Free Republic

BAGHDAD -- Reality TV shows are gaining popularity in Iraq, spreading material prosperity to the needy and giving Iraqis some escape from their war-torn world. The Sharqiya network is leading the way with shows that rebuild bombed houses and deliver money to poor elderly people, the Times of London reports. The popular show "Best Wishes" provides couples with lavish weddings - complete with white stretch limousine on streets where tanks and car bombs are more familiar sights. "We see the happiness on the faces of the people whose houses we have rebuilt and those still waiting because of the American...

In an article meant to assert outgoing civilian administrator Paul Bremer had a distant relationship with the Iraqi people, the Los Angeles Times falsely claimed he departed without addressing the nation. The paper said Bremer "left without even giving a final speech to the country -- almost as if he were afraid to look in the eye the people he had ruled for more than a year." But Bremer in fact delivered a speech broadcast on Iraqi TV, which was covered by the U.S. media. The Times addressed the error, but did not necessarily correct itself, reported Fox News host...

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A journalist stops a man in a Baghdad street and asks about the security situation. The man cheerfully replies: "Security has vastly improved, we used to go home at 7:30 p.m. but now we can stay out as late as 7:45!" A sound effect of an explosion during the conversation shakes the camera, adding a tongue-in-cheek dose of reality to the comedy clip by a new Iraqi channel aiming to win audiences with a unique style of political and social satire. Al-Sharqiya, meaning the "the Eastern one," is Iraq 's first privately owned channel. It launched satellite...

The photograph below was taken at Camp Pendleton, the Marine Corps base 38 miles north of San Diego. It shows Col. Robert Knapp and Spirit of America's Jim Hake in front of the television equipment that was bought with contributions from readers of this newspaper and others. It will be in the air tomorrow, bound for Al Anbar province in Iraq. There, Marines from the First Expeditionary Force will help Iraqis restore seven local TV stations. This is a remarkable story of can-do. I think it is also the story of a nation willing to do more than it has...

<p>The photograph below was taken at Camp Pendleton, the Marine Corps base 38 miles north of San Diego. It shows Col. Robert Knapp and Spirit of America's Jim Hake in front of the television equipment that was bought with contributions from readers of this newspaper and others. It will be in the air tomorrow, bound for Al Anbar province in Iraq. There, Marines from the First Expeditionary Force will help Iraqis restore seven local TV stations.</p>

<p>Thus spake George W. Bush this week: "The people of our country are united behind our men and women in uniform, and this government will do all that is necessary to assure the success of their historic mission." Still, many Americans who support the war don't much like sitting on their hands doing little more than watch it on TV. Some have written here, asking what they can do to help. This column will describe a real project that lets the folks at home lend a hand to the soldiers in Iraq.</p>

Baghdad, Iraq Press, November 2, 2003 – Since the downfall of President Saddam Hussein, Iraqis have been relying on foreign broadcasts for news on events in their own country. And their major source of news is the Arabic versions of a Persian satellite television service from neighboring Iran, which many Iraqis can have access to without satellite dishes. But the monopoly of foreign media may soon come to an end as a group of Iraqi entrepreneurs have announced plans to set up a new television channel whose 24-hour broadcasts will initially cover the whole country. The investors, who have already...

The Iraqi media three months after the war Report, RSFIraqi News22 July 2003 A new but fragile freedom A wind of freedom has gusted through the Iraqi media for the past three months. For nearly 30 years, it was assigned the single task of glorifying the regime and its leader, President Saddam Hussein. Today, newspapers are springing up in Baghdad and all over the country. Radio and TV are not as prolific and lively, but genuine diversity and openness is now possible. But daily lawlessness and instability, the large amount of weaponry in people's hands, squabbles between political groups...

<p>Baghdad -- When nearly 300 Iraqi exiles, tribal leaders and other would-be politicos met Monday with U.S. officials to plan the nation's future, Iraqis watching television saw a different picture -- street protesters yelling at the delegates, angrily criticizing the Americans and demanding justice for a wide range of grievances.</p>

Rebuilding Iraq's media By Stephen King Director, BBC World Service Trust In the British-controlled southern region of Iraq there is a cautious welcome. Groups of children wave and sometimes adults give a thumbs-up sign. A youth standing between the carcasses of two rotting camels on the side of the main highway between Safwan and Basra stuck two fingers up. "They even know the one-finger salute now," commented our driver. Iraqis are sceptical about some of the channels set up by the coalition This was my first visit to Iraq - as part of a BBC team organised by the...

BAGHDAD - A council of up to nine Iraqis will probably lead the country’s still unformed interim government through the coming months, the American civil administrator said on Monday.Retired Lt. Gen. Jay Garner also said he expects the newly appointed L. Paul Bremer, former head of the State Department’s counter terrorism office, to take charge of the political process within the US postwar administration.“What you may see is as many as seven, eight, nine leaders working together to provide leadership,” Garner said. He added, though, that he didn’t know how the collective leadership would function specifically.The Iraqi leaders Garner referred...

<p>April 28, 2003 -- THE five hours of nightly U.S. news programming that began airing in Iraq last week is merely a prelude to a much larger U.S. government-sponsored TV blitz in the Middle East.</p> <p>A 24-hour, American-based satellite network that should be up and running region by year's end is the centerpiece of a U.S. plan to compete head-on with the region's government-controlled media, including the Arab news channel Al-Jazeera.</p>

Now starring on Iraqi TV: news the American way. Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings and Dan Rather hit the Iraqi airwaves this week as part of a U.S.-led effort to use television to educate Iraqis about democracy. Freed for the first time in decades from state-controlled television, Iraq can now receive a nightly dose of "Iraq and the World." "It's not the kind of media they're used to seeing," said Norman Pattiz, chairman of the federal Broadcasting Board of Governors. The initial two-hour broadcast included news clips from ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS translated into Arabic. Fans of Fox news can...

Iraq TV: No Propaganda CNN Refuses to Participate But TV Channel Chairman Says it Will be Unbiased By Michele Greppi A new U.S. government-backed television service in Iraq will air American news programming with Arabic-language captioning. But it is not meant to improperly influence anyone or spread any false information, according to Norm Pattiz, chairman of radio distributor Westwood One and chairman of the government-backed Broadcasting Board of Governors. Rather, Mr. Pattiz said, it will offer unfettered news coverage in the region, which will be a first for many viewers accustomed to state-controlled broadcasts. "What we are going to do...

<p>President Bush promised Iraqis in an address televised across Iraq yesterday that they alone will decide their destiny once coalition forces end the "long era of fear and cruelty" brought by Saddam Hussein.</p> <p>"We will end a brutal regime whose aggression and weapons of mass destruction make it a unique threat to the world," Mr. Bush said in the two-minute statement, translated into Arabic. "The government of Iraq — and the future of your country — will soon belong to you."</p>

Britain and the US beam 'Freedom TV' into Iraqi homes By Paul Waugh Deputy Political Editor 11 April 2003 George Bush and Tony Blair broadcast directly to the Iraqi people last night via a new television channel set up by US and British forces. "Towards Freedom TV", was beamed from a specially-equipped American aircraft as it flew over Iraq. It will transmit five hours of programming – spoken in Arabic or subtitled – every day, carrying everything from news bulletins,information about water supplies to arts features. It got off to an inauspicious start when power cuts in Baghdad ensured no...

LONDON (Reuters) - The U.S. and British leaders launched a new TV service into Iraq on Thursday with a pledge to Iraqis that they would control their own future once the "nightmare" of Saddam Hussein was over. "You deserve better than tyranny and corruption and torture chambers... Your nation will soon be free," President Bush said in a pre-recorded message. "The nightmare that Saddam Hussein has brought to your nation will soon be over," he added. The messages from Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair were being beamed into Iraq via a new Arabic TV network, produced by the...

Ever since the start of the war in Iraq, like many others around the world, I've felt an uncontrollable need to follow all the developments step by step. But what a lot of information sources I have at my disposal! Western newspapers, Arabic newspapers, the endless stream of reports from news agencies, and the many different western and Arabic TV news channels. Many people are already beginning to suffer from information overload: the amount of information is so great that you begin to lose track. That's especially so because both the western and the Arab media are constantly stressing that...

Intense Airstrikes Slam Baghdad, Region By HAMZA HENDAWI .c The Associated Press BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Huge explosions shattered the silence across Baghdad early Wednesday, with blasts rocking the center of the city and a plume of white smoke rising from the southern end of the Old Palace grounds in the capital. More explosions hit Baghdad in the 30 minutes after the first blast at 3 a.m. Afterward, the sound of intermittent explosions and occasional bursts of anti-aircraft fire could be heard in the distance. The Old Palace, the ceremonial seat of government on the west bank of the Tigris,...

Air raids pound Baghdad, fire rages near centre (Update) By Hassan Hafidh BAGHDAD, March 31 (Reuters) - At least five huge explosions rocked central Baghdad late on Monday, with two coming from the area of a presidential complex used by President Saddam Hussein, his son Qusay and aides, Reuter witnesses said. "A big, big, big cloud of smoke is coming out of the compound. Maybe they are using bigger bombs than before," Reuters correspondent Samia Nakhoul said. The sprawling complex had been hit more than once earlier in a day of sustained air attacks. Flames could be seen rising into...