Afghan Media in 2010 Priority District Report Spin Boldak (Kandahar) October 13, 2010 This publication was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development by Altai Consulting. The authors view expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government. Afghan Media – Eight Years Later Priority District: Spin Boldak (Kandahar) Contents 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................... 3 1.1 DISTRICT PROFILE .......................................................................................................................................... 3 1.2 METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................................................ 4 2 MEDIA LANDSCAPE ............................................................................................................................. 5 2.1 MEDIA OUTLETS ............................................................................................................................................ 5 2.1.1 Television ........................................................................................................................................ 5 2.1.2 Radio ............................................................................................................................................... 5 2.1.3 Newspapers .................................................................................................................................... 6 2.2 NEW MEDIA ................................................................................................................................................. 7 2.2.1 Mobile media .................................................................................................................................. 7 2.2.2 Internet ........................................................................................................................................... 7 2.3 MEDIA AND INFORMATION ACTORS ................................................................................................................... 7 2.3.1 Government .................................................................................................................................... 7 2.3.2 Other content providers .................................................................................................................. 7 2.3.3 Media NGOs .................................................................................................................................... 7 2.3.4 Traditional information sources ...................................................................................................... 7 2.3.5 Insurgents ....................................................................................................................................... 8 3 AUDIENCE ........................................................................................................................................... 9 3.1 EQUIPMENT AND USAGE ................................................................................................................................. 9 3.1.1 Household equipment ..................................................................................................................... 9 3.1.2 Sources of information and media usage ..................................................................................... 10 3.1.3 Usage patterns .............................................................................................................................. 10 3.2 PREFERENCES ............................................................................................................................................. 11 3.2.1 Outlets .......................................................................................................................................... 11 3.2.2 Programs ....................................................................................................................................... 13 3.2.3 Advertising .................................................................................................................................... 14 3.2.4 Personalities .................................................................................................................................. 14 3.3 PERCEPTIONS AND IMPACT ............................................................................................................................ 15 3.3.1 Comprehension ............................................................................................................................. 15 3.3.2 Participation ................................................................................................................................. 15 3.3.3 Trust .............................................................................................................................................. 15 3.3.4 Perceptions of the local media ...................................................................................................... 16 3.3.5 Circulation and impact .................................................................................................................. 16 3.3.6 Development project communication and educational campaigns .............................................. 17 4 CONCLUSIONS AND AREAS OF OPPORTUNITY.................................................................................... 18 Altai Consulting Page 2 / 19 Afghan Media – Eight Years Later Priority District: Spin Boldak (Kandahar) 1 Introduction 1.1 District profile Spin Boldak district is located in southwest Kandahar province, along the border with Pakistan. It borders Arghistan district to the north and Daman district to the south. Most importantly, it is the last town on the road linking Kandahar to Quetta (Pakistan), one of the main transit routes for goods imported from and exported to Pakistan. Its main and busiest town is Wesh, on the border opposite Chaman in Pakistan. The administrative center is Spin Boldak, about 100km from Kandahar (a 2-5 hour drive), which is smaller than Wesh. Figure 1: Map of Spin Boldak district Partly desert (in the south), with few areas irrigated (and those only intermittently), the district is not very fertile. Nevertheless, agriculture represents the primary source of income for many villages. Main crops reported in the district are tobacco, melon, and watermelon. Most settlements are located along the main road from Kandahar to Pakistan and in the northeast of the district. The most profitable economic activities are trade and transportation along the import and export route, focused mainly on Wesh, where more intense activity (trade of cars, second- hand computers, TVs, and mobile phones) can be observed. The Wesh–Chaman border crossing is the second most important trade route with Pakistan after Torkhan in Nangarhar. Security is usually perceived as average by the inhabitants. Insurgents are present but they do not control any particular area. This is mainly because of the constant presence of foreign and domestic troops in recent years. Although security incidents are infrequent, insurgents seem to have made themselves a permanent fixture, and local people fear, for Altai Consulting Page 3 / 19 Afghan Media – Eight Years Later Priority District: Spin Boldak (Kandahar) instance, kidnappings at night. Other reports show that security is considered good along the main road but degrades rapidly with distance from the road. The main development activities are conducted by: the US Army, through funding from the Commander’s Emergency Response Program (CERP) (paving the road from Spin Boldak to the border, for instance); the US Agency for International Development (USAID) (agriculture development program); and the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (water supply and sanitation, implementation of the National Solidarity Program (NSP)). As with military operations, these efforts tend to focus on the axis linking Kandahar to Quetta, for strategic reasons. As a result, the level of security on this axis is reported as better than in the rest of the district. Figure 2: Funding strategy in Spin Boldak district1 1.2 Methodology The fieldwork took place in April 2010 and covered the following areas: Kabulian Kalay (5km east of Spin Boldak), Haji Kamal (5km towards the Pakistani border), Nawi Kalay (8km towards the Pakistani border), Mohammed Rafiq Agha Kalay (3km southwest of Spin Boldak), and Spin Boldak (Nawi Kalay area, next to Kandahar Bus Station). A total of 25 close-ended interviews were conducted in these locations, and an additional 75 were conducted by phone. The audience section below also refers to audience data collected through a phone survey of 61 individuals living in Kandahar province, which took place from July 9 to 23 and from August 22 to 28, 2010. For more details about the sampling methodology, see the main methodology document. Key informant interviews (KIIs) were conducted with 11 community leaders (none originally from Boldak, probably because of the limited educational level of the local people). Throughout the fieldwork security was an issue: the interviewer received threats by phone, and some interviewees were surprised he was conducting research,