Media rivalry: Major TV networks and newspapers will be engaging in their own form of warfare over the next few weeks, writes Emmet Oliver
Competition between major TV networks and newspapers is likely to be every bit as intense as the hostilities between the opposing troops in Iraq.
The major TV networks are expected to spend considerably more money covering this war than they did during Desert Storm.
ITV, the BBC and Channel 4 are clearing out significant amounts of their schedules, including breakfast news, to make way for live reports and updates from the Gulf, while at home RTÉ is spending considerable sums sending out a team of reporters. The Irish Times is also making a major commitment.
The battle to be the most authoritative (and the quickest) will test the various channels, with rolling services, such as CNN and Sky News, going virtually 24-hours with their coverage.
Despite the investments in technology in the US, major American news organisations were leaving Baghdad yesterday fearing for the safety of reporters in the event of hostage-taking.
In the Republic, the investment in war coverage is far more limited, with only RTÉ and The Irish Times so far putting any staff reporters on the ground in Baghdad or other parts of Iraq.
The biggest newspaper group - Independent News and Media - will rely on British newspapers such as the Times, the Daily Telegraph and its sister papers, the London Independent and the Independent on Sunday.
TV3 will rely on coverage organised through a European broadcaster's network, while most radio stations will be using wire reports and coverage from ITN, BBC and Sky News.
The cost of war coverage is so high that some media companies have had their earnings forecasts cut back by stock market analysts.
The revenue of major media companies is expected to fall because advertising traditionally dries up during wartime, even though circulation and ratings normally rise.
The level of public interest in the Iraqi crisis was muted at first, with British papers reporting circulation losses in February.
However, in the last week television ratings have grown hugely, with the BBC's coverage of the House of Commons Iraq debate attracting 7.3 million viewers or 37 per cent of the television audience.
The Soham tragedy was the most recent event in Britain to produce similar viewing figures.
The competition among TV networks is expected to be fiercest, with Sky News and BBC's News 24 going head to head in many British homes, although Sky News is the main rolling news service received in Irish homes, mainly picked up via cable services like NTL and Chorus.
However, considerably more viewers will get their news via RTÉ, according to media research.
Those using satellite or digital services will be able to receive CNN, the world's largest news network.
While the network has sometimes been described as being jingoistic, its owner Ted Turner last year caused outrage among Jewish representatives when he said Israel was engaging in "terrorism" in its treatment of the Palestinians.
Its main rivals in the US for viewers are NBC, ABC and Rupert Murdoch's Fox News.
While television is broadly supportive, a majority of US newspapers have opposed any attack on Iraq by US and British forces without the full support of the international community.