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-- -Time flies like the wind. Fruit flies like a banana. Stranger things have - -happened but none stranger than this. Does your driver's license say Organ -Donor?Black holes are where God divided by zero. Listen to me! We are all- -individuals! What if this weren't a hypothetical question? [EMAIL PROTECTED] PRESIDENT USES TV SHOW TO COMBAT TERRORISM Issue: Television Both Osama bin Laden and President George Bush are using television as an important weapon in this very different kind of conflict. In his most recent media strategy move, Mr. Bush has requested that the Fox television network pre-empt other programming to air a special episode of its weekly reality crime show "America's Most Wanted," to give viewers a chance to help hunt down terrorism suspects. The special cooperation between the White House and Fox network is no surprise, considering that Fox CEO Rupert Murdoch is an open Bush supporter, and his network is highly popular with conservatives. But Mr. Bush's use of television, particularly entertainment shows, is also a new step. While President Ronald Reagan was a master at using television imagery, even he never commandeered a network show to pursue a national security goal. [SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Alessandra Stanley] (http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/11/national/11MEDI.html) AT U.S. REQUEST, NETWORKS AGREE TO EDIT FUTURE BIN LADEN TAPES Issue: Television/Journalism The five major television news organizations reached a joint agreement yesterday to follow the suggestion of the White House and abridge any future videotaped statements from Osama bin Laden or his followers to remove language the government considers inflammatory. The decision, the first time in memory that the networks had agreed to a joint arrangement to limit their prospective news coverage, was described by one network executive as a "patriotic" decision that grew out of a conference call between the nation's top television news executives and the White House national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, yesterday morning. "Her biggest point," said Neal Shapiro, the president of NBC News, "was that here was a charismatic speaker who could arouse anti- American sentiment getting 20 minutes of air time to spew hatred and urge his followers to kill Americans." The notion, however, that Mr. bin Laden was sending messages to followers through the tapes seemed less than credible to several of the executives. "What sense would it make to keep the tapes off the air if the message could be found transcripted in newspapers or on the Web?" said one network executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity. [SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Bill Carter And Felicity Barringer] (http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/11/national/11TUBE.htm)
