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05 April 2003 |
Latest Iraqi media situation
BBC Monitoring reports:
"Republic of Iraq Radio Main Service was heard with very poor/indistinct reception on 909 kHz at 0300 gmt on 5 April. Reception on this frequency, however, deteriorated to unmonitorable at 0345 gmt. Iraq Radio has remained unheard on all its other known frequencies during the 24-hour reporting period."
(These observations are BBC copyright, and used by prior agreement.)
We are again seeing the Iraq Satellite Channel with good sound and picture quality. They seem to have only a handful of music videos though - every time I do a spot check they're playing one I've already seen.
9:48:01 PM 
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Information Radio revealed
Mika Makelainen has just published the definitive article about Information Radio, the coalition psyops station broadcasting to Iraq. There's a lot of additional information that hasn't appeared anywhere else. Check out the article on his Web site Dxing.info.
6:38:37 PM
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US to put pressure on satellite companies?
At today's briefing by US Central Command in Doha, Major General Victor E. Renuart Jr. replied to a question about why Iraqi TV was still on the air via satellite. He replied apparently there were companies prepared to sell them airtime [Eutelsat, Arabsat and Nilesat] and that the US is trying to persuade them not to do that.
Renuart also said that the US had the capability to broadcast on Iraqi Channel 3, and was doing that, and also referred obliquely to opposition TV broadcasts, saying that the're trying to put Iraqis on the air.
3:03:29 PM
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Journalists as human shields?
CNN is now suggesting that the new location of the Iraqi Satellite Channel is the Baghdad hotel used by all the foreign correspondents - effectively using them as a human shields.
Developing...
1:59:12 PM
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Iraq Satellite Channel update
BBC Monitoring reports:
Iraq Satellite Channel transmission improved at 1018 gmt: Colour was restored, audio returned to normal and the channel logo returned. The domestic radio station cannot be traced.
These observations are BBC copyright, and used by prior agreement.
1:30:20 PM
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Summer time in Iraq
Apparently Iraq is on UTC+4 since Tuesday. I didn't see any references to this until this morning when I heard a BBC reporter at 0615 UTC mention that 'it's a quarter past ten' in Baghdad. Sure enough
http://www.timeanddate.com/ says:
Standard time zone: UTC/GMT +3 hours
Daylight saving time-adjustment: +1 hour
Current time zone offset: UTC/GMT +4 hours
Daylight Saving Time DST started on Tuesday, April 1, 2003, at 3:00:00 AM local standard time
DST ends on Wednesday, October 1, 2003, at 4:00:00 AM local daylight time
1:27:07 PM
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Latest BBC Monitoring observations
Media behaviour note 0400-0800 gmt 5 Apr 03
Iraq Satellite Channel was off the air from 2340 gmt 4 April to 0706 gmt 5 April - which is one of the longer breaks in transmission since hostilities commenced. Iraq Satellite Channel's logo has been missing since 0732 gmt. The most recent programming has been in black and white and audio has been distorted. There have been short breaks in transmission.
The main domestic radio service could not be heard during this reporting period. It has not been traced on 909 kHz from Baghdad since 1100 gmt on 4 April and on 603 kHz in the north of Iraq since 1400 gmt on 4 April.
These observations are BBC copyright, and used by prior agreement.
12:09:25 PM
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Iraq Satellite Channel
The latest report from BBC Monitoring indicates that the Iraq Satellite Channel was off the air from 2340 UTC last night through 0400 UTC when the report was compiled. I just checked the DSL feed and it's on now - showing a very old black and white video of Saddam, accompanied by very loud and distorted music. It may well be that they've had to move operations to a different location during the night. Tarek in Cairo notes that the studio audio has changed: in place of the boomy, echoing sound of recent days they now seem to be in a comparatively small room.
But what continues to be noticeable is that the picture quality of the uplinked signal continues to be excellent, and puts some of the stations I can see on the Astra satellite to shame!
11:15:39 AM
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Baghdad Webcam
On the BBC Web site I found this link to a "Baghdad Webcam" which they say - with typical British understatement - is "subject to disruption". In fact, it's not a Webcam but a live Real Video stream, and it was working when I checked at 0850 UTC. With reports of US troops entering downtown Baghdad, there could well be some interesting scenes on this video link if they manage to keep it up.
10:54:07 AM
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Pentagon briefing: comments on Iraqi TV
Lou Josephs drew my attention to some comments on Friday by Maj. General Stanley McChrystal during the daily Pentagon briefing. Unfortunately, since the Pentagon does not seem to have a fixed time for these briefings, I joined it "already in progress" and had missed this:
McChrystal admitted Coalition forces have degraded, but not eliminated, the capabilities of Iraqi TV, adding that the regime continues to use it to exercise control over the population. "It has a very redundant system." said McChrystal. He pointed out that the television signal emanates both from fixed sites and mobile vans - a fact which will come as no surprise to those of you have been following Media Network's coverage in recent weeks and months.
Andy Sennitt
9:32:41 AM
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© Copyright 2003 Andy Sennitt.
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