Is Anyone Watching the Iraqi Media Network?

[DeathvadeR]

<http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0346/cotts.php>

Last week Jessica Lynch, the daily bloodshed in Iraq, and George Bush's odes to freedom all but drowned out an important debate: how to create a free press in Iraq. After all, the First Amendment is one of our bedrock principles and without an informed citizenry, any pretense of democracy in the Mideast will fail. But so far, it seems the Pentagon has decided to spend the Iraqis' media budget on one very polished, tightly controlled center for "public diplomacy," rather than on a diverse chain of independent news centers. Critics say that's no way to introduce the value of free speech.

In October, the Pentagon began soliciting bids for a $100 million renewable contract to run the Iraqi Media Network (IMN). The project is overseen by the U.S. military occupation (a/k/a Coalition Provisional Authority, or CPA) and is rising out of the infrastructure of Saddam Hussein's state-run news network. The dream is for IMN to become a "world-class" media operation, including a 24-7 satellite channel, two land-based TV channels, two radio channels, a national newspaper, and TV and film studios in every major region of Iraq. To top it off, this producers' utopia is expected to provide "comprehensive, accurate, fair, and balanced news," instill a "code of ethics" in Iraqi journalists, and line up its own funding by the end of 2004.

Skeptics doubt IMN will be self-supporting in a year, given the highly competitive market for satellite TV in the Mideast, let alone the daunting security issues. But the Pentagon's call for bids is sanguine, suggesting as possible revenue sources "advertising sales, sponsorships, grants, international consortia, subscriptions, and foundations," provided that none of the above tarnish the network's objectivity. For now, IMN's $100 million budget, which is part of the $87.5 billion appropriation signed into law last week, comes from Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict, a division of the Defense Department that handles psy-ops

[NNN0LHI]

1. " fair, and balanced news" SAY WHAT! n/t

[LibertyorDeath]

2. Yes and he's laughing.

[cthrumatrix]

3. this approved ...and no help for Gore's TV effort....surprised?