STOPPING SIGNALS FROM SATELLITE TV PROVES DIFFICULT

[Steve Schear]

STOPPING SIGNALS FROM SATELLITE TV PROVES DIFFICULT
Issue: Television/Journalism

Last week, at the urging of the White House, the major television and cable
networks agreed not to run raw footage of Al Qaeda statements as they are
broadcast by the Al Jazeera network from Qatar, which appears to be Mr. bin
Laden's preferred conduit for communicating with the world. But because of
the privatization and deregulation of the international satellite business
in recent years, control of the nation's television signals is by no means
limited to the coterie of United States companies that the White House
turned to last week. In fact, the great majority of homes in the United
States have the option of receiving Al Jazeera directly using a satellite
dish antenna not much bigger than a pizza pan. For about four years, the
EchoStar Dish Network operation has been carrying Al Jazeera, in Arabic, as
a part of a premium tier of international channels. If any terrorists are in
the country waiting for televised word from Mr. bin Laden - with or without
hidden messages - last week's steps by the White House did next to nothing
to thwart them.

[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Seth Schiesel]
<http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/15/business/media/15SAT.html>