David Ignatius has a good piece today in the Washington Post about Tolo TV, one of the first and possibly the most successful private television networks in Afghanistan. Ignatius says:
Reading the news from Afghanistan, it’s easy to think that America has been pouring money down a sinkhole, trying to help a country that is forever primitive. Some of that gloom is deserved. But a look at Tolo TV reminds me that Afghanistan is actually modernizing quite rapidly and that its reform-minded journalists and television producers are some of the smartest (and bravest) people I know.
Tolo pioneered the Afghan soap opera, the Afghan reality show (Afghan Star, modelled on American Idol), and the Afghan crime drama. Its mere existence drives the Taliban crazy. Also, Tolo journalist Ahmad Farzad Lameh, who tweets in English at @FarzadLameh, is a well-informed source about Afghan news and politics. Check him out!
