Even with all the media attention that's been given to the ongoing war in Iraq, a group of students at Swarthmore College felt there was something missing, something they could do that would make the coverage more complete, something that would make a difference.

So they decided to give average Iraqi citizens a place to be heard.

"We just thought it was important to get that perspective, the perspective of the Iraqi people, which has been completely overlooked in general in the American press," said junior Eva Barboni, an associate producer for War News Radio. "We hear the military talk about Iraq all the time and we even hear stories of U.S. soldiers, but the Iraqis didn't have a voice. We wanted to cover their side of the story."

And so, War News Radio was born. Run with the full support of the college's administration, the small program features about 25 employees (volunteers) who are dedicated to broadcasting the voice of the average Iraqi citizen. And now, what started as a blip on the media radar coming from a small homemade sound studio is gaining some national and international attention.

"The college is very proud and supportive of what this group is doing," said Tom Krattenmaker, a spokesperson for the school. "They seem to have struck a chord with their coverage. It's making a difference."

Some of the stories the team has reported on include an Iraqi artist whose work incorporates images of the violence he sees in his country, soldiers who are fighting in Iraq and how they deal with their deep religious beliefs, the head of the country's stock exchange on the state of Iraq's financial infrastructure and the country's first ever participant in the Winter Olympics.

"We had this pretty grand hope that once we began educating ourselves, we could actually bring something to the media that people weren't getting," said senior Amelia Templeton, an editor for War News Radio in an interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Getting started was easier said than done as nobody really had any idea how to conduct interviews with people of a different culture living more than 6,000 miles away. So they went back to the basics � they simply picked up a phone.

Most interviews for the pieces are done over the phone using special software that allows the reporters and interviewees to talk over the Internet for free, using microphones and headsets. Finding people to talk to has been an exciting challenge as well, as reporters get possible story ideas from friends, colleges, relief organizations and blogs posted by both civilians and soldiers.

Of course, the long distance does provide some challenges. Interviewees are limited to those who speak English or can get a translator. Plus, since the interviews are being done over the phone, it's next to impossible for the reporters to verify a person's identity.

Nevertheless, reporters said the program and the many heartfelt stories are helping listeners get a clearer picture of what exactly is happening over there.

"We felt that there was really no history or no context to a lot of the stories we see in the mainstream media and that's important," Barboni said. "We can show that by talking to the individuals over there that know their land, their history and are experiencing this war firsthand."

The idea actually came from David Gelber, a producer for "60 Minutes" and a Swarthmore alumnus and board member. Gelber has been vocally critical of the media's job of covering the war. Gelber, who produced daily reports on the Vietnam War for a non-profit station called Pacifica Radio, encouraged the students at Swarthmore to follow that station's model. The idea was to get away from covering just the bloodshed, military tactics and body count and get more involved.

As such, the station covers stories like a father mourning the loss of his daughter who was shot and killed at a checkpoint compared with an American soldier discussing the rigorous conditions of working at a checkpoint.

The radio program itself has been generating quite a buzz. Besides being heard on WSRN-FM (91.5) and available via podcast and on the Internet at www.warnewsradio.org, the program has also been picked up by stations all over the world, including one in Australia and Italy. On the local front, college and public radio have added the program to their shows in places like Washington and Minnesota.

"It's helped put us on the map," Krattenmaker said. "It's inspired a good number of people to look at what we're doing here at Swarthmore."

And according to editors and producers, it's also encouraging people to take a closer look at what's really going on behind the scenes in a war that has had a huge impact on the world.

"That's the point," Barboni said. "To give the full story."