A Day of Action for Alan Johnston

JERUSALEM, Israel, April 12, 2007 — -- It was a first for the four major international news channels: They abandoned their fierce, competitive program schedules and broadcast the same show.

CNN International, the Sky Network, the BBC and Al Jazeera all aired a program called "Alan Johnston: Day of Action."

It included a series of reports aimed at raising awareness of the case of BBC journalist Alan Johnston, who was kidnapped on March 12 in Gaza City.

Longtime Middle East correspondent Jeremy Bowen hosted the program with segments about the increasing dangers of reporting from international hot spots like Gaza City.

Johnston's car was found abandoned after he apparently left his office in Gaza City. There are reports that Johnston was snatched by masked gunmen and forced into a white car that sped away.

Mark Thompson, director general at the BBC, speaking from the West Bank town of Ramallah earlier in the morning, issued an appeal for Johnston's release and admitted the case was especially worrying, because the kidnappers had contacted no one.

"We have not had any direct contact," said Thompson, responding to a question from a Palestinian journalist.

"We don't know and can't know why this case is taking longer than other cases of those abducted in Gaza."

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It is the longest any foreign journalist has been held by kidnappers in Gaza. Those working to free Johnston are increasingly concerned about his physical and mental state.

Johnston's parents spoke at a news conference where his father, Graham, read from a letter he had prepared, in the hope Johnston might see the broadcast.

"You warned us frequently there was a chance that you would be kidnapped," Johnson said, reading steadily from a single sheet of paper.

"Your local and fellow journalists are doing a magnificent job calling for your release."

Palestinian journalists have held strikes in the Palestinian territories, refusing to report the news until the Palestinian government does more to win Johnston's release.