Baghdad, Iraq- Recently a milestone concerning the posting of local media was established. The citizens of the local community have created, produced and written the first issues of their own local newspaper.
They are calling their newspaper “Al Medina” and it is the first ever newspaper for the region, much less one that is totally operated and owned by local people. It is a newspaper that covers the region of Sadr City and the surrounding parts of Iraq.
It is a independent newspaper dedicated at serving the Iraqi people especially those who work and live in Sadr City area. It had its start about five months ago when one of the MNF Baghdad Army civil affairs officers sat down with a local journalist and a Sadr City Businessmen, Dhahir Al Musa.
The meeting was more of a casual chance encounter than a planned event, and the three sat for a long time and chattered about daily events, and other issues that affect the local community.
The civil affairs officer talked about his idea of a totally independent Sadr City newspaper. The coalition put up $25,000 dollars to help establish the new newspaper, and the paper itself was financed by Dhahir Al Musa.
The paper has been quietly building a loyal fan base and increasing its readership. It has been publishing about twice a week, with print run of about 10,000 newspapers each time. The newspaper has been delivered and given out in the marketplace.
