Iraqi TV chief quits over lack of funding

A broadcaster who became known as "the voice of free Iraq" after the fall of Saddam Hussein has walked out of his job, saying the US is losing the propaganda war.

Failure invest in the new Iraqi broadcasting service means foreign channels are gaining popularity at the expense of the US, Ahmed al-Rikabi, the American-appointed director of TV and radio said on Tuesday.

"The people of Iraq, including the Sunni Muslims, are not about to turn against their liberators, but they are being incited to do so. These [foreign] channels contribute to tension within Iraq," he said.

Saddam scoring propaganda successes over the Americans by sending audio tapes to Arab satellite channels, Rikabi continued.

"Saddam is doing better at marketing himself, through al-Jazeera and al-Arabiyya channels," he said, referring to the deposed Iraqi leader's recent messages which have been broadcast throughout the Middle East.

Last April Rikabi, who had been head-hunted by the Americans, announced the overthrow of the Iraqi regime from a tent near Baghdad airport. Many Iraqis still recall his exact words: "Welcome to the new Iraq. Welcome to an Iraq without Saddam, Uday or Qusay."

He then helped to recruit a team of journalists that started TV transmissions lasting up to 16 hours a day. But the channel was dogged by a lack of money and resources.

The station was provided with only three studio cameras and five portable cameras, Rikabi said. For the five portable cameras, they were allowed only 10 rechargable batteries lasting 15 minutes each.

The best-paid journalist got a salary of US$120 a month, compared with the minimum of US$500 a month paid by other Arab networks, he added.

There was also a clothing allowance for newsreaders, but only to clothe the visible top half of their bodies.

Stephen Claypole, who was a public affairs adviser to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad, said: "It's very typical of everything the Americans get involved in. They announce large budgets and the money is never released."