countries that may be in fear and the whole region will go into chaos and it s worth noting that these leaders are major allies to the u.s. reaction today from beirut. thank you so much. also this morning the bbc claiming iran is jamming persian language tv broadcasts following rolling coverage of anti-government protests in egypt. iranian authorities are accused of blocking reformist websites and detaining opposition supporters. these arrests come after iran s opposition leader called for a rally monday in support of the uprising in north africa and the middle east. to remind you we re just about 1:40 in the afternoon in cairo. keeping a close eye on what s happening there. during these whole protests social media had so much to do with them organizing the protests but what s the role it s playing now in keeping the youth motivated there? quick break. we re right back. stay with us on this american morning.
reporter: anderson, i ve been with state television since 1989, and i worked with nile tv since the very beginning. i ve been very fortunate, because the freedom at nile tv is slightly higher than on the other arabic channels, because we have a different target audience. nile tv broadcasts are in english and french, so the message is directed at the more elitists, or the educated members of society, not the illiterates. and as you know, in egypt, where approximately 35% of the population is illiterate, television is one of the main sources of information. now, i felt that, you know, i had done sensitive stories before, controversial what they call controversial stories. and i ve been reprimanded on several occasions by state
we ve been it s been a difficult day, let s just say that for reporters on the ground. an extraordinary thing happened today. there s a state run television channel which has a news program called nile tv. one of their main anchoring resigned saying she no longer wanted to be part of this disinformation, essentially. she joins us now. her name is shahira. also joining me is heather moray with human rights watch, which has also come under great pressure here. shahira, why did you give up your job as an anchor? anderson, i ve been with state television since 1989, and i worked with nile tv since the very beginning. i ve been very fortunate, because the freedom at nile tv is slightly higher than on the other arabic channels, because we have a different target audience. nile tv broadcasts are in english and french, so the
with human rights watch, which has also come under great pressure here. shahira, why did you give up your job as an anchor? anderson, i ve been with state television since 1989, and i worked with nile tv since the very beginning. i ve been very fortunate, because the freedom at nile tv is slightly higher than on the other arabic channels, because we have a different target audience. nile tv broadcasts are in english and french, so the message is directed at the more elitists, or the educated members of society, not the illiterates. and as you know, in egypt, where approximately 35% of the population is illiterate, television is one of the main sources of information. now, i felt that, you know, i had done sensitive stories before, controversial what they call controversial stories. and i ve been reprimanded on
i ve been very fortunate, because the freedom at nile tv is slightly higher than on the other arabic channels, because we have a different target audience. nile tv broadcasts are in english and french, so the message is directed at the more elitists, or the educated members of society, not the illiterates. and as you know, in egypt, where approximately 35% of the population is illiterate, television is one of the main sources of information. now, i felt that, you know, i had done sensitive stories before, controversial what they call controversial stories. and i ve been reprimanded on several occasions by state security for tarnishing the country s image, quote unquote. this time there were very strict instructions that we had to