Ghassan bin Jiddo ( ar, غسان بن جدو, Ghassan Ben Jeddou), (born 8 August 1962) is a veteran Tunisian- Lebanese

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

, activist and the director of Beirut-based pan-Arab satellite television channel,

Al Mayadeen Al Mayadeen ( Arabic: الميادين; The Plazas) is a pan-Arabist satellite news television channel launched on 11 June 2012 in Beirut, Lebanon. Its programming is predominantly news. It has news reporters in most Arab countries. In the pan- ...

. He has been recognized in the popular press as an influential Arab personality.

Early life and education

Ghassan bin Jiddo was born to a Muslim Tunisian father and a

Christian Lebanese Christianity in Lebanon has a long and continuous history. Biblical Scriptures purport that Peter and Paul evangelized the Phoenicians, whom they affiliated to the ancient patriarchate of Antioch. The spread of Christianity in Lebanon was ...

mother in Al Koussour,

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

, on 8 August 1962. He studied in Tunisia and was a student activist during his education years.

Career

Jiddo began his journalism career as a correspondent for the BBC Network, ''

Al Hayat Al-Hayat ( ar, الحياة meaning "Life") was a London-based, pan-Arab newspaper owned by Saudi Prince Khalid bin Sultan, that had a circulation estimated over 200,000. It was the newspaper of record for the Arab diaspora and the preferred v ...

'' and other Arab newspapers as well as the Arab Institute for International Studies in Washington. Later, he began to serve as the bureau chief of

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. Then, he became the bureau chief of Al Jazeera in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

. However, in April 2011, he resigned from Al Jazeera due to its lack of professionalism and objectivity in covering the

Arab Spring The Arab Spring ( ar, الربيع العربي) was a series of anti-government protests, uprisings and armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began in Tunisia in response to corruption and econo ...

. It was claimed that he did not endorse the station’s full coverage of the situation in

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

, and Syria, while completely ignoring the crisis in

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

. In 2012, Jiddo became the director of Beirut-based pan-Arab satellite television station,

, launched on 11 June 2012.

Notable works

During his Al Jazeera years, Jiddo worked on a documentary about Hezbollah. He had an exclusive interview with the secretary general of Hezbollah,

Hassan Nasrallah Hassan Nasrallah ( ar, حسن نصر الله ; born 31 August 1960) is a Lebanese cleric and political leader who has served as the 3rd secretary-general of Hezbollah since his predecessor, Abbas al-Musawi, was assassinated by the Israel De ...

, during the Israel-Lebanon conflict of 2006. In the same year, he also interviewed

Julia Boutros Julia Boutros ( ar, جوليا بطرس; born April 1, 1968) is a Lebanese singer rose to prominence in the 1980s with a series of songs like "Ghabet Shams El Haq" and "Wein el Malayeen". She is also the sister of Ziad Boutros and the wife of t ...

Walid Jumblat Walid Kamal Jumblatt ( ar, وليد جنبلاط; born 7 August 1949) is a Lebanese Druze politician and former militia commander who has been leading the Progressive Socialist Party since 1977. While leading the Lebanese National Resistance Fr ...

and former Cuban president Fidel Castro. He was regarded as the most watched and most popular presenter on Al Jazeera in 2007. He became an influential figure on the Al Jazeera network in 2010, with his program ''Hiwar Maftuh'' ("Open dialogue" in Arabic) that was one of the most commonly watched programs. He made insightful interviews with decision makers in his talk-show, and he received much acclaim for Al Jazeerah's coverage of the war in Lebanon in 2006.

Views

After his resignation from Al Jazeera, Jiddo claimed that the opposition in Syria and those who support them are responsible for the spilled Syrian blood, asserting that real opposition should never use weapons and violence against the citizens. Jiddo also appreciated

Bashar Al Assad Bashar Hafez al-Assad, ', Levantine pronunciation: ; (, born 11 September 1965) is a Syrian politician who is the 19th president of Syria, since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the S ...

's ongoing reforms which disappointed those who wanted to interfere in Syria's internal affairs. In June 2012, he argued that "the regime of Bashar Al Assad is being subject to an international conspiracy".

Personal life

Jiddo is married to an Iranian woman, Neda Ghaemmaghami. Originally a Tunisian citizen, Ghassan has dual citizenship after acquiring the Lebanese nationality. He was chosen to be the 24th most influential Arab among 100 Arab personalities by '' Arabian Business'' in 2007 and 59th most influential Arab in the world among 500 Arab personalities again by ''Arabian Business'' in 2011. He was mentioned as a possible successor to then Al Jazeera director general Wadah Khanfar.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jiddo, Ghassan 1962 births Al Jazeera people Lebanese activists Lebanese journalists Lebanese Muslims Lebanese people of Tunisian descent Lebanese television presenters Living people Tunisian journalists Tunisian people of Lebanese descent