Philip Merrill College of Journalism | University of Maryland

Hala Zureiqat Heads Jordan TV

Institutes innovations, new programs and American-style talk shows

**Hala Zureiqat**

Humphrey Alumna Hala Zureiqat (Class of 2003 - 2004) is leading broad reforms as head of Jordan TV, adding new employees, new programs and an emphasis on professional training.

Zurieqat, 54, became the first woman to lead Jordan’s state-run television network, in September 2007. With 500 employees, Jordan TV is based in Amman, but reaches all the the Arab countries, the southern parts of Europe, Turkey, West Iran, North America and several countries in Northern Africa. It is the country’s national, and only, broadcaster.

Before leaving for a Humphrey Fellowship at the University of Maryland’s College of Journalism in 2003, Zureiqat served as the network’s director of international relations. She returned to that job in 2004.

Since then she’s had a rapid rise. She credits her Humphrey year, particularly classes in conflict negotiation and media coverage of government, as well as countless meetings with U.S. television professionals.

“What I learned during my year in the United States helped me become more courageous in speaking in public and presenting my ideas,” Zureiqat said. “It gave me the leadership skills I needed.”

Zureiqat inherited a network battling competition from stations across the Arab world, courtesy of the satellite dishes that now sprout from the majority of Jordanian homes. Some of Jordan Television’s best employees had migrated to the higher salaries of Persian Gulf networks such as Al Jazeera.

**Zureiqat at Jordan TV**

Under Zureiqat’s leadership, Jordan Television is improving salaries and working conditions and hiring a new generation of employees. She has dedicated 2009 as the year of training for all Jordan Radio and Television staff.

For inspiration, she thinks back to the morning talk shows she watched every day in America while getting her three children ready for public school in Rockville, Md. As a result, she has focused the network on producing more local stories in the studio, in order to stay competitive with international reports on other satellite networks.

On average, JTV transmits 20 hours per day, and 80 percent of its programs are local. That includes everything from investigative reports that look into development and education, to morning talk shows that discuss health and local women’s issues.

Zureiqat speaks with a strong sense of leadership about her role at Jordan Television. “I know where I am going,” she said. “I know what ought to be done to make Jordan Radio and Television the best station among Arab broadcasters.”

Zureiqat admits she wasn’t always so confidant. Early in her Humphrey year, she was invited to speak to a panel of donors who supported Fulbright scholarships. Zureiqat was “a nervous wreck about doing any public speaking. She said she had stage fright and didn’t want to do it,” remembers Lucinda Fleeson, director of Maryland’s Humphrey program. But Zureiqat opened up to the crowd of distinguished donors, discussing everything from her personal history to Middle East issues.

A few months after the panel, Zureiqat spoke at a campus forum on international media. Afterward, a Middle Eastern student told Zureiqat the she spoke more eloquently about Arab-world issues better than anyone he had ever heard.

While in the United States, Zureiqat immersed herself in American culture. Her husband, Naif Karadsheh, head of the biochemistry and physiology departments at the University of Jordan, spent the year on sabbatical conducting research at George Washington University. Zureiqat volunteered in her children’s schools, connecting with other parents. She also frequented area book clubs and gave presentations on her home country. She developed a strong friendship with D.C. writer Andrea Kerr, a volunteer host for the Zureiqat family when they first arrived. They became close friends and still correspond.

**Zureiqat's family at home in Jordan**

In April 2008, Kerr and her husband, Joe, visited their friend in Jordan and were struck by the “depth of respect” that Zureiqat inspires. “Hala is obviously a celebrity there in Jordan,” said Kerr.

Zureiqat says those lasting relationships were the most valuable part of the Humphrey fellowship, building connections between often misunderstood cultures.

“The Humphrey fellowship brings people together,” she said. “Americans learned about our cause and local issues and we learned a lot about Americans.”

by Kenneth Fletcher, January 2009