Obama selects BBC for "nuanced and thoughtful" interview.

President Obama's "first interview with a UK broadcaster comes on the eve of a trip to the Middle East and Europe. ... Speaking to BBC North America Editor Justin Webb, Mr Obama said he believed the US was 'going to be able to get serious negotiations back on track' between Israel and the Palestinians. ... Justin Webb says the president chose to speak to the BBC now because his team wants to reach the parts of the world the BBC reaches, with a message that is nuanced and thoughtful. But Mr Obama is not apologising for the actions of the Bush White House, our correspondent adds." BBC News, 2 June 2009, with link to video. Transcript: White House, 2 June 2009.
     "Justin Webb's interview with President Obama was months in the planning, confirmed on the morning and almost endangered by a security scare." Simon Wilson, The Editors blog, BBC, 2 June 2009.
     "In the BBC interview -- and they said, 'Why did you give the interview to BBC?' 'Well, I wanted to reach out. I wanted to reach out beyond our media.' The state-run media is only good for so much, I guess. You gotta reach out beyond the state-run media at some point, I suppose. But the BBC may as well be state run for all intents and purposes." Rush Limbaugh, 2 June 2009.
     "As President Obama seeks to reach Muslim audiences with his June 4 speech in Cairo, BBG broadcasters will engage their audience (of 175 million people weekly), bringing them into a discussion of the address and of broader issues in US-Muslim relations. The BBG's 60 broadcast languages will cover Obama's speech, and it will be broadcast live with simultaneous translation in a number of languages, including Arabic, Urdu, Pashto and Persian." Broadcasting Board of Governors press release, 2 June 2009.
     "Voice of America (VOA) is fielding a team of journalists in Cairo to cover President Barack Obama's speech to Muslims, soliciting international reaction online, and providing in-depth analysis in more than two dozen languages." VOA press release, 3 June 2009.
     "The US Department of State has selected Clickatell, global mobile messaging provider, to build and power the online enrollment process and support the global delivery of 'live' mobile speech highlights via SMS during President Obama's speech to millions of international citizens." Clickatel press release, 3 June 2009. Posted: 03 Jun 2009 Permalink Print