinions. you people will never evolve. you speak of freedoms of speech but you go on the rampage when you disagree with something and you start inventing new rules of the game that I have never ever heard in my life in any of the free countries. the only opinion you want to heat is your opinion.
as for ATV, if they had anything worth watching, we would have seen it on Ikbis. but all what we see is promo that's the best of ATV.
So stop trying to shove ATV down our throats and shove it down yours. I could care less if ATV never airs. THIS IS ANNOYING!
we have serious causes and problems to deal with in Jordan than your silly we-are-better-than-jrtv channel.
some people fight the poor, some for the illiterate, some for democracy, and here you are waging your stupid campaign for WHAT...a friggin 3rd-rate channel whose only claim to fame is that it will be better than JRTV. WHOOPEE!!!
Naseem Tarawnah
· 2 years ago
I'd just like to interject a moment with regards to the comments. I don't really understand the incessant need for people to accuse others of "working for" a specific side simply because they agree with one side or disagree with the other.
If people side with ATV it doesn't mean they work for them or are 'propaganda agents', and the same is true for those who are taking the side of the government.
There are 4 shows, that so far got thousands of views from people.
Soon there will be more shows online.
Just wanted you to know..
Farah
· 2 years ago
i don't know what the hoopla is all about. the shows on ikbis are ok, but i can's say atv will be a trend-setter. yes, it's better than jordan tv, but that's about it and thats' not something to brag about. i will add my voice to others in saying that i do not care one way or the other. so long as atv cannot up MBC or Dubai or Algazeera or Alarabia, it's just a local tv channel. and that's fine with me. but if al-ghad newspaper is any proof, atv will be another voice of the government. i am not looking forward to another propaganda channel that insists on calling itself independent. enough insults to our intelligence. so all this atv stuff is much ado about nothing. i will remind the readers of al-ghad newspaper ads and the suspense they have created, only to discover al-ghad is a dud. i am not getting my hopes to high with atv. it will be a pretty channel no doubt, because pretty is all what we are good at. look at the plethora of laminated magazines with low-substance and high graphics, not one of them deals with jordans' killer issues and we all know what they are. if any, many of these all-fluff-and-no-stuff magazines are nothing but distractions from the core issues we all know. they all have one claim to fame, sort of like atv, they are better than the other local magazines, if not in content, at least in the sexy graphics. what many educated jordanians are looking for is a back-to-basics journalism, tv or print media. sort of like Der Spiegel or Economist or BBC but when i heard atv will have a special show for Ayman Safadi, i knew immediately it will be a worthless channel. ayman is known for his attacks on Jordanian opposition, civil society, arab resistance. he is the voice of jordanian neo-liberalism. there is no balancing program on atv. even Fox news tries to play the balance game with its collection of shows. this says plenty about atv's mission and the built-in defects. for atv to launch or not to launch, that's immaterial to me and others who don't like what al-Ghad, Al-Safadi, and Olayaan stand for...pure neo-liberal opportunism.
ArabianMonkey
· 2 years ago
we need not one ATV, we need many stations. Broadcasters with content that represents us in all our factions and diversity. One ATV is not going to be an enough answer, let alone an already crippled, censored hopeful!
Rabeh
· 2 years ago
ArabianMonky, there is no censorship of ATV. Like Al-Ghad newspaper, it's also run by the same clique, who are insiders and part and parcel of the establishment. they attack its opponents and they defend and promote its supporters. al-ghad newspaper and its reporters are not considered free speech stalwarts, neither will ATV. why do you think it was permitted to operate in the first place. eventually, and like Al-Arabya, which came to weaken Al-Jazeera and later we found out it's a Bin Saud project, we may discover more interesting things about ATV. If there is any truth to some of the reports about funding sources of ATV, at best it will be the voice of the establishment, after JRTV failed to be that voice for being to darn incompetent. In a best case scenario, ATV will imply marginalize everyone not with the establishment. At worst, i will be a hound dog for the establishment, Al-Ghad style. ATV's birth will not be celebrated as the birth of quality journalism in jordan or for strengthening free speech in Jordan. It will be JRTV II.
Batir
· 2 years ago
I had my eybrowses raised until they went out of my face! what the hell are Salameh and Jum3a. Have you guys been mobilized by JRTV and Faisal Shboul? The delay of ATV broadcasting is the biggest scandal in the history of Jordanian media, and believe me there are many cases to choose from. There is absolutely no justified reason for the position taken by AVC chaired by Shboul. They first asked for paperwork, then claimed the agreement does not cover the satellite transmission, then wanted to use the JRTV frequency for ATV (!) then they wanted ATV to use the Jordan Production Station facilities (next to JRTV) and the list of inexcusabel execuse goes by. I am really devastated by the lackluster reaction from the media "professionals" in Jordan. The so-called competition with Al Ghad newspaper and station have stopped many Jordanian writers from pushing for press freedom. I have written twice in Addustour but some of the outspoken writers have failed (Nahid Hattar, Fahed Khaitan, etc..). Of course I do not work for Al Ghad but for Addustour which I am loyal to and will remain to be and I am loyal also to press freedom and I am ashamed and disgusted with the position of AVC, Faisal Shboul and the so-called journalist union in Jordan. A bunch of losers.
Sultan
· 2 years ago
let's see, what do we chose?
A governmental TV channel called JRTV or a governmental TV channel called ATV.
Hmmmmmmmmmmm! Could this be the reason media professionals in Jordan don't give a flying cow about either Shboul's TV or Olayyan's TV?
Sultan
· 2 years ago
please stop peddling your nonsense. you are an establishment neo-liberal writer. ATV is an establishment neo-liberal TV. It's natural for you to defend them.
Nahid Hattar is the voice of the jordanian left. If there was any truth to your bogus claims about ATV, Nahid Hattar would have been the first to take up the ATV cause. his silnce speaks volumens to the dubious nature of the while ATV vs. JRTV vs. Audiovisual commission.
ArabianMonkey
· 2 years ago
This fiasco is scandalous and has set back the potential of the media scene in Jordan decades. From where I see it, this station should be on air, we should decide for ourselves if we want to watch/care or not. And many other stations should be encouraged to come out. The current situation is nothing but an absolute pathetic joke. And given the decades behind us lead by loser journalism in this country, we continue to be so short sighted that we are finally blind! It's a sad and depressing time for our pledge towards freedom of thought and expression and a more progressive outlook at open media! it's just bad however I look at it!
Batir
· 2 years ago
Sultan I hope you can watch a selection of the ATV programmes on Ikbis before you decide. AS for the leftist-neoliberal mythology, you should know that ATV has produced the first ever Jordanian historic drama based on the writings of Ghaleb Halassa the real symbol of Jordanian left and it was prohibited from publishing due to the stupid refusal from AVC. As for the other myth that Nahid Hattar represents the Jordanian left, I just want to remind you that he was busy last week with delivering a letter of support to the Syrian ambassador in Amman without even mentioning the Jordanian prisoners in Syria. He was also writing in Ammon to explain why Syria did not respond to Israeli air attacks. If Nahid is the voice of the Jordanian left, I am proud to be a neo-liberal, which I am not if you care.
fard
· 2 years ago
ArabMonky, this ATV, AVC, JRTV is the battle of the vultures. this is not some good vs. evil struggle.
fard
· 2 years ago
"Nahid was busy last week with delivering a letter of support to the Syrian ambassador"
OH YEAH!!! Defamation of character!!! slamming the opposition. first the IAF, now a the most respected voice of the Jordanian left. HOW LOW CAN YOU GO BATIR. You have no friends in the center, or the left, or the right. so where do you fit? with the regime, hence your defense of ATV.
But thank you for proving to those readers who may have not known you well. Here is Batir Wardim slandering the man who was in a coma after a brutal attack from "anonymous" thugs. Nice division of labor Batir. Some of you commit the physical violence, while others commit intellectual violence.
BTW, your black mail tactics would have worked had you were not an opportunist. But if you are not, let me here you condemn all cooperation between Jordanians regime and killers of arabs, including killers of jordanains. let's here you tell regime symbols what you think about security cooperation with colonialist zionists and genocidal imperialists Americans. and what do you think of the patriotism of those who do business with them TIME FOR ENDING YOUR DOUBLE STANDARDS BATIR. ELSE YOU ARE A HIRED GUN
ArabianMonkey
· 2 years ago
Well, it looks like the situation is even more grim than all these views. Rumor has it that the ATV take over has been done by Jordanian GID. So much for private media if that unfolds as true! And if it is true, and you are an emplouyee at ATV, which is financed by GID, and when asked who do you work for? What does one answer? Jordan's newest broadcast media company whose payroll is signed by GID. hmmmmm.. something to ponder - very disturbing!
ArabianMonkey
· 2 years ago
fard, and in the battle of the vultures the losers and the people. so we too are criminal if we want to sit back and watch. This is a real deal terrifying situation that is happening in our real life and not an TV screen. We will be hurting and regreting this for a very long time.
Batir
· 2 years ago
Fard, I am in no position to discuss my political affiliation with a ghost behind the machine. I consider my self a democrat and that is why exactly I feel ashamed of a Jordanian going to support the Syrian regime which has violated the freedoms of more than 200 Jordanains. As for the "most respected voice of the Jordanian left" go outside your circle to see how respected he is. He once wrote an article in the Arab Al yawm saying that the Adnan Badran government was a "collection of refugees, migrants and women", how leftist that is?
Batir
· 2 years ago
Dear 7iber Admin, plz remove my last comment and this one. I do not want to be engaged in a personal dialogue with someone with no identity. I have to draw a line. Thanks
Someone
· 2 years ago
You are so cheesy.
of course I don't have an identity.
You see, my posts can get me in real trouble. or i may suffer an "accident" like Nahid Hattar or that IAF guy who got kidnapped and beaten into a pulp.
you are an opportunists. When was the last time an opportunist got jailed, tortured, or killed in Jordan? At worst you will get lots of free trips to speak on our behalf in conferences. At best, you will get some really nice "NGO" with US funding or a cozy government position where you can pontificate and keep on attacking political and intellectual oppositions.
Someone
· 2 years ago
ArabMonkey "we too are criminal if we want to sit back and watch."
I promise you that in the next free and fair jordanian election (200 years from now) i will vote for a presidential candidates that will do the right thing for jordan and jordanians. Until then, all you and I can do is watch our tax money being squandered on misadventures and failed experiments, all the while the poor gets poorer and the corrupt gets away with anything.
Batir
· 2 years ago
Ok, I wanted to remove my comments but I am asking for their persistance now. Look, I am really fed up with this. You can call me anything you want but definitly not "opportunist". I did not travel to any conference to talk on behalf of you, but your Friend Nahid did through funding from the US embassy to "engage in cultural dialogue" after 911. I received nothing from my articles excpet my 300 JD from Addustour. I have never worked with an NGO with US funding although I got an opportunity with a 2500 JDs salary. I have never set a foot in the US embassy and refused two invitations from them. So do not you dare ever call me an apportunist. You can differ with me but you have no right to insult my credibility. Any BTW no opponent was ever killed in Jordan except for a Circassian member of the Communist pary in the 1960s who was killed under interrogation, and that IAF guy was beaten up by members of another tribe his son attacked in the first place ad he did not agree to take Atwa, so don't turn yourself into a potential courageous victim.
dam bared
· 2 years ago
of course there is no way for me to verify anything you said about yourself.
but, if what you say is true, then you need to reconcile your "principled" stances vis a vis imperialism and colonialism with your incredible tolerance of a regime that thrives on cooperating with them even to the determent of our political freedoms and stance in the arab and international community. you can't have your cake and eat it too batir.
Khawaja M.
· 2 years ago
Watching JTV during the first 2 days of Ramadan especially the stupid program "Ramadan Ma3na A7la" right after Iftar time, made me feel down for the low quality of content presented while there are so many sponsors are spending money on this crap!...
If these sponsors have the choice of sponsoring a program at ATV they would never spend a penny on JTV.
Competition will enhance the quality of JTV... I'm not biased to ATV.. but I'm so proud of what I've watched on Ikbis.. really I am.
We are writing to you today as concerned Jordanian citizens requesting that the unresolved and pressing issue of ATV is addressed with the integrity deserved after three years of enormous investment and preparation. It is particularly disconcerting to find that Jordan’s long anticipated first private broadcasting station is struggling to launch – not due to programming delays or technical problems, but due seemingly to national restraints.
Ironically, the efforts tirelessly committed towards the liberalization of the telecom and media markets are now seeing continuous constraints imposed on media enthusiasts and investors alike, disheartening those already committed to their projects and discouraging others from entering a space that other markets and citizens have enjoyed for years.
We ask that this issue is not only resolved but more importantly addressed by the concerned parties. Not surprisingly, the issue has not received the media coverage it deserves nor has it been addressed publicly from media authorities, leaving the public with a question market on the level of importance the government holds for this industry. Jordanians are currently party to a government-controlled media that is limited in many ways. It is a basic right - and in the country’s best interest – to have a media that is expressive and representative of our citizens.
Jordan is a growing in every sense of the word - culturally, socially, economically and politically. With much happening in the global sphere as well as at home, it is important that we as a country have an available Jordan targeted medium that is able to nurture our growing pains and celebrate our achievements together as one nation. Television is the most powerful, accessible and affordable media form available to our citizens today. With the best interest of the public in mind, we urge that this issue is resolved without further delay and that we embrace our first television broadcasting effort. We hope that your efforts will set a badly needed standard for an encouraged broadcasting industry that is encouraged and hopefully celebrated as an example of excellent broadcasting across the region.
We look forward to a public response that will duly address this issue and put the concerns of the public at rest. We wish you luck in resolving the ATV issue and hope for a truly free media market that we can build together.
Best regards,
Name
Pheras Hilal
· 2 years ago
I didn't want to comment here initially, but I just liked how diverse opinions are, and how educated a few of the comments here are.
I think that a lot of people are missing the point. Banning, or preventing ATV from being aired sets a dangerous precedent and some do not seem to comprehend that. When the media city was set up in Amman, it only managed to attract ART and Iqraa TV (those are the only channels I know of). So that plan was sort of a flop. But with the relative success of radio stations (at least they gave new blood to radio stations here), we were hoping, as Jordanians, that ATV could push the media industry forward, and that Jordan would take a great leap of faith in media.
Yes, our press, magazines, newspapers, radio stations and TV stations are not really on par with international standards. But independent and neutral media outlets did not grow to what they are today without first gaining ground. It seems that a lot of people are attacking ATV, and I say let AVC give permission to ATV to be aired. Let's learn more about their platform and see what they can offer. Perhaps that would open new doors for new investors to start investing in the media, and that's where you have a healthy and diverse media sector.
Be real, you can't expect us to have publications like the Economist when on average, the population reads seven minutes a year. Yes seven minutes, and yes in a year. And you can't expect ATV to deliver quality on par with American channels or British channels when its the first TV channel in Jordan.
At this point, I don't care about ATV's agenda, employees or management. I, as a Jordanian want to have a choice of toggling through at least 5 or 6 channels. I am tired of finding refuge in Western media, and ATV is the first step towards having a healthy media in Jordan.
Reem
· 2 years ago
I am so very disappointed from what I have read.. I am a total outsider to this, I dontlive in Jordan Currently and i don't know the true stories behind ATV and JTV, but what i have seen is a totally irrespectful uncivilized discussion and orrespect for disagreements. I am truly dissapointed from the comments here.. from people I supposed to be the mose cultured, open and respectful to other's opinions. What i have seen here is that we are still soooooooooooo far away from learning how to disagree and still respect. What brought up the name of Nahed Hatar? What did he has to do with the original topic in the first place? We ended up attacking and defending someone who is not here, who doesn't know about this and is not aware of the space he has been saved to discuus his loyalities, beleifs and deads! (by the way, and tolerate my igonorance, i know nothing about the above mentioned person, and i don't know if he is evil or good. It's just not the place to discuss him, and not the best manner as well. at least have him there when you want to have all these pros and cons mentioned about him) This whole discussion became a personal fight which is totally inapropriate. And that's not it, we are attacking each other and judging each others in a very low class manner! As for the original topic which was lost, I totally agree with Khawaja M, and with Rabian monkey that the channel should be on air, and left to the audience to decide how good or how bad.. but from what I read, banning ATV channel this way and with no clear reason why is a scandel to a country that claims to have freedom od speech.
Reem
· 2 years ago
I am so very disappointed from what I have read.. I am a total outsider to this, I dontlive in Jordan Currently and i don't know the true stories behind ATV and JTV, but what i have seen is a totally irrespectful uncivilized discussion and orrespect for disagreements. I am truly dissapointed from the comments here.. from people I supposed to be the mose cultured, open and respectful to other's opinions. What i have seen here is that we are still soooooooooooo far away from learning how to disagree and still respect. What brought up the name of Nahed Hatar? What did he has to do with the original topic in the first place? We ended up attacking and defending someone who is not here, who doesn't know about this and is not aware of the space he has been saved to discuus his loyalities, beleifs and deads! (by the way, and tolerate my igonorance, i know nothing about the above mentioned person, and i don't know if he is evil or good. It's just not the place to discuss him, and not the best manner as well. at least have him there when you want to have all these pros and cons mentioned about him) This whole discussion became a personal fight which is totally inapropriate. And that's not it, we are attacking each other and judging each others in a very low class manner! As for the original topic which was lost, I totally agree with Khawaja M, and with Rabian monkey that the channel should be on air, and left to the audience to decide how good or how bad.. but from what I read, banning ATV channel this way and with no clear reason why is a scandel to a country that claims to have freedom of speech.
You all need help
· 2 years ago
HAHAHHAHAH mutually loathing, paranoid, suspicious yet self-proclaimed open-mined Jordanians. You're the parody of the politicians and the sytem you profess to hate. UNBELIEVABLE!
IRISH
· 2 years ago
I'm a jordanian citizen currently living outside jordan in my opinion i think what happened to ATV is a real example of how everything runs in our country of how corruption, goverment control, lack of democracy and freedom rule i think what happened to ATV was a response from the goverment dut to the fear it felt from this kind of project, just imagine what a free, independent tv channel can do on the political level in the country, i remeber at the times of the kabariti goverment there was this weekly newspaper called 3abed raboh and actually this small paper made quite a big dofference on the political level so imagine what would happen with a professional tv channel!!!
am so very disappointed from what I have read.. I am a total outsider to this, I dontlive in Jordan Currently and i don’t know the true stories behind ATV and JTV, but what i have seen is a totally irrespectful uncivilized discussion and orrespect for disagreements. I am truly dissapointed from the comments here.. from people I supposed to be the mose cultured, open and respectful to other’s opinions. What i have seen here is that we are still soooooooooooo far away from learning how to disagree and still respect. What brought up the name of Nahed Hatar? What did he has to do with the original topic in the first place? We ended up attacking and defending someone who is not here, who doesn’t know about this and is not aware of the space he has been saved to discuus his loyalities, beleifs and deads! (by the way, and tolerate my igonorance, i know nothing about the above mentioned person, and i don’t know if he is evil or good. It’s just not the place to discuss him, and not the best manner as well. at least have him there when you want to have all these pros and cons mentioned about him) This whole discussion became a personal fight which is totally inapropriate. And that’s not it, we are attacking each other and judging each others in a very low class manner! As for the original topic which was lost, I totally agree with Khawaja M, and with Rabian monkey that the channel should be on air, and left to the audience to decide how good or how bad.. but from what I read, banning ATV channel this way and with no clear reason why is a scandel to a country that claims to have freedom of speech.
7arame
· 2 years ago
I didn’t want to comment here initially, but I just liked how diverse opinions are, and how educated a few of the comments here are.
I think that a lot of people are missing the point. Banning, or preventing ATV from being aired sets a dangerous precedent and some do not seem to comprehend that. When the media city was set up in Amman, it only managed to attract ART and Iqraa TV (those are the only channels I know of). So that plan was sort of a flop. But with the relative success of radio stations (at least they gave new blood to radio stations here), we were hoping, as Jordanians, that ATV could push the media industry forward, and that Jordan would take a great leap of faith in media.
Yes, our press, magazines, newspapers, radio stations and TV stations are not really on par with international standards. But independent and neutral media outlets did not grow to what they are today without first gaining ground. It seems that a lot of people are attacking ATV, and I say let AVC give permission to ATV to be aired. Let’s learn more about their platform and see what they can offer. Perhaps that would open new doors for new investors to start investing in the media, and that’s where you have a healthy and diverse media sector.
Be real, you can’t expect us to have publications like the Economist when on average, the population reads seven minutes a year. Yes seven minutes, and yes in a year. And you can’t expect ATV to deliver quality on par with American channels or British channels when its the first TV channel in Jordan.
At this point, I don’t care about ATV’s agenda, employees or management. I, as a Jordanian want to have a choice of toggling through at least 5 or 6 channels. I am tired of finding refuge in Western media, and ATV is the first step towards having a healthy media in Jordan. i don’t know what the hoopla is all about. the shows on ikbis are ok, but i can’s say atv will be a trend-setter. yes, it’s better than jordan tv, but that’s about it and thats’ not something to brag about. i will add my voice to others in saying that i do not care one way or the other. so long as atv cannot up MBC or Dubai or Algazeera or Alarabia, it’s just a local tv channel. and that’s fine with me. but if al-ghad newspaper is any proof, atv will be another voice of the government. i am not looking forward to another propaganda channel that insists on calling itself independent. enough insults to our intelligence. so all this atv stuff is much ado about nothing. i will remind the readers of al-ghad newspaper ads and the suspense they have created, only to discover al-ghad is a dud. i am not getting my hopes to high with atv. it will be a pretty channel no doubt, because pretty is all what we are good at. look at the plethora of laminated magazines with low-substance and high graphics, not one of them deals with jordans’ killer issues and we all know what they are. if any, many of these all-fluff-and-no-stuff magazines are nothing but distractions from the core issues we all know. they all have one claim to fame, sort of like atv, they are better than the other local magazines, if not in content, at least in the sexy graphics. what many educated jordanians are looking for is a back-to-basics journalism, tv or print media. sort of like Der Spiegel or Economist or BBC but when i heard atv will have a special show for Ayman Safadi, i knew immediately it will be a worthless channel. ayman is known for his attacks on Jordanian opposition, civil society, arab resistance. he is the voice of jordanian neo-liberalism. there is no balancing program on atv. even Fox news tries to play the balance game with its collection of shows. this says plenty about atv’s mission and the built-in defects. for atv to launch or not to launch, that’s immaterial to me and others who don’t like what al-Ghad, Al-Safadi, and Olayaan stand for…pure neo-liberal opportunism. i don’t know what the hoopla is all about. the shows on ikbis are ok, but i can’s say atv will be a trend-setter. yes, it’s better than jordan tv, but that’s about it and thats’ not something to brag about. i will add my voice to others in saying that i do not care one way or the other. so long as atv cannot up MBC or Dubai or Algazeera or Alarabia, it’s just a local tv channel. and that’s fine with me. but if al-ghad newspaper is any proof, atv will be another voice of the government. i am not looking forward to another propaganda channel that insists on calling itself independent. enough insults to our intelligence. so all this atv stuff is much ado about nothing. i will remind the readers of al-ghad newspaper ads and the suspense they have created, only to discover al-ghad is a dud. i am not getting my hopes to high with atv. it will be a pretty channel no doubt, because pretty is all what we are good at. look at the plethora of laminated magazines with low-substance and high graphics, not one of them deals with jordans’ killer issues and we all know what they are. if any, many of these all-fluff-and-no-stuff magazines are nothing but distractions from the core issues we all know. they all have one claim to fame, sort of like atv, they are better than the other local magazines, if not in content, at least in the sexy graphics. what many educated jordanians are looking for is a back-to-basics journalism, tv or print media. sort of like Der Spiegel or Economist or BBC but when i heard atv will have a special show for Ayman Safadi, i knew immediately it will be a worthless channel. ayman is known for his attacks on Jordanian opposition, civil society, arab resistance. he is the voice of jordanian neo-liberalism. there is no balancing program on atv. even Fox news tries to play the balance game with its collection of shows. this says plenty about atv’s mission and the built-in defects. for atv to launch or not to launch, that’s immaterial to me and others who don’t like what al-Ghad, Al-Safadi, and Olayaan stand for…pure neo-liberal opportunism.
Jordans
· 2 years ago
I know there was one guy I never had a chance to beat.
Nike Dunks
· 1 year ago
HAHAHHAHAH mutually loathing, paranoid, suspicious yet self-proclaimed open-mined Jordanians. You’re the parody of the politicians and the sytem you profess to hate. UNBELIEVABLE!
Nike Dunks
· 1 year ago
this is not a truthful interview, but I understand that Mr. Muhannad Khatib has to protect his CV and standing so he turns the ATV flop into some sort of mysterious government campaign against innovation and progress.
All Comments
The most credible stories to date range from lack of quality programming which disappointed the investors or potential investors, lack of readiness, which was evident by the constant slippage in deadlines long before the AVC was blamed, the last story was poor management. It's not to Mr. Khatib's advantage to accept any responsibility at a time when talks of restructuring are being heard again and again.
He will be job-hunting soon, so he is trying to position himself as a martyr of some sort of an official plot. Actually, many observers say the AVC saved Mr. Olayyan and Mr. Khatib for a colossal failure which would have been broadcast to millions of viewers. if ATV get ready by Ramadan, the show will go on, if it does not, they will most likely sell it off or change management.
Expect many possible lawsuit or out of court settlements.
Like the Hamzeh Hospital debacle, ATV is being managed by newbies whose only claim to their positions is their political and personal allegiances and loyalties. ATV is a victim of the intractable Jordanian culture of patronage.
Mr. Khatib is not a manager, he was a TV show host on AlArabiya TV. before, he was a field reporter to ART TV in the US. Many of the top managers of ATV are also inexperienced but collect outrageously high salaries and only higher friends and relatives.
Whether the investors are willing to pay more and more to salvage ATV will be seen before Ramadan.
when more and more ATV employees depart, we will know more of the real story.
http://american-in-jordan.blogspot.com/2007/09/...
It just doesn't fit... If you had a multi million dollar project in MEDIA would you ever think about investing in Jordan after this!?
for some strange reason Jordanian talent shines outside of the Jordan incubator. There is something horribly wrong. Jordan is not a nurturing environment for creativity and excellence. It's a destructive environment.
it all goes back to corruption and the entrenched system of political/tribal patronage and the state's excessive paranoia and fear of losing control, all of these forces suck the life out of anything good in Jordan.
we lost the IT race, then the media race, then the health care race, then the higher education race, and even with Petra being declared a wonder of the world we failed to capitalize on that to boos tourism.
There is something fundamentally wrong with a country that has world class citizenry but 3rd rate government.
what do you mean by "lack of quality programming" do you know what programs they have? and how good/bad they are? how many hours of fotage do you think they have? are they technically good? i'm sure you dont.
how did you decide which stories are more credible?
here is a tip for you. learn to respect people's opinions. you people will never evolve. you speak of freedoms of speech but you go on the rampage when you disagree with something and you start inventing new rules of the game that I have never ever heard in my life in any of the free countries. the only opinion you want to heat is your opinion.
as for ATV, if they had anything worth watching, we would have seen it on Ikbis. but all what we see is promo that's the best of ATV.
So stop trying to shove ATV down our throats and shove it down yours. I could care less if ATV never airs. THIS IS ANNOYING!
we have serious causes and problems to deal with in Jordan than your silly we-are-better-than-jrtv channel.
some people fight the poor, some for the illiterate, some for democracy, and here you are waging your stupid campaign for WHAT...a friggin 3rd-rate channel whose only claim to fame is that it will be better than JRTV. WHOOPEE!!!
If people side with ATV it doesn't mean they work for them or are 'propaganda agents', and the same is true for those who are taking the side of the government.
It's just an opinion.
Just a thought.
There is more than just a promo on http://www.ikbis.com/atv
There are 4 shows, that so far got thousands of views from people.
Soon there will be more shows online.
Just wanted you to know..
The delay of ATV broadcasting is the biggest scandal in the history of Jordanian media, and believe me there are many cases to choose from.
There is absolutely no justified reason for the position taken by AVC chaired by Shboul. They first asked for paperwork, then claimed the agreement does not cover the satellite transmission, then wanted to use the JRTV frequency for ATV (!) then they wanted ATV to use the Jordan Production Station facilities (next to JRTV) and the list of inexcusabel execuse goes by.
I am really devastated by the lackluster reaction from the media "professionals" in Jordan. The so-called competition with Al Ghad newspaper and station have stopped many Jordanian writers from pushing for press freedom. I have written twice in Addustour but some of the outspoken writers have failed (Nahid Hattar, Fahed Khaitan, etc..).
Of course I do not work for Al Ghad but for Addustour which I am loyal to and will remain to be and I am loyal also to press freedom and I am ashamed and disgusted with the position of AVC, Faisal Shboul and the so-called journalist union in Jordan. A bunch of losers.
A governmental TV channel called JRTV or a governmental TV channel called ATV.
Hmmmmmmmmmmm! Could this be the reason media professionals in Jordan don't give a flying cow about either Shboul's TV or Olayyan's TV?
Nahid Hattar is the voice of the jordanian left. If there was any truth to your bogus claims about ATV, Nahid Hattar would have been the first to take up the ATV cause. his silnce speaks volumens to the dubious nature of the while ATV vs. JRTV vs. Audiovisual commission.
OH YEAH!!! Defamation of character!!! slamming the opposition. first the IAF, now a the most respected voice of the Jordanian left. HOW LOW CAN YOU GO BATIR. You have no friends in the center, or the left, or the right. so where do you fit? with the regime, hence your defense of ATV.
But thank you for proving to those readers who may have not known you well. Here is Batir Wardim slandering the man who was in a coma after a brutal attack from "anonymous" thugs. Nice division of labor Batir. Some of you commit the physical violence, while others commit intellectual violence.
BTW, your black mail tactics would have worked had you were not an opportunist. But if you are not, let me here you condemn all cooperation between Jordanians regime and killers of arabs, including killers of jordanains. let's here you tell regime symbols what you think about security cooperation with colonialist zionists and genocidal imperialists Americans. and what do you think of the patriotism of those who do business with them TIME FOR ENDING YOUR DOUBLE STANDARDS BATIR. ELSE YOU ARE A HIRED GUN
As for the "most respected voice of the Jordanian left" go outside your circle to see how respected he is. He once wrote an article in the Arab Al yawm saying that the Adnan Badran government was a "collection of refugees, migrants and women", how leftist that is?
of course I don't have an identity.
You see, my posts can get me in real trouble. or i may suffer an "accident" like Nahid Hattar or that IAF guy who got kidnapped and beaten into a pulp.
you are an opportunists. When was the last time an opportunist got jailed, tortured, or killed in Jordan? At worst you will get lots of free trips to speak on our behalf in conferences. At best, you will get some really nice "NGO" with US funding or a cozy government position where you can pontificate and keep on attacking political and intellectual oppositions.
I promise you that in the next free and fair jordanian election (200 years from now) i will vote for a presidential candidates that will do the right thing for jordan and jordanians. Until then, all you and I can do is watch our tax money being squandered on misadventures and failed experiments, all the while the poor gets poorer and the corrupt gets away with anything.
You can call me anything you want but definitly not "opportunist". I did not travel to any conference to talk on behalf of you, but your Friend Nahid did through funding from the US embassy to "engage in cultural dialogue" after 911. I received nothing from my articles excpet my 300 JD from Addustour. I have never worked with an NGO with US funding although I got an opportunity with a 2500 JDs salary. I have never set a foot in the US embassy and refused two invitations from them. So do not you dare ever call me an apportunist. You can differ with me but you have no right to insult my credibility.
Any BTW no opponent was ever killed in Jordan except for a Circassian member of the Communist pary in the 1960s who was killed under interrogation, and that IAF guy was beaten up by members of another tribe his son attacked in the first place ad he did not agree to take Atwa, so don't turn yourself into a potential courageous victim.
but, if what you say is true, then you need to reconcile your "principled" stances vis a vis imperialism and colonialism with your incredible tolerance of a regime that thrives on cooperating with them even to the determent of our political freedoms and stance in the arab and international community. you can't have your cake and eat it too batir.
If these sponsors have the choice of sponsoring a program at ATV they would never spend a penny on JTV.
Competition will enhance the quality of JTV... I'm not biased to ATV.. but I'm so proud of what I've watched on Ikbis.. really I am.
??? ??? ????? ???????? ??? ???? ???? ??? ?? ????????? ??????? ???? ???? ????? ????? ?????? ????? ????? ?? ???????? ????? ?????? ?? ??????? ?????? ? ??? ????? ????? ?????????? ?? ????? ??????? ??? ??? ?????? ?? ??????? ??????? ???? ????? ??? ????? ???? ??? ???? ????? ??? ????
??? ??? ????? ???????? ??? ???? ???? ??? ?? ????????? ??????? ???? ???? ????? ????? ?????? ????? ????? ?? ???????? ????? ?????? ?? ??????? ?????? ? ??? ????? ????? ?????????? ?? ????? ??????? ??? ??? ?????? ?? ??????? ??????? ???? ????? ??? ????? ???? ??? ???? ????? ??? ????
To Whom It May Concern;
We are writing to you today as concerned Jordanian citizens requesting that the unresolved and pressing issue of ATV is addressed with the integrity deserved after three years of enormous investment and preparation. It is particularly disconcerting to find that Jordan’s long anticipated first private broadcasting station is struggling to launch – not due to programming delays or technical problems, but due seemingly to national restraints.
Ironically, the efforts tirelessly committed towards the liberalization of the telecom and media markets are now seeing continuous constraints imposed on media enthusiasts and investors alike, disheartening those already committed to their projects and discouraging others from entering a space that other markets and citizens have enjoyed for years.
We ask that this issue is not only resolved but more importantly addressed by the concerned parties. Not surprisingly, the issue has not received the media coverage it deserves nor has it been addressed publicly from media authorities, leaving the public with a question market on the level of importance the government holds for this industry. Jordanians are currently party to a government-controlled media that is limited in many ways. It is a basic right - and in the country’s best interest – to have a media that is expressive and representative of our citizens.
Jordan is a growing in every sense of the word - culturally, socially, economically and politically. With much happening in the global sphere as well as at home, it is important that we as a country have an available Jordan targeted medium that is able to nurture our growing pains and celebrate our achievements together as one nation. Television is the most powerful, accessible and affordable media form available to our citizens today. With the best interest of the public in mind, we urge that this issue is resolved without further delay and that we embrace our first television broadcasting effort. We hope that your efforts will set a badly needed standard for an encouraged broadcasting industry that is encouraged and hopefully celebrated as an example of excellent broadcasting across the region.
We look forward to a public response that will duly address this issue and put the concerns of the public at rest. We wish you luck in resolving the ATV issue and hope for a truly free media market that we can build together.
Best regards,
Name
I think that a lot of people are missing the point. Banning, or preventing ATV from being aired sets a dangerous precedent and some do not seem to comprehend that. When the media city was set up in Amman, it only managed to attract ART and Iqraa TV (those are the only channels I know of). So that plan was sort of a flop. But with the relative success of radio stations (at least they gave new blood to radio stations here), we were hoping, as Jordanians, that ATV could push the media industry forward, and that Jordan would take a great leap of faith in media.
Yes, our press, magazines, newspapers, radio stations and TV stations are not really on par with international standards. But independent and neutral media outlets did not grow to what they are today without first gaining ground. It seems that a lot of people are attacking ATV, and I say let AVC give permission to ATV to be aired. Let's learn more about their platform and see what they can offer. Perhaps that would open new doors for new investors to start investing in the media, and that's where you have a healthy and diverse media sector.
Be real, you can't expect us to have publications like the Economist when on average, the population reads seven minutes a year. Yes seven minutes, and yes in a year. And you can't expect ATV to deliver quality on par with American channels or British channels when its the first TV channel in Jordan.
At this point, I don't care about ATV's agenda, employees or management. I, as a Jordanian want to have a choice of toggling through at least 5 or 6 channels. I am tired of finding refuge in Western media, and ATV is the first step towards having a healthy media in Jordan.
This whole discussion became a personal fight which is totally inapropriate. And that's not it, we are attacking each other and judging each others in a very low class manner!
As for the original topic which was lost, I totally agree with Khawaja M, and with Rabian monkey that the channel should be on air, and left to the audience to decide how good or how bad.. but from what I read, banning ATV channel this way and with no clear reason why is a scandel to a country that claims to have freedom od speech.
This whole discussion became a personal fight which is totally inapropriate. And that's not it, we are attacking each other and judging each others in a very low class manner!
As for the original topic which was lost, I totally agree with Khawaja M, and with Rabian monkey that the channel should be on air, and left to the audience to decide how good or how bad.. but from what I read, banning ATV channel this way and with no clear reason why is a scandel to a country that claims to have freedom of speech.
ameen brother!!
i wish your message could be printed and mailed to every home in the middle east!
happy 3id 4 all muslims people..
This whole discussion became a personal fight which is totally inapropriate. And that’s not it, we are attacking each other and judging each others in a very low class manner!
As for the original topic which was lost, I totally agree with Khawaja M, and with Rabian monkey that the channel should be on air, and left to the audience to decide how good or how bad.. but from what I read, banning ATV channel this way and with no clear reason why is a scandel to a country that claims to have freedom of speech.
I think that a lot of people are missing the point. Banning, or preventing ATV from being aired sets a dangerous precedent and some do not seem to comprehend that. When the media city was set up in Amman, it only managed to attract ART and Iqraa TV (those are the only channels I know of). So that plan was sort of a flop. But with the relative success of radio stations (at least they gave new blood to radio stations here), we were hoping, as Jordanians, that ATV could push the media industry forward, and that Jordan would take a great leap of faith in media.
Yes, our press, magazines, newspapers, radio stations and TV stations are not really on par with international standards. But independent and neutral media outlets did not grow to what they are today without first gaining ground. It seems that a lot of people are attacking ATV, and I say let AVC give permission to ATV to be aired. Let’s learn more about their platform and see what they can offer. Perhaps that would open new doors for new investors to start investing in the media, and that’s where you have a healthy and diverse media sector.
Be real, you can’t expect us to have publications like the Economist when on average, the population reads seven minutes a year. Yes seven minutes, and yes in a year. And you can’t expect ATV to deliver quality on par with American channels or British channels when its the first TV channel in Jordan.
At this point, I don’t care about ATV’s agenda, employees or management. I, as a Jordanian want to have a choice of toggling through at least 5 or 6 channels. I am tired of finding refuge in Western media, and ATV is the first step towards having a healthy media in Jordan.
i don’t know what the hoopla is all about. the shows on ikbis are ok, but i can’s say atv will be a trend-setter. yes, it’s better than jordan tv, but that’s about it and thats’ not something to brag about. i will add my voice to others in saying that i do not care one way or the other. so long as atv cannot up MBC or Dubai or Algazeera or Alarabia, it’s just a local tv channel. and that’s fine with me. but if al-ghad newspaper is any proof, atv will be another voice of the government. i am not looking forward to another propaganda channel that insists on calling itself independent. enough insults to our intelligence. so all this atv stuff is much ado about nothing. i will remind the readers of al-ghad newspaper ads and the suspense they have created, only to discover al-ghad is a dud. i am not getting my hopes to high with atv. it will be a pretty channel no doubt, because pretty is all what we are good at. look at the plethora of laminated magazines with low-substance and high graphics, not one of them deals with jordans’ killer issues and we all know what they are. if any, many of these all-fluff-and-no-stuff magazines are nothing but distractions from the core issues we all know. they all have one claim to fame, sort of like atv, they are better than the other local magazines, if not in content, at least in the sexy graphics. what many educated jordanians are looking for is a back-to-basics journalism, tv or print media. sort of like Der Spiegel or Economist or BBC but when i heard atv will have a special show for Ayman Safadi, i knew immediately it will be a worthless channel. ayman is known for his attacks on Jordanian opposition, civil society, arab resistance. he is the voice of jordanian neo-liberalism. there is no balancing program on atv. even Fox news tries to play the balance game with its collection of shows. this says plenty about atv’s mission and the built-in defects. for atv to launch or not to launch, that’s immaterial to me and others who don’t like what al-Ghad, Al-Safadi, and Olayaan stand for…pure neo-liberal opportunism.
i don’t know what the hoopla is all about. the shows on ikbis are ok, but i can’s say atv will be a trend-setter. yes, it’s better than jordan tv, but that’s about it and thats’ not something to brag about. i will add my voice to others in saying that i do not care one way or the other. so long as atv cannot up MBC or Dubai or Algazeera or Alarabia, it’s just a local tv channel. and that’s fine with me. but if al-ghad newspaper is any proof, atv will be another voice of the government. i am not looking forward to another propaganda channel that insists on calling itself independent. enough insults to our intelligence. so all this atv stuff is much ado about nothing. i will remind the readers of al-ghad newspaper ads and the suspense they have created, only to discover al-ghad is a dud. i am not getting my hopes to high with atv. it will be a pretty channel no doubt, because pretty is all what we are good at. look at the plethora of laminated magazines with low-substance and high graphics, not one of them deals with jordans’ killer issues and we all know what they are. if any, many of these all-fluff-and-no-stuff magazines are nothing but distractions from the core issues we all know. they all have one claim to fame, sort of like atv, they are better than the other local magazines, if not in content, at least in the sexy graphics. what many educated jordanians are looking for is a back-to-basics journalism, tv or print media. sort of like Der Spiegel or Economist or BBC but when i heard atv will have a special show for Ayman Safadi, i knew immediately it will be a worthless channel. ayman is known for his attacks on Jordanian opposition, civil society, arab resistance. he is the voice of jordanian neo-liberalism. there is no balancing program on atv. even Fox news tries to play the balance game with its collection of shows. this says plenty about atv’s mission and the built-in defects. for atv to launch or not to launch, that’s immaterial to me and others who don’t like what al-Ghad, Al-Safadi, and Olayaan stand for…pure neo-liberal opportunism.