VoyForums
[ Show ]
Support VoyForums
[ Shrink ]
VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: [1], 2, 3, 4 ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 05:45:30 05/07/04 Fri
Author: Weird_Enigma
Author Host/IP: 172.129.202.64
Subject: Satellite TV bringing U.S. grief
In reply to: Weird_Enigma 's message, "Iraqi Violence result of success" on 22:46:26 04/16/04 Fri

I wonder what forces are behind the propagation of hate mongering on these Muslim satellite news networks. The dark side perhaps?

=====================================================
Satellite TV bringing U.S. grief

Designed to be tool for democracy, technology instead is PR fiasco

HANNAH ALLAM

Knight Ridder


BAGHDAD, Iraq - Banned under Saddam Hussein, satellite TV was introduced to Iraqis last year as a freedom that came courtesy of their liberators.

But these days, scenes of U.S. Marine airstrikes, American prison guards abusing inmates and masked guerrillas delivering videotaped invitations to join the resistance play nonstop on Arabic-language satellite stations.

This tool of democracy has turned into a public relations nightmare for the U.S.-led coalition, which has begun closely monitoring broadcasts and censuring stations.

The two main channels, the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya and its Qatar-based rival, Al-Jazeera, report increased pressure from the coalition to soften the grisly footage from Iraq.

"The biggest mistake the Americans made was allowing Iraqis to have satellite boxes," said Ahmed Mohamed, who owns a television production company in Baghdad. "During Saddam's time, there was no satellite, so he could do what he wanted and nobody ever knew. Now, even the little things the Americans do are played even bigger on Arabiya and Jazeera."

The coalition has tried to offer counterpoints by starting the U.S.-funded Arabic newspaper Al-Sabah and its own local TV station, Al-Iraqiyah.

But Al-Sabah's editor and most of its staffers quit Monday, when they printed a blistering front-page editorial condemning American control.

And the TV channel, run with a $96 million grant, airs just 40 minutes of news a day and is mocked for its home improvement and sports programs.

Even the poorest sections of Baghdad are dotted with satellite dishes, though.

Sayed Ali, a cloth merchant from Baghdad, summed up the satellite's influence: "This freedom (the Americans) brought came back to bite them."

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]
[ Contact Forum Admin ]

Forum timezone: GMT-5
VF Version: 3.00b, ConfDB:
Before posting please read our privacy policy.
VoyForums(tm) is a Free Service from Voyager Info-Systems.
Copyright © 1998-2019 Voyager Info-Systems. All Rights Reserved.