From WNYC in New York, this is NPR's On The Media.

I'm Bob Garfield.

And I'm Brooke Gladstone.

This week, a notable television event.

At the request of the Bush administration, the networks had refrained from airing tapes of Osama bin Laden produced by al-Qaeda.

The U.S. government didn't want to offer

bin Laden a platform from which to proselytize or possibly pass coded messages. But this week,

the nation had an extended look at bin Laden, not standing stoically in front of a cave with a prepared

address and a gun, but relaxing with friends, recalling September 11th with self-congratulatory giggles.

The Bush administration had no problem with this broadcast.

The Middle Eastern satellite channel Al Jazeera had been heavily criticized by the Bush

administration for repeatedly airing Bin Laden's earlier messages.

Hafez Al-Mirazi is the Network's Washington Bureau Chief.

Earlier this week, he said he saw hypocrisy in the actions of the American government.

The irony now is the same people who was criticizing Al Jazeera for putting Bill Laden to get the other side of view

are the same people now who are watching

and waiting excitedly for the US government to release Biladin tape. That will be a tape message

of hatred, laughing or whatever about the tragedy, all of the things that criticized Al Jazeera

of doing mainly because of political gains that they would like to get out of that.

Joining us now is Marvin Calb, former chief diplomatic correspondent for CBS News and NBC News,

now head of the D.C. Office of Harvard's Joan Schorenstein Center on the press, politics, and public policy.

Professor Calb, welcome to On the Media. Thank you.

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