It seems that the big bad Arab media boogeymen, al-Jazeerah and al-Arabiyah, both put a relatively positive spin on Iraq's elections today. No one in the piece comes right out and says it, but it sure seems like criticism from the U.S. and other Westerners pressured the two stations into moderating their coverage. Nakle el-Hage of al-Arabiyah says, "There was a fear that some broadcasters will overdo coverage of violence, but we chose not to play that game." Heh, sure they did.

Regardless, this should give some ammo to those unnamed State Department Arabists who think the U.S. should be working with the Arab media, rather than censoring it. Right on. Al-Jazeerah's coverage today, if it was indeed positive, will go a long, long way towards hyping free elections in the broader Middle East. Especially since "[Arabs] are glued to their TV screens."