From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

Dangerous unrest for a crucial American ally.

Hello again, I'm Orman Alney, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International.

A daily look at the issues Americans care about most.

Protesters in several Pakistani cities have been tear-gast and beaten today, as police arrested thousands of opposition leaders and shut down some media.

On To the Point, we'll hear how President Pervez Musharraf's state of emergency is creating a delicate problem for U.S. diplomacy.

In the second half of our program, television and film writers are walking picket lines in New York and Los Angeles.

Why should the rest of the nation care?

We'll hear how new media are changing the world of entertainment and America's cultural economy.

First on To the Point, here's the news.

Support for To the Point comes from subscribers of KCRW Santa Monica

and from the Public Radio International Program Fund,

whose contributors include the Ford Foundation

and the John

D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Hello again. Mormon Alany back with To the Point.

Pakistani police are cracking down on political opposition under President Musharraf's

State of Emergency, creating a delicate problem for U.S. diplomacy. We'll hear from Pakistan and

Washington today. In the second half of To the Point, TV and film writers are on strike in New York and Los Angeles.

We'll hear how new media are changing what is seen and heard all over the country.

First, this news update.

On Saturday, President Pervez Musharraf imposed a state of emergency on Pakistan,

claiming that militant violence and an unruly judiciary had created a crisis.

...