32. Name: Sarah Jurkiewicz Title: Al Jazeera on Site: Journalism as Ethical Practice Institution: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin Country: Germany Date: 2007 Language: German Abstract: In Europe, Al Jazeera’s foreign correspondents encounter various and sometimes conflicting expectations: they have to meet both the professional standards of news production and the expectations of global representation of the local Arabic-speaking communities. In addition, their role as ‘cultural translators’is not always free of conflicts, especially if sensitive topics such as same-sex marriages are to be translated for an Arab public. This study deals with the ‘ethos of translation’ of Al Jazeera correspondents in Berlin and Paris. It is based on participant observation of their daily work in both offices and interviews with journalists. The study compares journalistic and anthropological modes of translation and conceptualizes the correspondents’ perspective as ‘shifting consciousness’. This term describes their professional mode of comparing ‘here (the location they cover) with ‘there’ (the imaginary Arab public). The findings show that the correspondents try to report ‘with deference to both sides’, especially when addressing sensitive issues. In German local media for example, correspondents take an intermediary stance, trying to represent the ‘Arab voice’. However, as seen in the failed attempts at covering homosexuality, this ethos has its limits.
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