Iraq violence shifting Arab media

BBC reports The latest bombings and bloodshed in Baghdad have meant that violence in Iraq has once again been dominating the bulletins on Arab satellite television stations. The fact that Iraqi civilians are the main victims of the attacks is increasingly being stressed in reports, interviews and comments. This has raised questions in some parts of the Arab media about the legitimacy of the groups carrying out the attacks, although the blame for the upsurge in violence is still mainly being placed on the Americans. The coverage of the violence in Iraq by Arab satellite television stations has undergone a perceptible change in recent months. Al Jazeera - often accused by the Americans of stirring anti-US feeling - has adopted less of an "Us and Them" approach. The militants are no longer referred to as the "resistance" but as gunmen or suicide bombers. Eyewitnesses are shown denouncing them as "terrorists" - condemnations that are echoed by a parade of Iraqi officials and religious authorities. One recent attack drew this comment from the al-Jazeera reporter: "Most of the time it's civilians who pay the price for the violence that has cost thousands of their lives". Al-Jazeera's main rival, the Dubai-based al-Arabiya, has also shown little sympathy for the bombers - a recent report, instead, painted a favourable picture of British soldiers patrolling Basra.

TheAnchoress: blogged This, I think, indicates a positive, rather than a negative trend, although, somehow, I don’ t believe the NY Times would agree.

Cori Dauber blogged Don't see it yourself? You must not be watching the right networks.

Betsy blogged Here's a small sign that things may be shifting in the Arab world regarding Iraq.

Marc @USSNeverdock blogged It is truly a sheer joy to wake up these days. Everyday it seems there is more and more bad news for the left and good news for the right.

I am surprised it took this long for the Arab media to realize what a small number of Arabs were doing to other Arabs.