Alhurra TV Examines the Arab-American Experience
Alhurra, the Arabic-language satellite channel, will launch new episodes of the popular documentary series Americans. Starting Friday, Dec. 4, Americans will take an extensive look at the rich history of Arab-Americans through a five-part series focusing on Arab-Americans and their lives in the United States. The series will highlight their immigration and integration into American society. It will include interviews with prominent Arab-Americans such as Congressman Charles Boustany, retired Gen. John Abizaid, actress Kathy Najimy, pollster John Zogby and former Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala. The series will conclude with a Town Hall Meeting held in Dearborn, Mich., where Arab-Americans will discuss their lives and the issues facing their community. The five-part series and Town Hall Meeting will air Friday evenings at 21:10 GMT. The program is hosted by Mohamed Mokhtari.
“This series gives Arab viewers insight into their American counterparts. It highlights the challenges and successes Arab-Americans have in the United States,” stated Middle East Broadcasting Networks President (MBN) Brian Conniff. “This documentary series allows us to take advantage of being in the U.S. to tell the stories not seen on other channels.”
Previous episodes of the Americans had in-depth reports on topics such as religion in America, grass root politics, the history of African-Americans and how early immigrants’ traditional foods quickly became mainstays in the United States.
Recent surveys by international research firms such as ACNielsen show that Alhurra has a weekly reach of 27.7 million viewers. Alhurra is broadcast on the Nilesat and Arabsat satellites in the Middle East and the Hotbird satellite system in Europe. Alhurra is operated by the non-profit corporation “The Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc.” (MBN). MBN is financed by the U.S. Government through a grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), an independent federal agency. The BBG serves oversight and as a firewall to protect the professional independence and integrity of the broadcasters. For more information on Alhurra go to www.alhurra.com
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Contact:
Deirdre Kline
Director of Communications
Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc.
703-852-9250