Riverbend, my favorite Iraqi blogger files a report on watching Iraqi TV in Baghdad:

I sat late last night switching between Iraqi channels (the half dozen or so I sometimes try to watch). It’s a late-night tradition for me when there’s electricity- to see what the Iraqi channels are showing. Generally speaking, there still isn’t a truly ‘neutral’ Iraqi channel. The most popular ones are backed and funded by the different political parties currently vying for power. This became particularly apparent during the period directly before the elections.

I was trying to decide between a report on bird flu on one channel, a montage of bits and pieces from various latmiyas on another channel and an Egyptian soap opera on a third channel. I paused on the Sharqiya channel which many Iraqis consider to be a reasonably toned channel (and which during the elections showed its support for Allawi in particular). I was reading the little scrolling news headlines on the bottom of the page. The usual- mortar fire on an area in Baghdad, an American soldier killed here, another one wounded there… 12 Iraqi corpses found in an area in Baghdad, etc. Suddenly, one of them caught my attention and I sat up straight on the sofa, wondering if I had read it correctly.

The line said:

æÒÇÑÉ ÇáϯÇÚ ÊÏÚæ ÇáãæÇØäíä Çáì ÚÏã ÇáÇäÕíÇÚ áÇæÇãÑ ÏæÑíÇÊ ÇáÌíÔ æÇáÔÑØÉ ÇááíáíÉ ÇÐÇ áã Êßä ÈѯÞÉ ÞæÇÊ ÇáÊÍÇᯠÇáÚÇãáÉ ¯í Êáß ÇáãäØÞÉ

The translation:

“The Ministry of Defense requests that civilians do not comply with the orders of the army or police on nightly patrols unless they are accompanied by coalition forces working in that area.”

That’s how messed up the country is at this point.”

Read the Rest of Baghdad Burning:
http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/

E&P: Congressional Candidate Slams Press Coverage of Iraq–With Bogus Photo

Editor and Publisher reports

NEW YORK How far will critics of media coverage of the Iraq war go to prove reporters are wrongly focusing on the negative? One answer came this week, in a shocking if amusing episode featuring one Howard Kaloogian, a leading Republican running for the seat in Congress recently vacated by indicted Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham. Kaloogian posted on the official Web site for his campaign a picture taken in “downtown Baghdad,” he said, during his visit to the city, which supposedly indicated that the media was wrong about the level of violence there. “We took this photo of downtown Baghdad while we were in Iraq,” he wrote. “Iraq (including Baghdad) is much more calm and stable than what many people believe it to be. But, each day the news media finds any violence occurring in the country and screams and shouts about it - in part because many journalists are opposed to the U.S. effort to fight terrorism.”

But the blogosphere quickly smelled a rat. The photo featured people who didn’t seem dressed quite right for Iraq, and signs and billboards that looked off, too. In the now-familiar pattern, the ace detective work leaped from obscure blogs to the well-known (Talking Points Memo, Eschaton, Attytood, more), and back again, as eagle-eyed experts proposed alternative locales, with Turkey a likely suspect.

Losing Faith In Television?

E Marketer is carrying a report with explosive implications for the TV business;

”It seems that advertisers do not trust television commercials alone to do the job anymore.
A new survey from the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and Forrester Research found that 78% of advertisers feel that over the last two years television advertising has lost effectiveness, and — as a direct result — marketers are exploring emerging technologies to help bolster their television advertising spend.
The world of advertising will never be the same.

http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?1003898

SPIN WATCH REPORTS

‘AD/PR MAN’ WANTS TO BUY NEWSPAPER
http://www.odwyerpr.com/members/0328tierney.htm

There are many bright ideas out there for the future of the 12 Knight-Ridder newspapers on the auction block, ideas that have generated discussion about the news media’s responsibility to the public and democracy. O’Dwyer’s PR Daily, however, reports that one group of investors wanting to buy the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News includes “ad/PR man” Brian Tierney, who “hada high-profile spat with the Inquirer during the late ’90s over its coverage of then-Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua,” O’Dwyer’s reports.

“Working on behalf of the Philadelphia Roman Catholic Archdiocese, Tierney successfully convinced the Inquirer editors to spike a story about Bevilacqua …. Editor & Publisher ran a feature about the squabble on Feb. 5, ‘01. It was headlined: ‘Stop the Press: The Inside Philadelphia Story of How a Cardinal and his Publicity Agent Cowed a Great Newspaper.’”

SOURCE: O’Dwyer’s PR Daily (sub req’d), March 28, 2006

DEBATE ON SOUTH AFRICAN TELEVISION

Guy Berger’s perspective:

http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=268028&area=/insight/insight__columnists/

YOUR LETTERS AND NEW EVENTS

Mary Fox on Last Night’s Discussion”

”It was great hearing you at the Used Book Cafe (which I’d never heard of before and I had some trouble finding); your comments are always right on the money. Friends of mine heard you in Nyack a few weeks ago, unfortunately I just couldn’t make it to that.

“I forgot to mention that after having you and WMD to Westchester a year ago, we had Dahr Jamail speak up here in September. He had some film that had been smuggled, more or less, out of Iraq depicting the devastation of Fallujah - gorgeous looking cinematic work (slow motion from a moving car without any shaking, considering they probably had to conceal the camera), if it weren’t about something so absolutely horrifying - including this beautiful little child standing with his bicycle and looking in silent despair at what used to be his world. People in the room couldn’t speak after watching it.

“It’s really cool that your event was taped for C-SPAN, which is, you’re right, a better than average outlet for a range of views, as long as most of them are from the American Enterprise Institute….”

V Rex Cullum writes:

” There is no war in Iraq. There is only an imperialist occupation, and until ‘we’ start calling that which waddles, quacks, and swims like a…..duck, a duck, we’re just participating in an imperialist daisy chain.

Don Rosanelli writes from East Rutherford, NJ

”I was at the media protest in NYC on March 15th. I am and have been a volunteer at United for Peace and Justice marches, and, like you, I was disappointed that UFPJ didn’t get more (any) people out to the streets that day. Maybe it had to do with the time of day: noon to 2PM on a Wednesday. But I managed to get into NYC from NJ after working some in the morning.

“In fact, as I was passing out leaflets for the April 29 NYC March For Peace Justice and Democracy, I had one snotty, no- doubt-republican businessman walk past me, sneer and say, “Get a job.”

“Let’s just remember: this was a first effort.Next time will be bigger. And the time after that and the time after that. Keep on keepin’ on.”

WHATS WITH AFP?

Yesterday I reported on French students who protested in the headquarters of Agence France Press in Paris. It prompted one of our readers. La Rita from Mississippi to share an experience she had with AFP in Jordan:

That someone was able to open the door of AFP is welcome news. The AFP top of the hill closed door mansion in residential Amman never never opens its doors unless you have an appointment, and to get that you have to endure telephone insults, slambang hang up in your face several times, and their erratic hours. A very old and ossified fat Jordanian cracks the door finally and says nobody is there. You hear voices in the background and convince him you MUST TALK TO SOMEONE. A young woman, angry, hurls herself to meet me saying get out of here, pointing at the door. I forced her to listen while I told her I was missing six videotapes labelled with my name and titles, and she says yes, we have hundreds of tapes. come back tomorrow. call for an appointment. Nobody answers phone next day. It is a Jordanian holiday, and although the French embassy is wide open, AFP is not. The scenario is repeated day after day
…..

ADVICE ON COMBATING HACKERS

Odannyboy 9 writes

Use a Mac Server and say goodbye to these hackers….It’s probably a bunch of Republicans. Let them keep raining, you still are the parade.

SONGS FOR PEACE

John Kasper writes:

“I am a singer/songwriter from New Jersey. Here are the links to my anti-war songs. Don’t Think Twice & Conspiracy of Silence feature Anthony Krizan from the Spin Doctors on guitar. I have also included links to my other anti-war tunes along with the lyrics.

Don’t Think Twice:
www.garageband.com/song?|pe1|S8LTM0LdsaSkZ1Gza2w

Conspiracy of Silence:
www.garageband.com/song?|pe1|S8LTM0LdsaSnY1GyYGE

We’re The Enemy:
www.garageband.com/song?|pe1|S8LTM0LdsaSkYFOwYWk

ANDREW CARD’S RESIGNATION

Sid Blumenthal writes:

”In a fit of wishful thinking, the Washington Post ran a front-page story on Wednesday headlined: “Card’s Departure Seen as a Sign President Hears Words of Critics.” Lacking earthly evidence, Card’s quitting was read like wonder in the heavens. Unmentioned was Bush’s frantically defiant appearance in the Rose Garden immediately after the Oval Office ceremony accepting Card’s resignation. With his entire Cabinet arrayed behind him in a phalanx, flanked by Vice President Dick Cheney on one side and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Peter Pace on the other, Bush insisted that he would stay the course in Iraq. “We’re not going to lose our nerve,” he proclaimed.”

Here’s the ONION’s coverage:

Chief Of Staff Resigns

“Without a chief of staff, who will hand out checks on Friday?” — Brenda Giessman, Auto Salesman

EVENTS

Thanks to all who came down for the discussion of media and the war at the used book Café last night. It was great turnout. C-SPAN was there and we will tell you when it will be on when we know. I will be doing another event tonight at the Hudson Guild 444 West 26th (Between 9th and 10th Avenues) at 7 PM. I will be there for a discussion. Tickets are $5 in advance, $7 at the door. Call 212-726-1385 for reservations or more information.

On Saturday afternoon, I will be in Newark at the Society for Professional Journalist conference.

HELP NEEDED

Still seeking a skilled volunteer to assist me at Globalvision. Call me at 212 246-0202×3006 if you have the time and inclination.

Comments to: dissector@mediachannel.org