Fair play to Sarah Brown and the Beeb for this story on Iraqi blogs, especially since their coverage is a prime example of why ordinary Iraqis had to find alternative means of publishing news.
While reconstruction in Iraq remains fraught with violence and political infighting, the country is experiencing a surge in popularity of online diaries, or weblogs.Written by ordinary Iraqis keen to tell the world about life in the troubled country, the sites are also attracting the attention of a global audience keen to learn about the lives of local civilians.
One such blog is Iraq The Model, an online diary focusing mainly on politics and reform which is written and run by three Baghdad-based brothers – Mohammed, Omar and Ali.
Ali, a doctor, told BBC News Online that he and his brothers developed the blog because he wanted to send out a more positive message about events in his home country.
“More than 90% of major media outlets have a rather negative agenda and what’s the benefit of us doing the same?” he asks.“We do feel optimistic about the future of Iraq, but we see many facts about Iraq that are not covered, which is a shame.”
“They [the media] ignore pictures of good relations between the Iraqis and the coalition and the good interaction between both sides, they only focus on bad events – like what is happening in Abu Ghraib.”
Let’s hope Sarah holds on to her job!