Alhurra TV and Radio Sawa mark the 12th anniversary of Sept. 11th attacks
The Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN) provided its Arabic-speaking audience with live and comprehensive programming marking the 12th anniversary of the September 11th terror attacks and the anniversary of the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi.
Alhurra Television is the only Arabic- language network that took a comprehensive look at the anniversary and carried President Barack Obama’s remarks live with simultaneous translation. Alhurra also carried live the remarks of Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, along with updates from correspondents at the White House, Pentagon and ground zero. Alhurra’s live three-hour special coverage started at 8:30 a.m. (EST) and including interviews with experts and analysts from its studios in Cairo, Amman and Springfield, Va., and covered memorial ceremonies at the Pentagon, the World Trade Center Site and Shanksville, Pa.
In addition to its live coverage, Alhurra aired a series of reports focusing on counterterrorism efforts, the political and security situation in Afghanistan 12 years after the attacks, and al-Qaida’s position in Yemen. The program Free Hour discussed the effect of the US strikes on al-Qaida.
Alhurra’s daily magazine program Al Youm (Today), broadcast live from the front lawn of the U.S. Capitol and aired reports from New York and Boston focusing on the humanitarian aspect of the attacks. Reports included discussions on the coexistence of Muslims and Christian Copts in New York, the work of the Voices Against Terror movement, and the relationship between terrorism in the Middle East and Islamophobia. Al Youm also interviewed families of terror victims in Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Yemen, Lebanon, Israel, Palestinian Territories and Iraq. It also produced a report about a social media initiative by young American and French filmmakers who raised funds to rebuild the oldest movie theater in Kabul, which was destroyed by the Taliban.
Alhurra also broadcast several acquired documentaries to commemorate the 12th anniversary of the September 11th attacks.
Radio Sawa commemorated the day with special reports, reaction and analysis from the Middle East and the United States.