After rumours in the television industry, Al Jazeera International – the new English-language news channel launching in 2006 – has confirmed that television host, author and producer Sir David Frost, the only person to have interviewed the last seven Presidents of the United States and the last six Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom, has joined the line-up of key on-air talent at the new 24-hour English-language news and current affairs channel.
“We are thrilled to have Sir David Frost join Al Jazeera International,” said Managing Director Nigel Parsons. “Hes a one-man international broadcasting phenomenon and our viewers can look forward to the substance and quality that have marked his distinguished career.”
Sir David said: “This is a great adventure the first and perhaps the only brand-new international TV news network for the 21st Century. Most of the television I have done over the years has been aimed at British and American audiences. This time, while our target is still Britain and America, the excitement is that it is also the 6 billion other inhabitants of the globe. As someone said, a new show for a new channel for the new century.”
Sir David will also continue with his BBC work, the upcoming Frost Interview specials as well as Through the Keyhole.
Landmark interviews have always been a feature of Sir Davids career. Among the many world figures that he has interviewed are the six most recent British Prime Ministers (Harold Wilson, James Callaghan, Edward Heath, Margaret Thatcher, John Major and Tony Blair), Prince Charles, The Duke of York, the Duchess of York and The Princess Royal in the United Kingdom; the seven most recent Presidents of the United States. His Nixon Interviews achieved “the largest audience for a news interview in history” (New York Times). In addition to their unprecedented impact in the United States, the interviews were also seen – either in English or dubbed into local languages – in almost every television nation in the world. Other notable interviews include Colin Powell, Henry Kissinger, Robert F Kennedy, Pierre Trudeau and Brian Mulroney in North America; John Howard, Robert Hawke, Malcolm Fraser and Gough Whitlam in Australia; Indira Gandhi, Benazir Bhutto and President Musharraf in Asia; King Hussein, Golda Meir, Moshe Dayan, Menachem Begin, Yasser Arafat, Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres and Benjamin Netanyahu in the Middle East. Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki and F.W. de Klerk in South Africa, and President Putin in Russia. Outside the field of world affairs, the roster is equally impressive – from Orson Welles, Tennessee Williams, Noel Coward and Peter Ustinov, to Artur Rubinstein, Woody Allen, Muhammad Ali and the Beatles.
Al Jazeera International, headquartered in Qatar, will launch in the Spring of 2006. With broadcasting centres strategically placed across the world in Doha, Kuala Lumpur, London, and Washington D.C. and dozens of news bureaux worldwide, the channel will bring English speakers across the world a fresh perspective on world news and current affairs. Sir David Frost will broadcast from Al Jazeera Internationals London broadcast centre. Details of his onscreen work with the channel will be revealed closer to launch.