Michel Chandour of Al-Hurra discussed relations between the US and Muslim communities in an interview with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, posted at the US Department of State website. During the interview, Clinton reiterated the US government's policy of engagement following President Barack Obama's vision of a "new beginning" between the United States and the Muslim world.

But one of State's flagship initiatives in the Arab world, the Arabic language television channel Al-Hurra, is often criticized. Magda Abu-Fadil at The Huffington Post writes that Al-Hurra is pointless and irrelevant to Arab audiences, who remain non-responsive. Mistrust over the fact that it Al-Hurra an American channel persists, and much of the Arab population perceive it as a propaganda outlet for the US government.

According Al-Hurra officials, the station has no hidden agenda and broadcasts news and entertainment programs in keeping with the high journalistic standards of other news outlets. However, "PR attempts to win Arab hearts and minds have to date fallen on deaf ears and eyes and run red ink all over the books, with legislators in Washington demanding to see more tangible results," argues Abu Fadil.

"I don't know why they spend money to establish these channels, notably the Americans who won't convince us of their views, whatever they do, since they're an occupation force in Iraq and support Israel everywhere," Ali Darwish told Lebanon's An-Nahar.

However, some former critics are reexamining their assessment of Al-Hurra in light of changes to the station under the Obama administration. In a case study she conducted, Dr. Nancy Snow highlights a "groundbreaking" new program called "Al-Youm," which is modeled after "The Today Show" on NBC.

The format of "Al-Youm" is unlike any other programming in the Middle East for several reasons, Snow writes. Firstly, it is a "hybrid" format, featuring not only breaking news but also public interest stories as well as reports on education, finance, science, and other topics of regional interest. "Al-Youm" is also the first live news program ever to originate from five different bureaus across three continents.

Dr. Snow also comments on the tendency of many critics to have an overly narrow focus when it comes to judging the value of iniatives like Al-Hurra.

"I came to this case study project with a history of criticism of Al-Hurra," Snow writes. But, after examining the efficacy of the network "with a landscape perspective," she claims Al-Hurra's "future is looking brighter."