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Fouda was part of the team that established the BBC
Arabic service in 1994, serving as senior roving reporter. Though political
troubles caused the BBC to shut down the Arabic service after only two
years, this was enough time for Fouda to gain valuable field experience
covering some of the worlds toughest stories: the Middle East peace
process, conflicts in Africa, and the war in Bosniawhere he found himself
only a year or two after graduation, his first time in a war zone, armed
with a flak jacket, helmet, and basic survival training. He was taken
under the tutelage of veteran BBC journalist Martin Bell (now a member
of the House of Commons), a journalist Fouda admired and learned fromlearned,
among other things, the critical art of taking calculated risks in
a war zone. If you get the story but dont come back, says Fouda,
its not worth it, not for you, not for your organization.
In 1996 Fouda moved to the London headquarters of Associated
Press TV, co-founding the Middle East desk to provide Arab channels
with tailored news reports. At the same time, he helped set up the London-based
Arab News Network (ANN), and joined the newly established al-Jazeera
channel as UK and western Europe correspondent. One year later, he had
secured an independent production office in London for al-Jazeera, of
which he now serves as bureau chief, and which sends out four live business
bulletins, extensive political coverage of western Europe, a weekly
chat show More than One Opinion, and Top Secret, the investigative series
that Fouda himself researches, edits, and presents.
Top Secret has attracted much attentionand al-Jazeeras
first official recognition, an award from the 1998 Cairo Radio and TV
Production Festivalfor its in-depth coverage of sometimes quite sensitive
topics. The recent Top Secret program on last Octobers Egypt Air crash,
for example, made page-one headlines across the Arab world. Fouda set
out to tackle the suicide theory of the crash by boarding a Boeing
767 flight simulator, working with pilots to enter the exact technical
data released by American investigators, and trying to force the plane
down in the precise time and manner of the crash. After three tries
doing everything by the book and still not getting the data to match,
we reached the conclusion that it wouldnt have been humanly or technically
possible for someone to bring the plane down in such a manner.
Although regional media hasnt always had high praise
for al-Jazeeras forward, independent style of news coverage, this story
landed on the front page of Egypts al-Ahram and other official newspapers.
It was big news, and also, especially for Egypt, a highly emotional
issue. I think Egyptians needed someone else saying what they wanted
to say to the Americans, Fouda says.
Al-Jazeeras philosophy and willingness to deal with
sensitive topics like this makes it an ideal fit for Foudaconsidering
his Adham Center training, his previous work with the BBC and AP, and
his own inclinations to take on tough issues. We strive for objectivity
and balance, to the best of our knowledge and ability. You try to present
whatever you can the way you feel, journalistically, is fair. You get
misunderstood every now and then, but you still do your best. I think
weve made an impact on other channels, because they know that if they
dont discuss things, al-Jazeera will.
His Adham Center training prepared Fouda for many aspects
of his careerexcept, of course, the use of a flak jacket, which Center
Director Abdallah Schleifer, despite his own years of war coverage,
hasnt yet added to the curriculum. I was lucky because the Adham Center
allowed me to learn something about everything, Fouda says. At that
time Adham Center students chose a specialization in reporting, producing,
or another aspect of the job, but Fouda wanted to do everything
and
Professor Schleifer allowed me to do that. I think it contributes to
the making of a good journalist. I dont think a cameraman can be a
good cameraman if he doesnt understand editing, or editor if he cant
appreciate the filming.
Journalism, says Fouda, has gotten into his blood;
I dont think I could lead a quiet life anymore. He has other, related
professional interests, such as teaching (having taught intensive editing
classes at the Adham Center, training courses for Egyptian TV, and at
Cairo University) and writing (hes currently working on a book about
his experiences in the field). But these are in what free time he has,
or for the futurefor the time being, his main focus is that theres
always another Top Secret to be uncovered.
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