TV Employee Reportedly Sacked for Anti-Saudi Coverage

Syria Media Report, 17-March-09

IWPR

Institute for War & Peace Reporting

Tuesday, 17 March, 2009

TV Employee Reportedly Sacked for Anti-Saudi Coverage

Syria Media Report, 17-March-09

Syria’s recent reconciliation with Saudi Arabia may have lead to the forced resignation of the manager of a private TV station, according to a source in a March 11 report on pro-government website All4Syria.

Anonymous sources at Al-Dunia in Damascus told the website that general manager Fuad Al-Sharbaji lost his job following a fight with the station’s owners about its critical coverage of Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Negative media coverage of the country intensified following the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip earlier this year, and has lessened in recent weeks in the lead up to a March 11 meeting in Riyadh between the leaders of Syria, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Kuwait.

Observers have said that the aim of this summit was to overcome differences between Damascus and the West’s main allies in the Middle East – Riyadh and Cairo – and try to develop common positions on problems ahead of an Arab summit in Qatar later this month.

Several prominent businessmen, including Muhamad Hamasho, Zuhair Grewati and Muhammad Karkor, own Al-Dunia. Fares Dabas has become the new general manager, according to the website.

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