Rick Freeman Email Address

Freelance Writer and Editor

Al Jazeera America is the U.S. based news channel that provides both domestic and international news coverage for its American audiences. Translated from Arabic, "Al Jazeera" means "peninsula." Our logo stays true to its Arabian roots with a distinctive calligraphy of the network name. Headquartered in New York City with bureaus in 12 cities across the United States, Al Jazeera America is available in more than 60 million homes in the U.S. across major television providers, including DirecTV, Comcast/Xfinity, Time Warner Cable, DISH Network, AT&T U-Verse, Verizon FiOS, and Bright House Networks. Khan, formerly with CNN, wrote an embarrassingly obsequious biography of the billionaire Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, an investor in News Corporation (parent of Fox News) and Time Warner (parent of CNN). Marash recently wrote a piece for the New York Daily News on "Why I Joined Al-Jazeera. Ignoring its record of death and destruction, including the incitement of murder and hostage-taking, Marash declared, "Al Jazeera in Arabic has become, in 10 short years, one of the most significant and positive developments in centuries in the Arabic-speaking world." On the Today Show, Marash claimed that Al-Jazeera's airing of Osama bin Laden videos has had the effect of showing him to be a psychopath to the Arab world. In fact, the tapes encourage Arabs and Muslims to kill Americans. That is their intent and that is their effect. NBC's Lisa Myers noted in one of her reports on foreign fighters in Iraq that Saudis captured there say they came to kill Americans "because of pictures on Arab television network Al-Jazeera." Marash's former colleague, Ted Koppel, declined an offer to go to work for Al-Jazeera International. Reuters reported that Koppel and producing partner Tom Bettag had lunch with an Al-Jazeera executive, but it "didn't take long for us to decide that that's not what we were going to do. Koppel said, "I don't think Tom and I entertained it more than 38 seconds." It shouldn't have taken that long. Anybody who goes to work for Al-Jazeera either hates America or wants big bucks from the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.

Spots places and circumstances where mistakes can happen. Catches errors after they happen, but before they get published. Writes fast and accurate copy under pressure. Quickly transforms basic stories and notes into crisp prose. Communicates clearly and remains calm in high-pressure environments. Keeps reporters and other editors focused in tense situations. Encourages and assists writers in improving their craft.