When Osama bin Laden sought to stir up anti-American sentiment in the Middle East, he sent a videotape to Al Jazeera. When President Bush sought to explain the United States’ motives for an air campaign in Afghanistan, he sent Colin Powell to be interviewed by Al Jazeera. Leaders ranging from Mullah Mohammad Omar to Tony Blair have granted interviews to the influential Arabic satellite television network, which reaches an estimated 35 million Arabs. This hour, a comparison of how Al Jazeera and NBC Nightly News have covered the events since September 11th. How is the war on terrorism being covered in the Middle East? Has either network been balanced in its coverage?

Guests:

Sree Sreenivasan, professor of Journalism at
Columbia University and a founder of the South
Asian Journalists Association;
Samer Shehata, Assistant Professor of politics at the
Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University;
Eric Deggens, television critic for the St. Petersberg
Times