Mideast Web Portal at NPR.ORG Extends Access
to Mideast Coverage
Audio, Transcripts Available Free of Charge

WASHINGTON, DC - Due to intense interest in events in the Middle East, NPR has made available at npr.org written transcripts and audio reports about the Mideast that are produced by NPR in its newsmagazines and talk shows.

At this special site, www.npr.org/news/specials/mideast, users can read and print at no charge verbatim transcripts and hear audio segments from signature NPR News programs Morning Edition, All Things Considered and Talk of the Nation.

"We are pleased to offer public radio listeners a simple and convenient way to peruse Mideast coverage from NPR," said Maria Thomas, vice president for NPR Online. "This online area enables users to access at any time throughout the day content produced for NPR's radio news programs that they otherwise may not have the opportunity to hear."

The site, which does not include shows or newscasts where transcripts are not available, currently offers transcripts and audio dating from May 6, 2002. The site will evolve as materials are added and archives are expanded. It is updated each weekday; weekend and holiday programming is updated during the following workweek.

Renowned for its journalistic excellence and standard-setting news, information and cultural programming, NPR serves a growing audience of nearly 20 million Americans each week via more than 680 public radio stations. NPR Online at www.npr.org brings hourly newscasts, news features, commentaries and live events to Internet users through original online reports, audio streaming and other multimedia elements. NPR also distributes programming to listeners in Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa via NPR Worldwide, to military installations overseas via American Forces Network and throughout Japan via cable.