FBI Town Hall Meeting
on Bridges TV
Paul Moskal, the Chief Legal Counsel
of the FBI, will be holding a town hall meeting on Bridges
TV next month. He will answer your questions directly on
national television. Adnan Mirza, Director, Council on American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR-OH) will host and moderate this historic
event.
To participate in this town hall meeting, please submit
your questions for the FBI at: www.bridgestv.com/AskFBI.asp
This week Bridges TV has grown from 10k premium pay homes
to over one million basic cable homes as a free channel,
according to a press release. It added:
Bridges TV has transitioned from a premium pay channel to
basic cable on several cable and satellite systems, including
WOW! Cable, Buckeye Cable, Shrewsbury Cable, Verizon FiOS
TV and Globecast Satellite. This covers cable markets in
parts of Detroit, Chicago, Toledo, Columbus, Boston, Dallas,
Tampa and Washington D.C. Bridges TV has also been approved
by the Canadian Radio & Television Commission (CRTC)
to start broadcasting in Canada, where it will soon launch
on Rogers Cable. The Ford Motor Company of Dearborn, Michigan
has made this expansion possible with a charter sponsorship.
The launch of Bridges TV as a free channel on basic cable
comes at a time when Middle Eastern and South Asian communities
around the world are in the spotlight. Most recently, the
controversy around the management of American ports by Dubai
Ports and worldwide protests against the publication of
satirical cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad have highlighted
deep divisions between Western and Middle Eastern/South
Asian cultures.
"As the world continues to be shaped by issues such
as the war on terror, the ongoing struggle in Iraq, and
the democratization of the Middle East, one of the greatest
needs of our time is greater understanding between Western
and Eastern cultures. Bridges TV is groundbreaking because
now, simply while switching channels from CNN to Fox News,
millions of Americans and Canadians can stumble on Bridges
TV, and get a completely different and unique perspective
on the most compelling news events of our time," said
Muzzammil Hassan, CEO of Bridges TV.
Brad Mefferd, Chief Operating Officer of Buckeye Cable in
Toledo, Ohio, said that the launch of Bridges TV as a free
basic channel allows the network to reach a much wider audience
while also appealing to the desires of Americans for greater
understanding of the Middle Eastern and South Asian cultures.
"If the network can bridge gaps of understanding between
the West and the East, then we have provided a great service
to the world."
On Monday May 15th at 9pm ET/PT, Bridges TV will make yet
another history. Paul Moskal, the Chief Legal Counsel for
the FBI, will hold an FBI Townhall Meeting exclusively on
Bridges TV. Mr. Moskal will take direct questions from Muslim
and Arab Americans on national television. And on Sunday
May 14th, Bridges TV will hold the cable TV premier of PBS
hit movie Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet. Bridges TV broadcasts
original daily newscasts, current affairs shows, children’s
programming, travel shows, documentaries, sitcoms, movies,
music videos, sports, comedy, food, business and magazine
shows.
The purpose of Bridges TV is to create a platform for dialogue
and friendship between the West and the East. The English
language network is the first of its kind and is aimed at
the more than twelve million Americans of Middle Eastern
and South Asian descent, as well as millions of Americans
and Canadians with an interest in these cultures, especially
due to the current world situation.
“It really fills a void,” said Adnan Mirza,
a director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR). There’s a clear disconnect between popular
American media and Muslim audience. The nice thing is, this
is not just for the Muslim audience. Bridges TV gives a
clear understanding of the issues to viewers and an opportunity
for us to speak for ourselves. Mirza added, “Americans
are increasingly interested in better understanding Middle
Eastern cultures, and Muslim Americans want to be better
understood. Bridges TV creates a public platform for this
dialog.”
World heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, showed his support
for the network as he helped launch Bridges TV last year
in Chicago. Ali believes that Bridges TV will help to overcome
the erroneous image of Muslim Americans "Let the rest
of America get to know us the way they would get to know
their next door neighbor. I hope Bridges TV will be very
successful for the sake of all Americans," he added.
Bridges TV News Director, Nancy Sanders, formerly of WKBW-TV,
the ABC news affiliate in Buffalo, NY, said that Bridges
TV has made great strides in getting views not normally
taken in the mainstream news. As an example, she cites Bridges
News extensive coverage of the humanitarian efforts of major
American organizations to help earthquake victims in Pakistan
and India. “We've been able to get into the hearts
and minds of communities forgotten or overlooked by major
media operations by covering cultural events and seeking
opinions whenever any major news story breaks,” she
added.
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