Al Arabiya TV chief suspends his resignation

The General Manager of “Al Arabiya” News Channel Abdul Rahman al-Rashed stated on Monday that he has postponed his resignation from the channel for the time being and that he will keep working at “MBC Group” - which owns “Al Arabiya” - in any appropriate capacity.

Al-Rashed referred to a phone call received from MBC Group’s Chairman of the Board, Sheikh Waleed Bin Ibrahim Al Ibrahim, who formally informed him that he rejected his resignation. “I confirm that I will remain with “MBC Group” in any appropriate capacity. Accordingly, I am postponing my resignation for the time being, to have more time to think, ponder and work,” al-Rashed said.

“It is unfortunate that some have tried to capitalize on the inadvertence that occurred on-screen in order to harm the channel itself, and actually launch an attack against it, simply because Al Arabiya has become a foremost beacon in the media scene, something that doesn’t sit well with them.”

“The nature of our work, around the clock, live and recorded content, may involve mistakes. But, I was really surprised that some have tried to turn an unintended editorial blunder into a political matter, under different labels, wrongly implicating colleagues both in Al Arabiya and in Asharq al Awsat newspaper,” al-Rashed added. “All of those claims were fabricated and inaccurate to their last detail.”

“The nature of my job requires me to assume responsibility for everything that is aired; this is part of the ethics and duties of this profession, I’m not coming up with anything new. Al Arabiya today is not just a News channel, it actually embodies rationality, moderation, objectivity and balance in the Arab society, which are quite rare nowadays,” al-Rashed said.

He added that this In turn makes the channel a direct target for those who are opposed to it. “Al Arabiya did not only rectify some misconceptions during the past seven years but, it also straightened out the trajectory of Arab media and paved its way towards a better path,” al-Rashed said adding that “this achievement is a common ground shared by all that work for Al Arabiya, and not specific to one individual per say.”

About rumors of mass resignations in “Al Arabiya”, al-Rashed reiterated what MBC Group’s Chairman said: “Those are stories that are absolutely devoid of truth, and have nothing to do at all with my resignation, which is a strictly administrative matter. Some have tried as hard as they could to make a big issue out of it, while MBC Group includes more than 1,500 people, most of them armed with skills, talent, experience and real passion for their jobs.”

MBC Group’s Chairman al-Ibrahim, said in a statement on Wednesday that “there were no mass resignations at all, and that the whole story is fabricated and devoid of truth.”

was really surprised that some have tried to turn an unintended editorial blunder into a political matter, under different labels, wrongly implicating colleagues both in Al Arabiya and in Asharq al Awsat newspaper

General Manager of Al Arabiya News Channel Abdul Rahman al-Rashed