"Rumours persist that the Arabic station based in Dohar, Qatar, might make an audacious bid for the beleaguered British broadcaster. ITV announced losses of £2.7billion last year and looks to cut 600 jobs. Al Jazeera, which was first started in 1996 with an $150million grant from the Emir of Qatar, has established itself as a global news force with regular bulletins from Osama Bin Laden and it has won praise for its coverage of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The Emir continues to bankroll the Arabic station with annual subsidies. But what lends plausibility to the notion of an Al Jazeera tie-up is that many of the staff at the Arab network are old timers at the BBC and ITN. "
The best quote in the article is from Peter Mandelson who is quoted as saying:
"My Lords, I have not heard any information about such an exotic proposal as Al Jazeera taking over ITV, and I will be keeping my ears open...I will be eternally vigilant in pursuit of the powers that I have, but they are necessarily limited powers."
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