Ahmet from Tunisia sent me this: "Asad, Alarabiya is finding the eccentric
fatwas issued by religious kooks in 2011 somehow cute that it merits a report
and commentary of 8 minutes in its news hour. It is hard not escape the underlying romanticism of it all. Yes, the
professional standards of Aljazeera
and Al Arabiya are now close to being at the same level, but
the latter knack for gossip and
sleaze still dubiously distinguish it. An example, mind you, the other day
the Palestinian anchor of Alarabiya
Mayssoun Azzam was supposed to ask an Ennahda member about the latest on the
formation of the government; her very
first question was: Could you confirm to us the news coming out of Tunisia about
the marriage of president Moncef Marzouki with the Minister of Woman affairs
Sihem Badi? It was nothing but a rumor circulating on Facebook, and
was categorically rejected by Marzouki
himself."