| Type | Satellite Television |
|---|---|
| Branding | Nationalistic |
| Country | Cairo, Egypt and Baghdad, Iraq |
| Availability | Middle East, Europe, North America and Australia |
| Founded | by Dr. Awn Hussain Al Khashlok |
| Broadcast area | Middle East |
| Owner | Dr. Awn Hussain Al Khashlok |
| Launch date | 12th September 2005 |
| Official website | www.albaghdadia.com |
Al-Baghdadia TV is an independent Iraqi-owned[1] Arabic-language satellite channel based in Cairo, Egypt. It is considered a Nationalistic channel of funding directly and only from the CEO.[2] During the Iraqi insurgency, several prominent journalists with the station were murdered.[3] More recently, the station became well known for journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi, who threw two of his shoes at U.S. President George W. Bush during a press conference on December 14, 2008.[4] It has journalists stations in every city and town in Iraq. Global TV Stations depend on Al Baghdadia for news coming from Iraq. It has a live morning show called 'Al Baghdadia Wa El Nas' which is a free show that allows Iraqis to give their opinion and to send a message to the government, this supports Iraqi democracy. The CEO of Al Baghdadia believes that democracy should be created by true Iraqis, not by force. The TV station is dubbed the name 'Umm al-Fuqarā' (The Mother of the Poor People).
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Al-Baghdadia is a general entertainment channel that broadcasts in Arabic via a Hot Bird 8 at 13E satellite (Frequency: 12245, S/R:27500, Pol:Horizontal, Fec: 3/4),[5] Arab Sat (Frequency: 12149, S/R 27500, Pol: Horizontal, Fec: 3/4) and Nilesat (Frequency: 11919, S/R: 27500, Pol: Horizontal, Fec: 5/6), the CEO and Managing Director of the station is Dr. Awn Hussain Al Khashlok (a Civil Engineer), Abdel-Hameed al-Sayeh is the station's manager, in Cairo.[6] The Newseum said, "The station is often critical of the new Iraqi government and of the U.S. presence in Iraq."[7] Dr. Hussein Shaaban, the previous director general of Al Baghdadia, has described the U.S. occupation as “humiliating to Iraq”.[8]
In a round of killings targeting journalists during the Iraqi insurgency that shocked the country, Al-Baghdadia suffered through several casualties of some of its most well-known contributors.[3] On January 16, 2006, cameraman Luaay Salam Radeef was murdered.[9] In April 2006, So'oud Muzahim al-Shoumari, an Al-Baghdadia correspondent, was found dead in Baghdad's southern district of Doura, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).[10] On May 5, 2006, human rights correspondent So’oud Mukahim Al-Shoumari, who was also known by the last name Al-Hadithi, was abducted, tortured and shot dead in Baghdad.[11]
A line producer for the channel, Jawad Al-Daami, was murdered in Baghdad on September 24, 2007.[12] Al-Daami, a very well known poet,[10] worked on cultural and social programs for Al-Baghdadia until he was found shot in the head in Al-Qadissiya, a neighborhood in southwestern Baghdad.[10]
In September 2005, Muntadhar al-Zaidi joined the station.[4] On November 16, 2007, al-Zaidi was kidnapped in Baghdad working on assignment for Al-Baghdadia, but released on November 19, without harm or ransom payments.[13] The studio gained international attention when al-Zaidi hurled two of his shoes at U.S. President George W. Bush during a press conference in Baghdad on December 14, 2008.[14] Dhirgham al-Zaidi, who sometimes worked as his brother's cameraman, said Muntadhar's reporting for the station was "against the occupation," and that at times he signed off "from occupied Baghdad."[15] Dihirgham said the reporter's stories focused on Iraqi widows, orphans, and children.[15]
After he was jailed, the station issued a statement demanding al-Zaidi's release.[16] Canada's Globe & Mail chastised the channel in an editorial, stating, "To its shame, Al Baghdadia has not only failed to apologize, or to discipline or fire Mr. Zaidi, who is being held in an Iraqi jail over the attempted assault, but instead posted his photo on its website and attacked the government for holding him."[17] The network appointed Dheyaa al-Saadi, president of the Union of Lawyers in Iraq, to defend Zaidi.[18]