Moroccan TV coverage of U.S. elections

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 RABAT 000307

SIPDIS

STATE FOR R, NEA/PPD, NEA/MAG, IIP/G/NEA/SA,
ECA/PE/V, ECA/PE/C AND PA/OBS/BS&P (SANTULLI)
LONDON FOR MOC
DUBAI FOR MEDIA HUB

E.0.12958: N/A
TAGS: SCUL PHUM PGOV OIIP KISL KPAO KIRC
KMPI, MO
SUBJECT: Moroccan TV coverage of U.S. elections
highlights Arab-American political participation

--------------
Summary and Comment
--------------


1. For the first time in history, in 2008 a
Moroccan television crew traveled to the U.S. to
cover the presidential elections, providing
Moroccans a nightly, first-hand glimpse into the
American electoral process tailored to their
interests. Over the course of ten nights, state-run
Al-Aoula television aired almost one hour of total
prime-time news coverage on the elections, in both
Arabic and French; the reportage was also aired on
Al-Aoula's satellite network, Al Maghribiya, which
is widely watched by the Moroccan community abroad,
particularly in Europe. The stories featured many
facets of the campaign, Election Day, and the
results, providing interviews and footage of
experts, politicians, journalists, candidate
staffers and voters, with a particular focus on the
Arab-, Muslim-, and particularly Moroccan-American
communities. Focus on the election's impact on the
lives of Moroccan-Americans was an especially
effective means of driving home the importance of
participatory governance and the sheer excitement of
the democratic process. This coverage was the fruit
of an Embassy-organized television cooperative
project funded out of the FY08 PD supplemental. End
summary and comment.

--------------
Historic Elections Coverage by Moroccan
Television Caps Major Mission Effort
--------------


2. This project represented the first time that a
Moroccan television channel ever sent a crew to
cover an American election; Moroccan television
networks usually hire freelancers based in the U.S.
to comment on such major events via teleconference.
Moreover, this TV coop enabled Al-Aoula to cover not
only Election Day itself, but also the final days of
the electoral campaign and two days following the
announcement of the results. The project also
supported the participation of a young journalism
trainee, who ended up feeding stories in French that
were as professional as those of her Arabic-speaking
colleague.


3. Al-Aoula's nightly news broadcasts are the most
popular source of news for Moroccans among all
available domestic sources, with upwards of thirteen
million nightly viewers (roughly one-third the
population of the country). Al-Aoula aired a total
of thirty news clips as part of the project, for a
combined fifty minutes of air time.


4. The U.S. Mission in Morocco sent five Moroccan
journalists ? four print and one radio ? on Foreign
Press Center (FPC) elections reporting tours in
2008, in addition to funding this TV coop. Post
also organized numerous interviews locally with
official and private Americans. This substantially
contributed to voluminous, first-hand coverage of
the U.S. elections in all branches of the Moroccan
media. A large plurality ? likely even a majority ?
of Moroccans were exposed to this coverage, given
unprecedented Moroccan interest this year in the
American elections process. With local elections
coming up in Morocco in June 2009, such exposure to
the values and procedures of democracy could not
have been better timed.


5. Post funded this project through a grant to
Meridian International, using FY08 PD supplemental
funds. The Moroccan crew ? two journalists and a
cameraman ? conducted filming over the course of two
weeks in November 2008, working with a producer,
contracted by Meridian International, with whom post
had worked on a previous TV coop. They visited
Washington, DC, New York, Virginia, Pennsylvania and
Michigan.

RABAT 00000307 002 OF 003



--------------
Covering the Campaign
--------------


6. Al-Aoula visited the headquarters of the Council
for American-Islamic Relations (CAIR),most of whose
members expressed their admiration for Obama's
domestic policy plans. Concerning international
relations, an interviewee expected that Obama would
build new alliances. "He inspires hope and change,"
said another CAIR staffer. CAIR director Daoud
Walid stressed the formal neutrality of the
organization, saying that "many people are choosing
Obama because they are anti-McCain, and not
necessarily because they like Obama."


7. In another report, Al-Aoula noted that the Arab-
American community was never previously as engaged
in the presidential elections as it was in 2008.
The team visited Dearborn, Michigan, home to one of
the most important Arab communities in the U.S.
Many people in this area expressed their intention
to vote for Obama. "He is closer to the people and
he promised to decrease taxes," one shopkeeper
stated. Many Dearborn NGOs were engaged in a get-
out-the-vote campaign, organizing workshops. Al-
Aoula reported that there are more than three
million Arabs in the United States, and their vote
was very important given their concentration in key
swing states. Al-Aoula visited the Arab American
National Museum in Detroit to illustrate the
historical importance of Arab identity in American
history.


8. Al-Aoula?s crew dedicated several of its stories
to the views of the Moroccan-American community in
particular. Adil Naji, head of a Moroccan-American
friendship association in Michigan, told Al-Aoula
that Moroccans were ready more than ever to vote.
He explained that Obama's African origins were
appealing to Moroccans. Amine Souissi, a chef in
Silver Spring, MD who had spent seventeen years in
the U.S., expressed concern about the economic
crisis and its impact on his business. He said the
new president's priority should to help citizens get
through the recession.


9. The crew attended a McCain campaign rally in
Pennsylvania, interviewing supporters about their
reasons for supporting McCain over Obama. The crew
attended a similar rally in Virginia, focusing on
vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.


10. Al-Aoula also reported on the international
media frenzy that accompanied the elections, with
more than 4,000 international media outlets
providing coverage. The 2008 elections were
important not only because they would determine the
president of the most powerful nation in the world;
it had become an interesting story because of the
tight race between the candidates. "It has been a
wild campaign," a France24 journalist stated. Al-
Aoula also reported on the unprecedented amount of
money collected and spent by the candidates, noting
in particular the immense amount spent by the Obama
campaign on television spots.

--------------
Election Day
--------------


11. On Election Day, Al-Aoula explained the vagaries
of the American electoral system, and in particular
the Electoral College and the importance of swing
states like Florida and Ohio. The reporter later
followed some voters inside one of Virginia's voting
centers. Al-Aoula outlined the problems that could
occur during the vote count, reviewing the confusion
following the Bush/Gore elections. Al-Aoula
reminded viewers that many other elections were
taking place at the same time, such as for the

RABAT 00000307 003 OF 003


Senate.


12. Al-Aoula aired an interview on Election Day with
Jean Pierre Filieu, professor at Georgetown
University, on polling. He noted that the polls had
been favorable to Obama over the final weeks of the
campaign, but the difference between the two
candidates had remained very small. The economic
crisis seemed to be the primary concern for most
Americans, he said, which seemed to favor the
Democrats.


13. Al-Aoula covered the election returns from the
home of a Moroccan-American family in Virginia.
Several generations watched the results come in
state by state, erupting in joy at the announcement
of Obama's election. The father reacted by saying
it was high time for change.

JACKSON