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© St. Petersburg Times, published October 12, 2001
Osama bin Laden skillfully used television news programs to deliver his defiant message.
President Bush retaliated by joining forces with a popular Fox network entertainment show.
By requesting that Fox pre-empt other programming to produce quickly a special episode of its weekly reality crime show America's Most Wanted, to give viewers a chance to help hunt down terrorism suspects, Bush took his battle with bin Laden into an entirely new arena: show business.
John Walsh, the host of America's Most Wanted, said Scott Sforza, a White House aide, called him on Tuesday and explained that in a meeting, White House aides had brainstormed ways to engage the public and hit on the idea of enlisting his show.
Walsh said the show, which uses law enforcement information from the FBI and other agencies to profile suspects and encourage witnesses to call in with tips, had helped track down hundreds of suspects in its 15 years on the air. He said the White House sought his collaboration both to assist law enforcement and soothe Americans' thirst for vengeance.
"He told me they were sitting around a table talking about how the American public is frustrated, angry and heartbroken, and want to do something, and America's Most Wanted does something," Walsh recalled.
When it was explained that the Fox network had pre-empted the next three episodes of America's Most Wanted to broadcast the baseball playoffs, Walsh said the White House contacted Peter Chernin, president of the News Corp., which owns Fox, to persuade him to put on the special in the place of a different prime time show, perhaps The Simpsons or Ally McBeal.
"Not baseball," Walsh said. "Fox paid a fortune for the games, and Americans want their playoffs."
Chernin's office said the one-hour special would be broadcast at 9 tonight in place of a new drama, Pasadena.
Walsh said the FBI director, Robert Mueller, was likely make an appearance, but he did not rule out an appearance by the president.