PBS NEWSHOUR, FRONTLINE, NOVA, Charlie Rose & Tavis Smiley Offer Extensive Coverage of Reaction to Osama bin Laden's Death and Issues Raised
Arlington, VA -- May 2, 2011 -- As the world reacts to the news that Osama bin Laden, long-hunted leader of the al-Qaeda terror group and mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, was killed in a firefight in Pakistan, news and public affairs programs on PBS are offering extensive coverage both online and on air about the years-long hunt, the operation and what’s next for the U.S. war on terror.
PBS NEWSHOUR – Jim Lehrer and Gwen Ifill will anchor a special edition of the PBS NEWSHOUR devoted entirely to the questions being raised after President Obama’s confirmation that the mastermind off the 9/11 attacks was killed. Senior Correspondent Margaret Warner reports from Washington on the details of Sunday’s Special Operations attack on bin Laden’s compound and Special Correspondent Saima Mohsin reports from the Pakistani town where the al-Qaeda leader was killed. Senior Correspondent Judy Woodruff looks at how Americans are reacting all around the country. Guests will include former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, journalist and author Steve Coll, and Farhana Qazi (formerly Ali), an international terrorism analyst.
Online, NewsHour readers will find a topic page devoted to coverage of Osama bin Laden, with added features including: a liveblog with updated news and analysis; videos, photos and reports of people from around the world reacting to the news; a profile of the Abbottabad compound where bin Laden was captured; and discussions of the international and political implications.
FRONTLINE – “Fighting for bin Laden,” airs Tuesday, May 3, 2011 at 9 pm ET on PBS (check local listings). In the aftermath of the killing of Osama bin Laden, FRONTLINE presents two inside views of the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban. First, Afghan journalist Najibullah Quraishi — who reported last year’s award-winning FRONTLINE film “Behind Taliban Lines” — once again journeys deep inside enemy territory. This time, he gains extraordinary access to a band of militants and foreign fighters in Afghanistan who say they’re loyal to bin Laden and are readying a Spring offensive against the U.S. Then, FRONTLINE crosses the border into Pakistan, where correspondents Stephen Grey and Martin Smith go inside “The Secret War” against the militants. They uncover new details of a CIA “private army” of militiamen launching kill raids against al Qaeda and the Taliban inside Pakistan. They also find new evidence of covert support for elements of the Taliban by the Pakistani military and its intelligence service, the ISI. At a safe-house not far from where bin Laden was killed, they make contact with one mid-level Taliban commander who tells FRONTLINE, “If they really wanted to, [the Pakistanis] could arrest us all in an hour.” http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/fighting-for-bin-laden/
Charlie Rose – Tonight’s broadcast will have coverage of the killing of Osama bin Laden with Brian Ross of ABC News, Dexter Filkins of the New York Times, David Ignatius of the Washington Post, Journalist Steve Coll and others.
Tavis Smiley – On tonight’s broadcast, Tavis Smiley will discuss the operation that killed bin Laden with former U.S. Senator Alan Simpson and investigative journalist and author Jeremy Schall of The Nation.
NOVA – “Inside NOVA” on pbs.org examines how the U.S. was able to positively identify Osama bin Laden using DNA and how they were able to do it so quickly. George Church, Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Center for Computational Genetics comments on the case. http://to.pbs.org/mGosVA
NEED TO KNOW on PBS - Need to Know's continuing coverage of the death of Osama bin Laden is collected below; additional original coverage and commentary will follow this week.
- The death of Osama bin Laden "opens the door for the beginning of a withdrawal from Afghanistan," says one intelligence firm.
- From Ground Zero to Afghanistan to the White House, people gathered Sunday night and Monday to hear of Osama bin Laden's death.
- A roundup of reactions during the initial hours of hearing that Osama bin Laden had been killed.
- A closer look at the Abbottabad compound where bin Laden was killed:
- Photo: An Indian sand artist marks the killing of Osama bin Laden in an enormous sand sculpture.
- Nation editor Katrina vanden Heuvel argues that it’s time to end the war on terror.
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Contact:
Carrie Johnson
PBS 703-739-5129 cjohnson@pbs.org
