tv aid

The Los Angeles Times has an article today on US efforts to distribute news and entertainment inside of Iraq. There is no way to tell if this is the same effort being managed by SAIC. There is a little information on the funding though.

Only days before Saddam Hussein's regime fell April 9, the White House called the broadcasting board to ask how quickly a short-term American TV presence in Iraq could be launched. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget scrambled to find the funds -- about $165,000 a week -- and board member Norm Pattiz, creator of the Los Angeles-based Westwood One radio network, asked the heads of U.S. network news divisions to provide free programming.

Bpost thinks this topic is worth following and keeping an eye on. Alot of money and control appears to be going into radio and television outlets in Iraq and through out the Middle East with no clear signs of costs to US taxpayers being revealed. For instance: $5 million has been allocated to the INC's Radio Sawa, USAID funding summaries list Internews at $160,000, SAIC is reported to be administering broadcast transmissions. What else?

A new venture, METN, wants congress to fund a $30 million dollar appropriation to develop and expand regional coverage.

Washington is exploring even more ambitious ways to crack the vast regional market. Tomlinson's agency, for example, is planning to start the Middle Eastern Television Network, a U.S. government-funded venture that would compete directly with Al Jazeera, which has an estimated 35 million adult viewers in the region. Backers expect METN to be on the air by fall if Congress approves a $30-million appropriation. Plans call for the network to eventually broadcast live from studios in Washington and the Middle East.

Company Television program: Iraq and the World
Subcontractors
Award $165,000 per week
Agency U.S. Office of Management and Budget & Broadcasting Board of Governors
Pre-planning
Date of RFP
Date of Award prior to April 9, 2003
Nature of work To provide a short-term American TV presence in Iraq

Stay tuned.

Addendum: According to an article in the Washington Post, Iraq and the World ceased production on May 8.