The major US television networks agreed Wednesday to ban live broadcasts of messages from suspected terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden following talks with the White House.
Separate statements issued by ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and the Cable News Network (CNN) said the organisations would review any statements made by bin Laden or members of his al-Qaeda network before deciding whether to put them on the air.
The decision followed a conference call between news executives and national security adviser Condoleezza Rice in which she warned bin Laden could be using the statements to send hidden messages to al-Qaeda members, according to the statements.
"NBC and the other networks' news divisions agree that we will not air any pre-recorded messages from al-Qaeda without screening them in their entirety first," said a statement from NBC.
The news organisations said Rice made no demands during the talks.
"Dr. Rice made no specific request of news organisations, other than that we consider the possible existence of such messages in deciding whether and how to air portions of al-Qaeda statements," ABC said.
CBS added: "In fact, Dr. Rice acknowledged the potential importance of messages and other appearances by bin Laden."
Twice this week, US all-news networks, including CNN, MSNBC and Fox News, re-broadcast messages taped by bin Laden and his top associates and handed over to the Qatar-based Arabic satellite news channel al-Jazeera.
The statements praised the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, which left some 5,500 people dead or missing, and called on Muslims to launch a holy war against the United States.
Earlier Wednesday, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer also warned that bin Laden may be using videotaped statements to send secret messages to his followers to kill Americans.
"CBS News and the other news organisations on the call affirmed their commitment to responsible journalism that informs without jeopardizing American lives," CBS said in its statement.
CNN, which has broadcast live satellite feeds of statements from bin Laden and his spokesman from al-Jazeera, said it would not air any material that could "directly facilitate any terrorist acts."
"In deciding what to air, CNN will consider guidance from appropriate authorities," the cable network said in a statement.
Fox News promised to "carefully review" all al-Qaeda statements before deciding whether to use them.
"We believe a free press must and can bear responsibility not to be used by those who want to destroy America and endanger the lives of its citizens," it said.
(a href=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn> China Daily 10/11/2001)
