Iraqi Media Audit Eight-City Report The Current State of the Broadcast Media in Iraq Media Audit prepared by: Stephen King, BBC World Service Trust Magnus Brooke, BBC Public Policy Tarik Kafala, BBC News Online Fouad Razek, BBC Arabic Roger Francis, BBC Technology Robert Todd, BBC Technology BBC Monitoring April and June 2003 Contents • Executive Summary • Baghdad • The Iraqi Media Network • Basra • Umm Qasr • Al Amara • Hilla • Kerbala • Najaf • Kut • CPA activities and plans • Cultural environment Appendices • 1. Media under the Baath Regime • 2. Organisational Structure of Media Relationships in CPA • 3. BBC World Service Trust Executive Summary The BBC World Service Trust has carried out two surveys of the Iraqi Broadcast media in Basra, Umm Qasr and Amara between 30th April and 3rd May 2003 and in Baghdad, Hilla, Najaf, Kerbala and Kut between 6th June and 14th June 2003. Below are the key recommendations: • The democratisation process requires a broadcast media that is technically require substantial repair. In some cases proficient, editorially independent and work needs to start from scratch on impartial. The media should be responsive building and equipping transmission and to the concerns and requirements of Iraqis production facilties. of all kinds. • Iraqis all over the country have high • The communal, ethnic and religious map of broadcast engineering skills. Production Iraq suggests that a national broadcaster and editorial skills are poor. A based in Baghdad needs to be matched by comprehensive training scheme should be strong federal support structure. at the centre of any broadcast media • One of the key emerging issues for the reconstruction strategy. The values and Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) as it principles of independent public service attempts to draw Iraqis into the process of broadcasting will have to be instilled as nation building is the fostering of a free, part of their training. independent, responsible and trusted • All media development programmes should broadcast media scene. carefully consider security issues for • A perceived failure of the CPA has been its personnel and equipment. Baghdad and inability to communicate to and convince surrounding areas are experiencing a Iraqis of its good intentions and to engage further deterioration in security. them in a discussion on the future of their • A specific programme to encourage country. The broadcast media could play a women into journalism may be necessary central role in this. in the southern central provinces. • The process of developing a strategy for • The internet has barely penetrated into the rebuilding of the Iraqi media is just Iraqi culture and society. getting under way. As military officials • Iraqis, who can afford to, are buying make way for civilians within the CPA this satellite dishes. They want to look out on process is likely to accelerate. The strategy the world and they will expect their national urgently needs to define the relationship broadcaster to compete technically and in between the CPA and the Iraqi Media terms of content. Network, the putative national broadcaster, • Commercial media enterprises are likely to and to outline some kind of initial regulatory take some time to develop in the current framework and media code. climate because of the legal vacuum. • The proposed regulatory framework for Iraq as proposed by the US-based NGO Immediate Priorities Internews at a media regulation conference in Athens in June, could be seen as too • Building a technical infrastructure for a new complicated for the current situation in Iraq, federal broadcasting network, by and some simpler interim media law would establishing a central broadcaster with be preferable, until such a time as the regional radio and TV stations. Iraqis can be consulted and until there is clarity as to how the law could be • The production of distinct Iraqi implemented. Furthermore, their proposals programming that reflects the new situation for establishing a media regulatory in a free, independent and responsible framework would have to be carefully manner. This will be additionally critical tailored to Iraq. once any new constitutional or election process gets under way, to explain the • Although subjected to considerable functions of government. bombing, the former national broadcaster and network has not been entirely • Facilitating a series of training programmes destroyed. Some basic infrastructure in Iraq for editorial, technical production remains that could form the skeleton of a and journalism skills. Identify a small future network. Most of these facilities number of senior staff to receive training in strategic planning and management. Baghdad Overview Baghdad is still in chaos and security in the city is a constant worry. The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) has hired a private defence contractor, SAIC (http://www.saic.com), to try to establish a national radio and television station, the Iraqi Media Network, from the bones of the former national broadcaster. This process is fraught with technical, security and political difficulties, and so far has been judged by the CPA as unsuccessful. Part of the difficulty results from the unsettled situation within the CPA itself and the lack of any transparent strategic plan for re-establishing a national Iraqi media network. The capital city is strategically, economically The change of guard and re-branding of and culturally crucial in ways that the provincial ORHA as the CPA signalled a change from centres are not. There is no indication that the military to civilian control. The re-branding may seat of government is going to move out of the also indicate a longer term, firmer and more city, as long as Iraq remains a single sovereign centralised approach to administering Iraq. territory. This said, the fractured regional identity of Iraq and the demands of Shia, The political Shia parties that dominate in the Kurdish and other community leaders to be south and central regions of the country are involved in centralised politics and government also influential in the capital. However, they means that the capital’s relationship with the are competing with Kurdish and secular provinces is changing. parties. Political parties and organisations representing Sunni Iraqis have yet to emerge Baghdad is also being left behind. The other or establish themselves. main cities across the country where order and some level of local Iraqi government are Security beginning to emerge have a much more robust broadcast media scene. Very little, apart from The security situation is still far from settled. small scale commercial activity occurs in Military aircraft leaving the Baghdad airport Baghdad at the moment, without the direct have been shot at. There is a police force in involvement of the CPA. the city, but it is not effective. There is no judiciary to try captured criminals and the As the seat of the former regime Baghdad was prison facilities are very limited. Looters and most heavily hit in the bombing campaign. The other criminals tend to be held by the US Army collapse of the state and all its organs has for very short periods and released. US forces been most keenly felt here and has left a patrol and man checkpoints, but there are profound vacuum. In the capital there are no simply not enough soldiers deployed in the city alternative systems of social, religious or tribal to bring order. organisation that might begin to replace the state. The reconstruction process is expected There have been many cases of armed car- to take longer in Baghdad than elsewhere in jacking, some during daylight. It is not rare for the country - the electricity supply in Baghdad, shots to be fired during such incidents and this for example, is less reliable than in other parts makes it very difficult for journalists and of the country. Within major cities like Basra technical staff to operate. Looting continues, and Kerbala, the telephone network is up and though it is much reduced, but any renovation, running. This is not the case in the capital. rebuilding or installation of technical equipment will need armed security. The compound in The CPA itself is still finding its feet. Personnel which the Iraqi Media Network (IMN) at all levels are coming and going at a rapid transmitter is currently based, is fired on most rate as the military leaders make way for nights. civilian officials more suited to governing Iraq after the war. General Jay Garner’s time at the It is not advisable to venture out at all after head of ORHA was widely seen as a false dark. After 11pm, US forces patrolling the start. He has been replaced by Paul Bremer, streets can shoot or detain anyone outside an ex-State Department official with close links their home. The city is generally unstable to US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. because of criminal activity, some of it organised. Coalition officials say that some of daily morning meeting at the CPA during which the criminal activity and attacks are organised the day’s press and information agenda was by members of the former regime. set. Civil unrest, in the form of disorganised and The running of the IMN by SAIC has not been unpredictable demonstrations, is occurring. judged a success. On the 12 June, SAIC was There is no evidence so far of this being given a 30 day extension to its contract. If violent or of it targeting westerners. Ordinary dramatic improvements were not achieved, people are very friendly to westerners and CPA officials said, SAIC would lose the generally people in Baghdad are ready to co- contract. SAIC has a wide range of activities, operate with foreign agencies, including the though broadcasting is not one of them. As CPA, when it is to their advantage. elsewhere in Iraq, the engineering and technical skills of Iraqi staff are high. There are Prospects large numbers of young Iraqis, male and female, keen to work for the IMN, but SAIC Baghdad is not yet a safe environment in says they need technical, production and which reconstruction or development editorial training.