Iraq – Baghdad’s new media museum tells story of Arabic TV’s birth

Location: Baghdad – Iraq

Language: Arabic

Duration: 00:06:00

Sound: natural

Source: A24 in Baghdad

Restrictions: A24 subscribers

Date: 24/08/ 2022

Storyline:

In 1954, Iraq became the first Arab nation to broadcast television programs.

Sixty-eight years later, the country has opened a space dedicated to the history of the Baghdad media scene -making the new Iraqi Media Museum the first of its kind in the Arab world.

Its director, Mina Al-Helou, told A24 that the Museum is not a warehouse to store machines and newspapers but a dynamic space pulsating with the turbulent history of contemporary  Iraq and those who documented it in real-time using modern methods of communication.

The Museum also holds items that mark the beginnings of media work in Turkish and British-occupied Mesopotamia, dating over half a century, including the first equipment used in radio and archival issues of Iraqi newspapers.

Halim Salman, a deputy at the Iraqi Media Network, told A24 that the Museum is a project to support media culture and tourism, as well as a resource for journalism and communication students.

Shotlist:

– Soundbite (Mina Amir Al-Helou – Director of the Iraqi Media Museum):

“Welcome to the Iraqi Media Museum, which is the first of its kind in the Arab world. The importance of this Museum stems from the fact that Iraq established the first television channel in the Arab world in 1956, and the third radio station. Iraq is the first country to start Arab television broadcasting, and the first country to have a media museum. This Museum is not a static place for collecting and storing television and radio equipment, newspapers and magazines, rather a link that connects to the past, present and future.”

– Soundbite (Halim Salman – Adviser to the director of the Iraqi Media Network):

“The level of development of civilized countries is measured thorough such projects that support media culture and tourism. The Iraqi Media Museum hosted in Iraqi Media Network headquarters, came to be through immense efforts from museum director Mina Al-Helou, who tried to collect all items related to the establishment of radio and television in Iraq. This Museum is a destination for visitors, as well as a place of support, knowledge and information to media students, who are interested in learning about the history of media equipment and media content production.”

– Soundbite (Mazen Rahim – Media person and Iraqi Media Museum employee):

“At  first, the Museum was not open to the public, but it did about three months ago. Thankfully, there is a good turnout, but not as much as we hope, in light of the hot weather and difficult conditions in Iraq.”