KEY POINTS:
In Washington, the political elite call al-Jazeera "Terror TV" - so rolling out an international version of the 24-hour Arabic news channel to extend its reach to the English-speaking world was always likely to be difficult.
Nigel Parsons, the man who launched al-Jazeera English a year ago, recalls
the reception he received on an early visit to Washington to meet a US congressman.
"When I walked in he said: 'So you're the guys who are responsible for our kids dying in Iraq'. And this was a Democrat - an ex-surfer from California."
Parsons, an Englishman with an unassuming manner who has worked at the BBC and Associated Press, has had to fight to make AJE's voice heard. As the channel's anniversary approaches, al-Jazeera English is still not available in American homes and has been forced to rely on its website to build a presence in the US.
It has hired a posse of big-name reporters and presenters, including ex-BBC stars Rageh Omaar and Sir David Frost, to imbue the network with some star quality, and Frost helped the channel get off to a good start, securing an interview with Tony Blair in its first week in which the then British Prime Minister appeared to agree that the invasion of Iraq had "so far been pretty much of a disaster".
Though few stories have made such a spectacular splash since then, Parsons says there have been plenty of other exclusives: "We had five cameras in Burma when no one else could get in and that was picked up [by other networks]." So too was the channel's footage of the Pakistani Army's raid on the Red Mosque in Islamabad.
After a delayed launch, which left more than 100 of its 390 journalists sitting in the Qatari desert, Parsons is pleased to be in nearly 100 million homes in more than 60 countries.
"I could hear the knives sharpening as launch day approached. Now that we are on air, people can judge us for what we are."
There is no doubt that AJE's coverage is distinctive. Parsons says around 40 per cent of its output covers the Middle East, but it majors on stories in the developing world and offers a world view that is refreshingly different or dangerously subjective, depending on your personal perspective.
"We don't want to be part of the herd," Parsons says. "Following the herd is responsible for the mistakes that have been made. Iraq was a classic example. It was a dereliction of duty, for broadcasters in particular. We assumed that our politicians knew more than we did and assumed their statements were based on fact.
"The rhetoric being used against Iran is a carbon copy of the rhetoric used against Iraq. They are already linking Iran with al Qaeda and using that phrase 'nuclear ambitions'. But the media are more wary this time and there will be a lot of questions asked if there is a rush to war."
AJE covered President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's recent visit to New York "quite differently", Parsons says.
"We were far more critical of his treatment. We are far more aware of the fact that he is not the ultimate leader of Iran."
But he also points out: "We're not less critical of Iran. We often get thrown out of the country."
One of the ironies of AJE's pariah status in the US is that the original Arabic-language al-Jazeera, which claims to report and reflect the view from the "Arab street", often clashes with Middle Eastern regimes, which don't always appreciate candid criticism. "Saudi is the most difficult one to cover. We haven't been in for years, though we're trying to. The only country we haven't been kicked out of is Israel; even the Palestinians kicked us out once."
Those who characterise al-Jazeera's sister channel as Osama bin Laden's favourite news outlet might also be interested that al Qaeda has just issued a fatwa against AJE. "We didn't show [bin Laden's latest statement] in a flattering enough light."
It was those videotaped statements that first made al-Jazeera's reputation in the West, but Parsons is dismissive of those who claim they are aiding bin Laden by airing them. He says that journalists who say bin Laden should be denied the oxygen of publicity are being disingenuous. "If he offered you an exclusive interview in a cave in Tora Bora, you'd go. If they protest they wouldn't, they'd be lying."
These days, other broadcasters frequently find bin Laden's tapes before al-Jazeera does, he says.
"They used to be dropped off anonymously, but are uploaded in an internet cafe now. Reuters received the last one."
Both channels are funded by the fabulously wealthy Emir of Qatar, but Parsons denies they have money to burn: "We don't have the same commercial pressure, but we have fixed budgets. We don't have as much money as our competitors."
Neither were its big-name signings lured with big-money offers. "The idea that we are the Chelsea [football club] of broadcasting is a complete myth. We had a deliberate policy of not buying our way into the market. We are at the bottom end of the global pay league."
Reporters are attracted by the chance to do work they enjoy, travelling when they want to, but doing less "rooftop journalism" from the edge of war zones, he claims.
The truth is that the channel will come into its own next time there is a conflict in the Middle East, when it hopes to use its correspondents and contacts to get to places and people Western outlets might not reach.
Parsons admits that last year's Israeli-Lebanese conflict, which preceded AJE's launch, was frustrating because his colleagues had to watch the war unfold from their desert base.
His only regret so far, he says, is that AJE didn't go on a publicity push in America: "We've been very weak on marketing. I would have taken one of those big Times Square electronic signs and put a slogan up saying 'The rest of the world is watching; why aren't you?'
"It's debatable whether that would have won it a wider audience, but it would certainly have provoked an interesting response."
VIEWS ON NEWS
AL-JAZEERA ENGLISH
* Available in 100 million homes (but none in the US), it is aimed at opinion formers and politicians. About 40 per cent of output covers the Middle East.
* Top story (on Saturday NZT): Rice brands PKK "common enemy."
FRANCE 24
* Good-looking anchors, slick sets, superb arts coverage and a francophilic take on the world. It also broadcasts in Arabic.
* Top story: "Rice vows support for Turkey against PKK."
CNN
* Derided as "hotel room TV" but still the top choice for opinion formers, it is now in 200 million homes worldwide. Overtaken by Fox at home; still doing well abroad.
* Top story: "'Kidnap children may not get home."
BBC WORLD
* Authoritative, but seen as liberal in some countries.
* Top story: "Flooding traps 300,000 in Mexico."
RUSSIA TODAY
* A Pravda for the TV age, it can stray rather close to pro-Putin propaganda.
* Top story: "Farewell for bus blasts victim in Togliatti."
- Observer
