there is being alhurra -- is the alhurra iraq radio station. we have a robust web site and a burgeoning social media organization. we consider ourselves to the multimedia. that is the direction we want to go in. >> what is your reach? >> it depends on how you define your reach. we currently reach with alhurra, about 26 american -- 26 million adults. that is a comparable number to the weekly number for npr is a point of comparison. radio sawa reaches approximately 12 million people. we have a combined total of about 35 million people watching either one of the two television or radio station's weekly. >> let's talk about -- one of the two television or radio stations weekly. >> let's talk about the arab spring. first let's look at some video. [speaking in arabic] >> that was from january 2011 in cairo. what are we watching here? >> this is a show meeting "today." it is a magazine show similar to the today show in this country. there were clashes in the studio between government and the demonstrators. it became quite violent. there were 26 or 27

it's a primary source of information in iraq whereas alhurra pan-arab is alternative. it plays a slightly different role, and i see it continuing. >> host: are you required to present the official government position on issues 234 iraq or across -- in iraq or across the middle east in alhurra? >> guest: no, there's no requirement. our purpose, our mission, is to describe journalistically the votes of the day. there's nothing saying we have to present american foreign policy, but that's a huge reason why we exist because people want to know what is the american position? they want it explained. they want to know how it came about. they want to know is it yiewn fied? they want all those answers they don't get from local media. it's not a requirement in that legislative sense, but that's why we exist -- to give the people the information that they want, and information in a way that they can rely on. >> guest: alhurra came under fire in the past for running hezbollah speeches and from playing top executives that didn't know arabic or were not familiar with arabic media. i

conniff, alhurra and radio sawa were found during the bush administration during the iraq war.o you find the level of support from the obama administration to be the same? >> guest: you know, it's essentially been the same. it's not -- to me the support comes from congress. that's where the appropriation comes from. now, that money has to be requested by the administration. this administration has stayed at the same level of support as the prior one. so there's been no real difference. historically, international broadcasting hasn't really been influenced by partisan politics which has been to our collective advantage. we would like to have president obama come our air. i don't think he's holding it against us. he hasn't been on the other organizations either. we had valerie jordan on. we have state department all the time. we had secretary clinton on numerous times so the administration is there. but they treat us like any other organization. i don't want to have special favors because if you get special favors, then it's going to look that way and it's going to show that way