Editor-in-chief of U.S.-funded Iraqi newspaper quits, takes staff with him

[Iceburg]

Editor-in-chief of U.S.-funded Iraqi newspaper quits, complaining of American control

By Lee Keath, Associated Press, 5/3/2004 14:47

http://www.boston.com/dailynews/124/world/Editor_in_chief_of_U_S_funded_:.shtml

snip
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) The head of a U.S.-funded Iraqi newspaper quit and said Monday he was taking almost his entire staff with him because of American interference in the publication.

On a front-page editorial of the Al-Sabah newspaper, editor-in-chief Ismail Zayer said he and his staff were ''celebrating the end of a nightmare we have suffered from for months ... We want independence. They (the Americans) refuse.''

Al-Sabah was set up by U.S. officials with funding from the Pentagon soon after the fall of Saddam Hussein last year. Since its first issue in July, many Iraqis have considered it the mouthpiece of the U.S.-led coalition, along with the U.S.-funded television station Al-Iraqiya.

Zayer said almost the entire staff left the paper along with him and that they were launching a new paper called Al-Sabah Al-Jedid (''The New Morning''), which would begin publishing Tuesday.
more ...

[arcane1]

1. lookout, Ismail, our buddy Bremer doesn't do that free speech stuff

you make an 'anti-coalition statement' and you may find yourself wearing a hood too

[KoKo]

7. My God! The Iraqi Press has more Guts than our own Press!

We need to get out and let them run their country. That took balls to do! "Take your Propaganda and Shove it!" Good for them.

[Iceburg]

10. The Iraqis population is better educated ...

and thus more discerning.

[Jacobin]

11. Nice Catch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If only some of Paul Revere's genes had filtered down through the ages........

[arcane1]

13. indeed

seems there are Iraqis out there fighting for freedom, but they are fighting to get that freedom from us now

:evilfrown:

[leftchick]

2. another loser murikan idea....

faux news does not play well overseas... :eyes:

[Iceburg]

17. Or on the other side of the 49th parallel.

[Just Me]

3. Whoops!!! We sure don't appear to be pro-democracy, huh!!!

Wonder how long it will take for the CPA to shut down "The New Morning" and further agitate the Iraqis' uprisal against the occupation?

:shrug:

[peekaloo]

4. how long before his new paper gets shut down?

Looks like the new and improved version of Boo$h democracy isn't working.

[liarliartieonfire]

12. Will the NEW paper be on-line?

Maybe with the new Iraqi Free Press we can read the "other side's" version of the invasion. How many civilian innocents did * really kill off.

Faux propaganda news is anther BIG miserable failure of *.

The US will continue to go to foreign press to get its news.
Ironic. Bush wants Iraqis to be "free" like us.

Shut Up george.
Go Home.

[Tellurian]

5. The Inside Joke is on 6-30, We lose OUR Sovereignty!! ..nt

[Jacobin]

8. Good one. We can only hope so!!

I suspect they will do a MUCH better job of running their country than we have.

Hell, they might even have a first amendment!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[daleo]

6. Bremer better be careful

Shutting down a paper a month or so back touched off a lot of trouble.

[markses]

9. The PR defeats are incessant, and remarkable

This is a major blow to US propaganda. They cannot even keep their propaganda organs from collapsing into disarray.

I'll speculate here and say that once again, the perception of Iraqis as children who need to be instructed once again caused the collapse of an arrogant American enterprise, as those Iraqis finally reached the limit of the condescension they would endure from a pack of American imbeciles. If one is intelligent, one can only take so much direction from an idiot before one must rebel. Even our paid mouthpieces are offended by the absurdity of the American operations in Iraq.

[hippywife]

24. Don't forget...

according to * they are little brown-skinned children.

(P.S....I know why the asterisk is used to represent Bush but has anybody noticed that it also looks like an asshole? I'm sure you have, y'all don't miss too much) ;)

[peacetalksforall]

14. Editors and journalists with GUTS!

And we get to save some money by not having to fund them.

We have the Republican Party in this country either paying off mainstream media or dictating to them or both and Iraq provides an important lesson.

Some people don't want to be dictated to.

It seems Al-Jazeera mostly goes the way of our Pentagon and Intelligence.

[Iceburg]

15. The US scientists better getting working on the babblefish

(and forget going to mars) because the Iraquis interpreters are leaving their posts as well. Wolfowitz and Rummy didn't plan on having to communicate with the Iraqis ... in their plan they were all supposed to be ___.

Maa’ Assalama
(May you go with peace)

[MGKrebs]

20. Alas, the babblefish is dead.

And we killed it! On Mars no less!

[Bozita]

16. You're either with our press ... or with the terrorists' press

[ConcernedCanuk]

18. Harris Inc., a Florida-based communications company won a $96M contract

.
.
.

From the article:

Zayer had sought to break Al-Sabah away from the Iraqi Media Network, which groups the paper, Al-Iraqiya and a number of radio station and is run by Harris Inc., a Florida-based communications company that won a $96 million Pentagon contract in January to develop the media.

''We informed (Zayer) that the paper would remain part of the IMN,'' said Tom Hausman of Harris' corporate communications. ''He made the decision to resign.''

Hausman said Al-Sabah would continue publishing on Tuesday with a new staff.
______________________________________________________

Just run it with a new staff and everyone will be happy?

They just don't friggen learn do they?

(sigh)

[74dodgedart]

19. Didn't this Fallujah thing start because we shut down a newspaper ?

I guess when Dubya talks about freedom, he doesn't mean freedom of the press.

[BeHereNow]

21. Think they woul consider a publishing here?

We could use an real newspaper here in the US too!
BHN

[damnraddem]

22. The U.S. can't even run its own puppet media.

Better send in Rupert Murdoch!

[Ilsa]

23. Why should Iraq have a free press if we can't? (sarcasm off) n/t