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The CPD Blog is intended to stimulate dialog among scholars, researchers, practitioners and professionals from around the world in the public diplomacy sphere. The opinions represented here are the authors' own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the USC Center on Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School.
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JUN 9, 2009
Posted by Alvin Snyder
All posts by Alvin Snyder
What do the following have in common? Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, detainees at Guantanamo Bay, and North Korea’s sentencing of the two American female journalists to hard labor.
Answer: Each is relevant to Current TV, a U.S. satellite TV channel and Web site.
The two American journalists, Euna Lee and Laura Ling, convicted of illegally entering North Korea from China, are reporters for Current TV.
Al Gore, who narrowly missed becoming a U.S. President in the 2000 election, is co-founder of Current TV. Well-behaved Guantanamo Bay prisoners, who are being supplied with laptop computers and provided access to satellite TV programs while the U.S. decides what to do with them, could possibly come across Current TV and its Internet website.
While the U.S. military says it is limiting satellite program access to sports channels, talk shows and Middle East programming, including Al Jazeera, one can never be certain if a Guantanamo detainee isn't taking a peek at Current’s television channel or Web site, while being instructed on how to use one's laptop computer, or tuning across satellite TV channels himself.
What would detainees observe? (Or, what are they now watching?)
Program content on Current TV is tailored to those ages 18-34, the age group of many Guantanamo prisoners, and even more if you count their ages when first incarcerated. Much of Current's satellite and Internet content is provided by its audience, including on-line gaming (Help Our Guy Get The Girl), Internet puzzles, comedy (Teen Hugging Panic), music, (Bret Michaels Gets Knocked Out When He Runs Into A Wall While Performing At The Tony Awards), Entertainment (Kim Jong II Stages An Opera) and news (Texas Cop Tasers 72-Year-Old Great-Grandmother), or "hot" videos including Europe’s Secret Sex Trade.
Current TV's Web site also notes that "A Guantanamo Bay Videogame [is Coming] Soon" ... created with the assistance of former Guantanamo detainee Moazzam Begg (who was released under the Bush administration).
MP3s and user-generated video from across the Web are featured on the Daily Fix program, and detainees also have permission to read such newspapers as USA Today.
It's been suggested that Al Gore go to North Korea to negotiate the release of the two American journalists who work for Current TV. If so, he will need to explain Current’s parody of Kim Jong II, but if the North Korean dictator has a sense of humor (which is doubtful), it might help.
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