More Arab-Americans get their news from Arab satellite channels.

Byline: Deborah Horan

CLEVELAND _ Najib Chedid could tune in any number of cable news stations to find out where the presidential candidates stand on the issues. He could look to the major American networks, or watch the Sunday talk shows or listen to public radio.

Instead, Chedid, 42, and fellow Arab-American Bassam Khawam, 44, flipped on a big-screen TV in a Cleveland home overlooking Lake Erie on a recent afternoon and watched a discussion of the U.S. elections on the Arab-language satellite channel Al-Jazeera.

"The newspapers here don't tell you everything," said Chedid, a convenience-store owner from Cleveland Heights, Ohio. "There are issues that concern us, and this show addresses those concerns."

Part "Crossfire," part "Hardball," the show titled "Sibaq al-Ri'asa al-Amriki" _ or "The American Presidential Race" _ has been giving an Arab perspective on the U.S. presidential candidates' spin since it began airing on the controversial satellite channel last January.

Beamed into Arab homes from California to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the show informs thousands of Arab-American voters about candidates' positions on issues from immigration to Iraq, helping to sway opinion in key swing states such as Ohio, where the Arab-American vote is leaning heavily toward Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., according to a poll being released Tuesday. The poll by Zogby International, a New York-based organization, found Kerry ahead of President Bush 57 percent to 29 percent, with 14 percent undecided.

The show also offers residents of the Middle East an intimate view of American democracy at work. And "Sibaq al-Ri'asa al-Amriki" is not alone: Shows about the U.S. campaign also air on Abu Dhabi TV, Dubai-based Al-Arabiya and others, including an Iranian-American show broadcast from California.