Adil Najam
Just got hold of a list of major media appearances that Gen. Pervez Musharraf will be making as part of his book tour to promote In The Line of Fire: A Memoir. The book is publsihed by Simon and Schuster which will be handing much of the book tour, although it is clear that he will be asked about and will speak about much more than just the book.
(BTW, there is also a White House meeting with President Bush on Friday; so Gen. Musharraf will remain busy).
ATP had alreday written about the general’s appearance on Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show, and we have a ccurrently ongoing ATP Poll on Grading Gen. Musharraf’s Performance in office. I am sure there will be other appearances too, but here is a list of the key ones.
Sept. 24: 60 Minutes
Sept. 25: NBC’s Today Show
Sept. 26: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Sept. 27: NPR’s Morning Edition
Oct. 1: NBC’s Meet The Press
Although there are always surprises, those familiar with the US media landscape would agree that one could express the toughest questions on Meet The Press with Tim Russert and The Dialy Show with Jon Stewart. The Today Show and Morning Edition appearances are more likely to focus on the ’softer’ and more personal questions. 60 Minutes can go eitehr way, depending on who is interviewing him, but is likely to be a mix of personal and political issues.
Also heard on the internet that the ghost writer for the book is Humayun Gauhar. I am not at all sure if this is true or not. If this is, in fact, true that would be something. Humayun Gauhar is another ‘PR maven’, and son of Ayub Khan’s media guru, Altaf Gauhar. Reportedly, Ayub Khan’s biography, Friends, Not Masters, was ghost-written by Altaf Gauhar.
If true, the coincidence and the connection would be just a little too perfect. Which is why I remain skeptical about the authenticity of this rumor. Readers, does anyone have a sense if this is true or not?
Video clips (in three parts) of Bush-Musharraf press conference at the White House on Sept. 22:
On a different note, Mush’s media blitz has been very successful to land him a spot on last nights SNL skit. Whether we agree of him promoting his book or not on gov’t tour, the fact that he made it on SNL and someone mocking him selling his book as well as being pro-Bush shows he was successful in his media campaign, which all in all is beneficial for us branding us Pakistanis better then the bias image we have received so far from the mainstream media. So kudoos to him on this strategy there “mission accomplished”. BTW, the actor did a good job being Mush on SNL. :)
Just saw Prez on “Meet the Press” . Great job. Short and sweet. Very composed and addressed the questions very well, I think he handled himself well considering Tim Russert can be a bit abrupt at times and has been with other world leaders. Although, Tim Russert didn’t even bother to mention Prez in his highlights as one of the guests for today. Highlights, tend to come prior to the show for viewers to know who will be or what will be the topic for the show, he mentioned everyone, but Musharraf. I think Mush did very well to put Karzai in place too. Nice work!
Ally you guys and gals who are into this discussion should read Ayaz Amir’s column in today’s Dawn. Here is the link:http://dawn.com/weekly/ayaz/ayaz.htm
Let me just say I do not like Musharraf much. I wish it were anyone else except a military dictator. Benazir, Nawaz, anyone. But I am amazed at the way he has managed to get the media to focus on Pakistan at a time when so many other world leaders are also in USA. Qatar and Dubai and Malaysia and others spend millions on those CNN ads, and he creates thsi great buzz where there is all musharraf all the time everywhere. I am sad that he makes so much of it focussed on himself, but in the end it is getting a lot of (much of it good) airtime for Paksitan too. The discussion on this blog is amazingly civilized (congratulations) but on so many other places (inclduing YouTube and Amazon) you see venom forthing from Pakistan-bashers, needlessly trying to pick fights, instigate arguments, and spin everything. It woudl be funny if it were not sad. Unfortauently, too many over-eager Pakistanis become ‘jiyalas’ by falling for the traps and letting Paksitan-bashers highjack these discussions. My only wish is that the next time a Pakistani leader comes to USA it is a ‘truly’ elected one.
i thunk he has been great
hey turab, where did you see the Charlie Rose show…I wanted to look at that specifically since that guy is very slow and looks to have discussions rather than rapid-fire quiz-show sort of attacks.
Also, if all my posts are being censored…I would like to know..if I’m no longer welcome I’ll leave.
just watched charlie rose interview, cbc interview and daily show interview……all I can say is:
in MUSHI we TRUST…..
he is a brave man n he shows a truth he know that this truth is not good for him but Musharaf we love u all ….Pakistani people…