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Salam Pax’ tour of Baghdad

2 comments on Salam Pax’ tour of Baghdad

Salam Pax’ tour of Baghdad
: Just watched the Nightline tour of Baghdad with Salam Pax. It was a very good segment. Salam is charming and generous with his knowledge and it is unbeatable seeing Iraq from the viewpoint of an Iraqi. Kudos to Koppel for doing the story. Other reporters should have been doing this story long since — whether with Salam or with Zeyad or Omar or Ays…. There are now many viewpoints.

At the end of Koppel’s week in Iraq, he says that things are fragile but concludes, “Yes, on balance, things are improving.”

2 responses to “Salam Pax’ tour of Baghdad”

  1. EB Avatar
    EB

    I got to see it, too, thanks to your heads up about it, thanks again…. I guess Salam doesn’t think many Iraqi’s watch Nightline, because he still is being cautious about revealing who he is, however on the Nightline segment he allowed himself to be photographed candidly and not disguised in any way. It made me a bit scared for him, but it also made me think *he* felt safe enough to do it, so that made me feel better.
    Having Ted Koppel explaining blogs to the wider world was a fun experience, I wish this could be a continuing segment, maybe once a month, a whole half hour and for Koppel to go see some other bloggers, even Riverbend and also Zeyad and Omar…. but let me just say I NEVER watch Nightline and it isn’t so much for people who already know about the bloggers, but for the many who regularly watch Nightline and are just getting a clue.
    Kudos to Ted, et. al., for going outside the mainstream and NOT mentioning Jacko AT ALL in a full half hour, maybe there is hope for our species. Ok, I’m getting silly now.

  2. Eric Deamer Avatar
    Eric Deamer

    It really was an excellent segment. I expected to be totally annoyed by “Ted’s Deep Thoughts” or whatever at the end, but instead found his conclusion to be balanced and smart. It was also nice that the viewers got to see a political demonstration that was completely peaceful, and to see the proliferation of new Iraqi media outlets. The usual coverage makes it seem like every one of these demonstrations turns violent and doesn’t highlight the positive news that there is now a very free press in Iraq.
    EB makes a very good point. I too can’t remember the last time I watched Nightline. I’m not sure what its audience is, but one can hope that a lot of people who aren’t blog junkies or political junkies will have been exposed to this very different kind of reporting from Iraq.