Pundits on Jordanian TV destroyed studio during heated on-air debate

Two pundits taking part in a Jordanian TV debate about media freedom in the Arab Spring became so angry with each other that they wrecked the studio on air.



Journalists Muhammad Sharif al-Jiyusi and Shakir al-Johari were mid-way through a discussion on the Jordanian 7 Stars TV network when the tone became heated.



One pundit accused the other of "bartering his positions", prompting the offended journalist to say "shut up". The men quickly started pushing the studio table at each other until the top came off, while the hapless TV host looked on. In the subsequent table-top tug-of-war, nobody seemed to score a decisive victory.


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Later, al-Jiyusi said he felt insulted by the way he had been called a supporter of Syria's ruling Baath party. It was "as if being a Baathist is a punishable charge, or an affront". Al-Jiyusi says he told the other pundit he is "honoured to be a Baathist" and is a correspondent for the Syrian state news agency Sana and of the al-Baath newspaper.