Reporting on Iraq

Inside Iraq looks at the way the war in Iraq has been covered in the media

The Iraq war has put the role of the media under close scrutiny and highlighted the stark differences in media perspectives across the world.

What the American public saw on their TV screens was often vastly different to what audiences in the Middle East viewed on Arabic satellite channels.

Critics say that the period of time between the 9/11 attacks and the invasion of Iraq represents one of the greatest collapses in the history of the US media.

They claim that the American media effectively galvanised the public opinion that led the US and its allies to go to war. 

Six years into the war, questions are still being asked about whether the media has provided fair and objective reporting in Iraq.

Our guests this week are Akiva Aldar, a senior columnist at Haaretz newspaper, American journalist Robert Dreyfuss and Nadia Abu Al-Magd, the bureau chief of The National newspaper. 

Watch part one:

Watch part two:

This episode of Inside Iraq airs from Friday, October 17, 2008