NEWS THURSDAY • October 25, 2001 Spotlight turns to reporter for Arabic-language network Shelley Emling - Cox Washington Bureau Thursday, October 25, 2001 New York --- She looks like any other TV reporter. But the conspicuous Arabic logo on her microphone marks her as something more. Ghida Fakhry covers New York and the United Nations for Al Jazeera, the Arabic-language network that has annoyed the Bush administration by airing taped statements from accused terrorist Osama bin Laden. Just as the 1991 Persian Gulf War put CNN on the map, the Sept. 11 attacks raised the profile of the 24-hour satellite news channel. Fakhry --- pronounced FAHK-ree --- no longer has to explain to people what network she reports for. Al Jazeera has grown so popular that it is considering recording broadcasts in English and expanding its office here, she says. The network has 40 million viewers, including 150,000 Americans. "I definitely think there's some sort of plan to look into doing some broadcasts in English, and I think it's a good idea because Americans really want to know what's being said on Al Jazeera," Fakhry said in an interview Tuesday. The 31-year-old Fakhry already is known to some American viewers. As the first Al Jazeera reporter to file for CNN's "World Report," she helped forge the much-talked-about relationship between the two networks. CNN has a deal with Al Jazeera to get exclusive interviews with an English-speaking correspondent based in Kandahar, the southern Afghanistan city that is the base of the Taliban regime. In exchange, Al Jazeera, the only network with a bureau in the Afghan capital of Kabul, gets to use CNN's satellite dish. The administration has complained that Al Jazeera's coverage is biased against the United States and that the network has become a mouthpiece for bin Laden. But Joel Campagna, program coordinator for the Middle East at the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, a media watchdog group, said the network is well-respected as an independent voice in the Arab world, even by moderates. "Is it a biased channel?" Campagna asked. "Sure. But every channel has at least a slight bias. I believe that they do their best to air all points of view." Fakhry said criticism of the network is unfair. "I'm surprised at the charges about the network being biased, because Al Jazeera has been criticized in [Arab regions] for being too pro-American and too pro-Israeli," she said. "This is a station that's obviously achieved a reputation for being independent." In the Arab world, Fakhry said, CNN and other Western outlets have long been seen as one-sided. "But I think things have improved lately and that people perceive Western outlets are at least trying to do a better job of being balanced," she said. Fakhry has covered New York for Al Jazeera for slightly more than a year. She had been a reporter for Asharq al-Awsat, an international Arabic newspaper based in London. Fakhry was born in Ghana and grew up in Beirut and Switzerland. She attended college in London and earned a master's degree in Near and Middle Eastern Studies from the University of London. Her spots on CNN International are well regarded. "She's a very good reporter, and we'll be happy to keep using her reports," said Nigel Pritchard, CNN's head of international public relations. With her long, black hair and telegenic face, Fakhry already commands attention. But she bemoans the fame she has received since Sept. 11: "I guess you could say I'm a reluctant celebrity."