Al Jazeera’s Sami Zeidan to host first-ever podcast dedicated to the ME
‘Essential Middle East’ podcast aimed at dissecting the news in one of the world’s most misunderstood and complicated regions
AL Jazeera Media Network is all set to launch a new weekly podcast, ‘Essential Middle East’, from May 5, to analyse news and simplify complex geopolitical realities of the Middle East and the wider Muslim world for its ever-growing digital audience.
To be hosted by Al Jazeera English Channel’s launch presenter Sami Zeidan every Thursday, the podcast is aimed at dissecting news in one of the world’s most misunderstood and complicated regions.
In an exclusive interview with Qatar Tribune, Zeidan provided a general idea about the upcoming show, saying: “The ‘Essential Middle East’ podcast is a weekly show focusing on major current affairs topics in the Middle East and the wider Muslim world. It is not a news show, but rather a podcast that provides an indepth analysis of news and current affairs. We dissect complex geopolitics, challenge perspectives, highlight changing social trends as well as chart economic development in emerging opportunities in the Middle East, in the Muslim world.”
Zeidan, who currently anchors the daily news shows, the in-depth discussion show ‘Inside Story’, and the channel’s one-on-one interview show ‘Talk to Al Jazeera’, said the podcast would discuss current issues in the Middle East and how the Middle East region impacts global issues.
The digital show, he noted, would explain what the Middle East means to the world.
About the issues to be discussed during the show, he said, “We have already recorded some shows. We are looking at global events and there is no secret that we are looking at ‘War in Ukraine’ and how the war is impacting the Middle East. We will look at the obvious ones about the Palestinian and Israeli struggle, about energy and what it means to the world; it’s a wide range of topics. We may get at some point into lighter social issues as well, but for the most part of the show, the focus will be on current affairs and hard news. We will focus on anything that is hard news.”
To begin with, he said, “We will start with one episode every week on Thursday. We might increase the number of weekly shows later. We will be doing this show in English for our global audience who are either interested in the Middle East or who are interested in knowing what role the Middle East is playing in global issues whether it is related to the environment, energy, war in Ukraine, global poverty and wealth. The Middle East is at the heart of many of these issues.”
“To understand these issues well, we don’t just need to have an in-depth analysis, we need to have a good conversation. We will have good conversations with the experts and the audience to understand the complex Middle East issues better. It is this conversation that will make this show different from others,” he said.
“We will have the most knowledgeable people on particular issues during the show. People who know the subject very well are also the people who can engage in good conversation. We will have good engagement with our audience as well, whereby we will invite people to give their comments, thoughts and questions and see how we can integrate that into our show to keep the conversation alive,” he said.
The duration of each podcast will be 25 to 30 minutes,
Zeidan said, adding that this will be the first podcast for Al Jazeera and for other news channels around the world that will be entirely dedicated to the Middle East and its impact on the world.
Zeidan, whose assignments have taken him from the White House to the UN, and through war zones from Gaza to Syria, said he was very excited about connecting with the digital audience through the podcast.
He said, “It’s well known that digital platforms now represent the future. So, it’s very important for us to focus more on the digital world. The digital audience generally tends to be a younger audience, a more interactive and vocal audience and a more engaging audience than the traditional TV and print audience. We will be targeting such an audience.”
Zeidan, who has presented, reported and produced with the biggest names in television, including Al Jazeera, CNN, CNBC and NBC affiliates, said: “It’s a great opportunity and I am very, very excited about connecting with the digital audience. Like I said, they tend to be a little bit different. I am very excited to reach out to this audience and to have my own digital connection with such an audience. It’s very important for me personally in terms of my career, my growth and my development.”
With vast experience in training and teaching journalism around the world, Zeidan said, “Connecting with the digital audience will give me an opportunity to know what the digital audience knows about the current issues, what they think about them and how they connect with such issues. That’s exciting for me.”
“This is my first podcast. I will encourage my audience to like it and subscribe to it,” he said.