MacNeil/Lehrer Productions and Al-Monitor.com are teaming up to produce Web video specials on the Middle East, to air on PBS NewsHour in the United States.
The first PBS NewsHour/Al-Monitor Trendlines, dubbed Syria After Geneva 2, will examine the prospects of ending that country's bloody civil war after a historic but largely unfruitful meeting of the Syrian Government and opposition leaders.
The specials will run for approximately 15-18 minutes and be hosted by PBS NewsHour chief foreign affairs correspondent Margaret Warner. The shows will feature Al-Monitor voices from the region – columnists and writers – as well as other guests.
There's social integration as well. Users can participate in a live Twitter chat for each episode, hosted by @NewsHour using #newshourchats as a hashtag.
"The PBS NewsHour is the gold standard of broadcast news, and we are very pleased to begin this partnership with Margaret and her colleagues," said Andrew Parasiliti, editor and CEO of Al-Monitor.
"We are extremely excited to partner with Al-Monitor and their wide network of journalists and sharp columnists in one of the most important regions of the world," said foreign editor and senior producer Justin Kenny, who oversees international coverage for the PBS NewsHour and digital platforms. "Our Web audience will get a very smart, substantive, lively, deep dive into some of the most vexing foreign policy issues of our day."
