Abu Dhabi, the capital of the Unites Arab Emirates, is making a not-so-subtle push to become a center for Western Media.  A handful of companies - CNN, Thompson Reuters, Random House and others - have all agreed to set up shop in what is now called the Abu Dhabi Media Zone.

This will be an area where Western arts will be brought to a major center of the Arab world and, as The New York Times says, "the campus is intended to be an incubator that will mix Western media companies with billions in Middle Eastern oil money."

What will be the result?  Well, for one, regardless of what the Arab world says about America, the average Arab on the street can't get enough of Western culture.  And "western" by and large means "American."  Smart media companies will move there to get in at the ground floor as they attempt to reach an ever-increasing number of conusmers.

But, aside from entertainment, news organizations are setting up shop, as well.  CNN and The Financial Times have both jumped on the bandwagon.

One has to wonder: will the wash of "Middle Eastern oil money" influence at all the media's coverage of one of the most volatile regions in the world?  Not that the UAE is a trouble spot, but one has to ask what the influence will be.

None, say the CNN and FT spokespeople.

I don't buy it.