Editing Media coverage of the Iraq War (section)

==Iraqi media coverage==
According to reports from three separate media watchdog groups, the Iraqi media was under tight state control prior to the invasion. Saddam Hussein's eldest son, Uday, oversaw as many as a dozen newspapers, sat on several important editorial boards, and ran the most popular television station, Youth TV.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tabor |first=Kimberly |url=https://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/iraq/press.html |title=The Press in Iraq |website=[[PBS.org]] |date=November 2002 |access-date=April 11, 2007}}</ref> In a 2001 report, the French-based [[Committee to Protect Journalists]] wrote that Saddam Hussein's government maintained a "stranglehold" on Iraqi media outlets, and that "insulting the president or other government authorities is punishable by death."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cpj.org/attacks01/pages_att01/attacks01.html|title=Attacks on the Press in 2001|publisher=[[Committee to Protect Journalists]] |access-date=April 15, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070406232226/http://www.cpj.org/attacks01/pages_att01/attacks01.html |archive-date=April 6, 2007}}</ref>

In the wake of the invasion, the Iraqi media establishment changed drastically. Hundreds of newspapers, television stations, and radio stations sprouted both inside and outside of the country. Many of these new media outlets were closely linked with religious or political organizations, and closely reflected the interests of their backers. Some observers have suggested that this has contributed to increased sectarianism in the country.<ref>{{cite news|last=Metcalf|first=Steve|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4884246.stm|title=Analysis: Iraq's media three years on|work=[[BBC News]]|date=April 6, 2006 |access-date=April 11, 2007}}</ref>

The burgeoning Iraqi media market has also proven subject to manipulation by the United States government. In November 2005, the [[Los Angeles Times]] reported on a secret Pentagon program to pay Iraqi media outlets to publish articles favorable of the US invasion and occupation. This initiative relied on US-based subcontractors such as the [[Lincoln Group]] to write and place stories with headlines such as "Iraqis Insist on Living Despite Terrorism" and "More Money Goes to Iraq's Development." According to anonymous sources within the US government, Army Lt. Gen. John R. Vines oversees the program.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Gerth |first1=Jeff |author-link1=Jeff Gerth |first2=Scott |last2=Shane |author-link2=Scott Shane |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/01/politics/01propaganda.html |title=U.S. Is Said to Pay to Plant Articles in Iraq Papers |website=[[The New York Times]] |date=December 1, 2005 |access-date=April 11, 2007}}</ref> In March 2006, General George Casey, the Army's second in command, indicated that this practice, which did not "violate US law or Pentagon guidelines," would continue.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shanker |first=Thom |url=http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/03/22/politics/22lincoln.html |title=THE STRUGGLE FOR IRAQ: THE IMAGE CAMPAIGN; No Breach Is Seen in Planting U.S. Propaganda in Iraq Media |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509042145/http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/03/22/politics/22lincoln.html |archive-date=May 9, 2008 |website=[[The New York Times]] |date=March 22, 2006 |access-date=April 6, 2008}}</ref>