IN the opening years of the 21st century, a network of communication channels unites the world. Every place, large and small, is connected and linked to every other place. When something significant happens, the entire world learns of it within minutes. Nowhere is this more obvious than in TV news; the only difference being that, because of time zones, some learn in the morning and others in the evening.

The best — and most obvious — example occurred during the recent attacks in New York and Washington. People in Boston, Jeddah and Buenos Aires were able to watch it live. The speed with which the media covered the events and looked at them from a number of different angles surprised many, especially in the Arab world. A friend asked me, "How do they do it?"

Well, to begin with, they — reporters and those supporting them — are absolute professionals. They are dedicated to getting the story, getting it right and getting it first. There are a number of TV stations and channels fighting to be first with the news so competition is cut-throat. Jobs depend upon the speed and accuracy of newsgatherers and reporters; there is no time to wait and see. The news must be "as it happens" and it must be comprehensive. That is what consumers expect and demand and that is what TV stations and channels must provide if they are to survive. Thus the speed and in-depth coverage. Every hour something new or at least a new angle to an old story has to be presented; otherwise millions of viewers will simply switch to another channel.

The media and purveyors of information that I am talking about are all privately owned and consequently free of official bureaucratic meddling and obstacles. They are accountable only to their viewers — and their viewers hold them accountable to the truth. There is always a "push" to reach the furthest possible limit — not always reached of course but nonetheless recognizable as an attempt to do so.

One of the first things one notices when watching this branch of the media is that those who read the news are not simply announcers coldly reading, without preparation or understanding, what comes straight from the wire services. On the contrary, there is an entire group of writers, researchers and analysts who provide "logistic" support to the person in front of the camera. And to break the monotony of only the news reader being on camera, the viewer is often taken live to the location where the news is happening. Frequently, this is accompanied by some analysis from an authority or expert, sometimes reported from the location and sometimes from the studio. Watching the news thus becomes rather like watching a movie with interrelated plots and themes.

In many parts of the Arab world, until quite recently there was nothing as boring as watching the television news. An announcer came on and began to read in a monotone from a paper. Then he put the paper down and a video clip followed. Sometimes the clip was related to the news that had been read and sometimes it was not. Viewers were never told but often wondered what the images had to do with the just reported news. Some martial music was usually played in the background; this went on for 20 or 30 minutes and in all honesty, it was an ordeal to sit through — not many people did of course. The Arab public was fed a steady diet of this uninformative and insipid kind of reporting; they expected the news reader to present the news as if he were a robot and they were not disappointed. They were given no analysis, no relevant details, or circumstances: the bare and unadorned story was reported as if it had happened in a vacuum. Opinions, ideas and differing viewpoints were ignored. All that, thankfully, has now changed.

The arrival of CNN, BBC, SKY and other global channels had a very positive effect on the Arab media. Its news presentation has improved as has its general awareness and coverage. The Arab viewer now has options; unlike the Arab viewer in the not-so-distant past, he is better educated, more sophisticated and expects genuine quality and information with the news. Like his Western contemporary, if he does not get what he wants, he will not hesitate to resort to alternatives. Arab news and TV channels have mushroomed in the past 10 years and the competition for audiences has improved everything related to entertainment, news gathering and reporting.

These developments have also had a very important and positive impact on the various official organs of the Arab media. These have traditionally been bland, monotonous and in general mired in their own stagnant and uncreative thoughts. As it always does, however, competition has resulted in higher quality everywhere — even in the official Arab media. In those organs, there has been a very marked improvement, liberalization and a new desire to give the viewer what he wants — and what he will get from another source if necessary.

Much of the credit for this goes to CNN, truly the first global television network. In the beginning, it challenged all past assumptions made by the media and in so doing, came up with a new vision. It was largely the vision of one man, Ted Turner. He was prompted to hold on and continue despite being told that his ideas were a fantasy and would never be realized. Today he has been vindicated. "I saw it on CNN" has become a phrase used by many all over the world. — [email protected]