Arab network accuses Brits of poaching staff
By ALI JAAFAR
MBC Group, the Arab world's leading satellite network, has launched an uncharacteristically stinging attack against the BBC for what it claims has been a concerted campaign to lure its staff to the BBC Arabic TV service, set to launch by the end of the year.
A dozen staffers at Al-Arabiya, MBC's top-rated newscaster, have jumped ship to join the service, including editors, producers and reporters.
The BBC venture, funded by the U.K. government to the tune of some $34 million annually, is headed by Egyptian journo Salah Negm, previously head of newsgathering at Al-Arabiya.
"It is no secret that in the content industry, there is a natural ebb and flow of talent," said Mazen Hayek, MBC Group's director of marketing, PR and commercial. "But it is the systematic, targeted, deliberate and ongoing nature of this poaching that is distressing. We would have expected far more responsible and sensible behavior from the BBC."
Read more at Variety:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117972710.html?categoryid=14&cs=1
