Alive in Baghdad was formed to counter the sound-bite driven, ‘Live From’ news model. Through the work of a team of Americans and Iraqi correspondents on the ground, Alive in Baghdad shows the occupation through the voices of Iraqis. Alive in Baghdad brings testimonies from individual Iraqis, footage of daily life in Iraq, and short news segments from Iraq to you.

In 2005 Brian Conley travelled to the Middle East for two months and spent three weeks in Baghdad. After a year of preparation for the trip, learning Arabic, and studying the history and culture of Iraq, he went to Baghdad to meet Iraqis. Initially Alive in Baghdad chronicled the voices of Iraqis, in order to provide a more intimate picture of Iraqi life.

After a second trip to the Middle East this summer, Alive in Baghdad provided video cameras, microphones, tapestock, and training to Iraqis living in Baghdad. Now these Iraqis are producing a weekly videoblog from Baghdad, on topics ranging from protecting their families from death squads, to what it is like to be an Iraqi Police officer. These Iraqis are Omar Abdullah and Isam Rasheed working full-time, Qasem Al-Dulaimi producing some video and a regular text blog, as well as a number of other Iraqis collaborating on a currently ad-hoc basis.