The way to the hearts and minds of young people in Saudi Arabia is not through long interviews with George W. Bush, but through the personalities of David Letterman, Eva Longoria and Jennifer Aniston.

 

A classified communiqué from the U.S. embassy in Saudi Arabia revealed that the expensive, American-funded news channel, Alhurra TV, has had little influence with the citizenry. But what has caught on are reruns of television shows (with Arabic subtitles) like Desperate Housewives, the Late Show with David Letterman and Friends, which have proven to be unusually popular among some audiences in the Kingdom. They are broadcast on Saudi Arabia’s MBC 4 channel.

 

Meanwhile, Alhurra TV has burned through hundreds of millions of dollars in financing, with little to show for it, except for the occasional gaffe like the time a local journalist called for a war against Israel.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

WikiLeaks Cables: Jihad? Sorry, I Don't Want to Miss Desperate Housewives (by Robert Booth, Guardian)

US Embassy Cables: Desperate Housewives and Letterman More Effective Than US Propaganda (Guardian)

Has the U.S. Wasted $700 Million on an Arabic-Language TV Station? (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)