SATELLITE WARS: In contrast to the last Gulf War, Arab-owned satellite TV is giving British and US channels stiff competition throughout the Middle East, reports Miral Fahmy in Dubai.
Decapitated Iraqis, slain American soldiers and terrified US PoWs are some of the images Arab TV networks are beaming to capture audiences in the fierce media war raging alongside the military conflict in Iraq.
Unlike the 1991 US-led Gulf War, when the world's eyes were focused on CNN, Arab viewers now turn to three broadcasters for news which experts say is often packaged to appeal to the rampant regional fury at the US- British invasion.
The newly launched Dubai-based Al Arabiya, Qatar's widely watched Al Jazeera and the up-and-coming Abu Dhabi TV (ADTV) have huge operations in Iraq which often break news that is quickly picked up by news agencies and household names like CNN and the BBC.
This live and often lurid coverage, which experts estimate beams into tens of millions of Arab homes, plays a key role in shaping how this part of the world views a conflict that has sparked major anti-US protests in several capitals.
"Back in 1991, there were no Arab networks, which meant CNN was tops," says Abdullah Schleifer, a veteran broadcast journalist and director of the Adham Centre for television journalism at the American University in Cairo.
"Now, most of the Arab networks are playing to the Arab street and indulging audiences by airing pictures they know will appeal to the masses. They know that they're on the so-called right side and if this means tilting slightly to that side, they'll do it. It's easy and cheap popularity."
Figures for Arab audiences are sketchy but experts estimate at least 100 million people have access to satellite networks that pack more credibility than the region's state-run media.
Long before the Iraq crisis, anger at the United States was running high in the Middle East over its support for Israel against the Palestinian independence uprising. Scenes of slain Palestinians and ravaged villages filled Arab airwaves. Arab rage intensified after the September 11th, 2001, attacks which triggered the war on fellow Muslim Afghanistan.
The Iraq conflict exacerbated the situation and protests have rocked the streets of cities from Cairo to Bahrain since the invasion began six days ago.
Experts say some Arab networks appear to be treating the war as a conflict between the West and the Arab world and often blur the line between objective and subjective reporting.
They say images of bloodied and charred Iraqis reportedly killed in US raids feed the anti- US frenzy and that Al Jazeera provides the most provocative coverage. "Yet again, like in Afghanistan, Jazeera's colourful images are bewitching Arab viewers," says a London-based media analyst who declined to be named.
"They're giving them what they want to see and this graphic footage justifies Arab anger."
Jazeera, whose lively, Western-style reporting has made it synonymous with news, made its name during the Afghan crisis by airing exclusive comments from Osama bin Laden. Its close ties with the Taliban gave it an edge but also cast doubts on its credibility.
Some experts say Jazeera, one of the few networks which had an office in Baghdad long before the war started, was willingly airing Iraqi propaganda to win the ratings war. Its broadcast of Iraqi television footage of US prisoners of war and dead soldiers with gaping bullet holes in their heads has raised the ire of the US administration, which says the images breached UN resolutions.
The network, however, dismisses these claims, saying it airs only what it deems newsworthy. "We show news. We don't have an agenda," says Jazeera news editor Saeed al-Shouli.
Despite months of preparation and their burning desire to come up trumps, Al Arabiya and ADTV secretly concede they cannot beat Al Jazeera without breaching their own conduct codes.
"In the short term, we are losing audiences to Jazeera because of their sensationalist approach but we know we will earn people's respect," an Arabiya executive said. "We are bound by treaties that ban us from showing painful images unless totally necessary but others don't seem to abide by this."
Nart Bouran, ADTV's news director, candidly told Reuters that the channel was doing all it could to win the ratings war, but he says it is careful to show both sides of the story. Arab viewers, however, appear to prefer the sensationalism.
"The Iraqis are victims and Jazeera is right to portray them in that way," says an Egyptian engineer Magda Ghazaly, who religiously watches its war coverage.
"They may be biased towards the Iraqis but then someone has to be. Their land is being violated. They need support."