Inside the news: Blogging Baghdad highlights

In December 2005, MSNBC.com added an exciting new feature to its Iraq coverage, Blogging Baghdad (now called World Blog). Direct from NBC News correspondents, producers and staff on assignment in Iraq, the blog aims to provide a dynamic look at the story behind the story. Online entries — from text to video blogs — detail the realities of daily life for ordinary Iraqis, American troops and the media living and working in a 24-hour war zone.

Here is a selection:

Sunni vs. Shiite, or rather, Iran vs. Iraq?
The funeral of an NBC cameraman’s family highlights the ethnic and religious situation in Iraq.

Sheltering families — elsewhere
Many middle-class Iraqis, including an NBC News engineer, send their kin to safer cities as the conflict continues.

Another loss for Iraq
An Iraqi journalist working for NBC News recalls a former colleague, whose life was cut short in an ambush.

Retina on record and ready to see Saddam
To attend the trial of Saddam Hussein, journalists — including an NBC News producer — must undergo a retina scan.

Serious professionals just doing their jobs
NBC News’ Richard Engel describes the harrowing scene when his convoy is hit by a roadside bomb.

The polite insurgents
A reporter faces abduction by masked gunmen — who are concerned about how they are portrayed in the media.

Horrific daily tragedies
Kidnappers make a 6-year-old boy drink whiskey and watch porn. As for girl abductees, don’t even ask.

Hassan’s mistake
NBC’s Richard Engel says he understands the actions of reporter wannabe Farris Hassan — but that the teen was foolish

U.S. still paying for good news?
Most journalist organizations contain reporters who write stories skeptical of authority. Not the Baghdad Press Club.

Baghdad highs and lows
In the midst of doom and destruction, a wedding provides a welcome boost for NBC News’ Jim Maceda.

For more from the blog, go to our archives, Baghdad Blog Backlog.

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