News10 KXTV
Evening News Broadcast
February 24, 2003

As war clouds loom, television brings constant updates on the U.S. approach to a possible conflict. Now, millions of Americans can also see how Middle Eastern TV covers the potential war with Iraq.

From satellite dishes atop their studios near the San Francisco waterfront, Link TV each day produces a half hour collage of top stories from Middle Eastern TV networks, then broadcasts them in English on the program "Mosaic."

The aim is to offer the U.S. audience a Middle Eastern perspective on the news, direct from the source. "Our intention is to bring in a different perspective to our viewer, the American viewer." said Jamal Dajani, Link TV Director of Middle Eastern Programs.

Mosaic was first born shortly after the September 11 terrorist attacks. That's when Link TV first contacted the Arab TV news service Al-Jazeera. Since then, the network's sources have grown. Now, each day Link TV monitors 24 networks, all from the Middle East.

While some of the stories are familiar, others give a uniquely Middle Eastern perspective. A case in point is the closing story on a recent episode of Mosaic. In the piece, which was taken from Iran's TV-2, President George W. Bush's aggressive foreign policy is compared to that of Adolf Hitler.

Link TV is frequently criticized as un-American by viewers who take exception to stories such as the one from Iranian TV. Dajani responds that those who take issue with the story are missing the point of Link TV, which is to provide a spectrum of viewpoints. "For me to ignore it would be doing a disservice to our viewers because this is their number one lead story," he said.

Dajani believes better informed Americans make for a stronger America. "We as Americans are not afraid of the truth," he said. "We are not afraid of information. And I'm proud to do this. I don't think it's un-American."

Link TV is a nonprofit organization funded by the Hewlett and Knight foundations. Its programming, including the Middle Eastern news program Mosaic, is available to all subscribers of the DIRECTV and Dish Network satellite systems.