Iraq Gets New Media Chief

"U.S. authorities have appointed a media commissioner to govern broadcasters and the press, establish training programs for journalists and plan for the establishment of a state-run radio and television network -- part of an effort to regulate Iraq's burgeoning news media while dodging allegations of heavy-handed control," the Washington Post's Daniel Williams reports. In June, the U.S. issued "guidelines" for all media outlets in Iraq, forbidding them from inciting violence or opposition to the occupation authority. "Occasionally, U.S. soldiers have raided newspaper offices deemed to be in breach of the regulations.... But the delicacy of sending heavily armed troops to enforce media rules has prompted the occupation officials to look for other ways to exercise their power to censor," Williams writes. Simon Haselock, a media supervisor for U.N. authorities overseeing Kosovo, will be the new media commissioner. Haselock will govern the state-run Iraqi Media Network (IMN), a $6 million a month radio and TV project. Top defense contractor Science Applications International Corp. was hired by the Pentagon to launch IMN, oversees operations and supply equipment. The network will try to cover all Iraq and offer 24-hour news programming as well as media training.