Two new syndication deals with Iraqi news agencies have boosted the impact of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) Iraq’s work across the country.

Growing republication of IWPR’s acclaimed Iraqi Crisis Reports, ICRs, which editors and readers say provide impartial stories in a media landscape tainted by bias, are further evidence of the credibility of its editorial output.

IWPR’s local media partners singled out the ICRs for providing unique and balanced stories that accurately reflect the situation in Iraq and the country’s diverse communities.

Jaleel Ibrahim, the manager of Baghdad-based al-Marsad news website (http://www.almarsadnews.org/), which began syndicating ICRs in June, said readers look to IWPR’s reports “to find out the truth, which the Iraqi news sometimes fails to honestly reflect”.

He said Iraqi journalists “side with their ethnic group or sect, but IWPR’s reports are neutral and professional … Sunnis, Shias, Kurds, Arabs , Muslims, Christians and other ethnic or religious groups are frequently quoted … Our society needs such reporting”.

Basim al-Shammeri, who manages Wasit news agency in eastern Iraq, also began syndicating the ICRs in June.

“Many journalists and intellectuals inside and outside of Wasit province read these stories because they primarily tackle Iraq’s political, security and social topics which are relevant to every Iraqi individual in this critical period of the country’s history,” he said.

“The diversity of topics draws the readers’ attention, meaning IWPR reports don’t focus on one issue but instead deal with many subjects, which is something unique.”

IWPR Iraq chief of party Ammar al-Shahbander said the syndication deals were a sign of growing appreciation of international standards of journalism within the country.

“The quality of IWPR’s reports is deemed to draw the interest of readers, improve circulation figures and raise the standing of these news agencies within the local media market,” he said.

“The interest in articles written by IWPR-trained journalists shows that the international standard of reporting is making an impact here.”

IWPR’s stories have also been published on news websites and in newspapers in Nasiriyah, Basra, Sulaimaniyah, Erbil and Baghdad, where they have been praised by readers and writers alike.

Diana Sameer al-Obaidi, a 25-year-old freelance journalist, said she reads the ICRs through the Baghdad-based Eye Iraq and Wasit news agency websites.

“What I like most about these reports is that they are credible and transparent and do not distort the truth about Iraq. They clearly convey the ideas to readers… these reports are done by trained [Iraqi] journalists, which is really amazing,” she said.

Like Ibrahim, Obaidi believes that IWPR’s neutral reporting is critical for Iraqi readers.

“IWPR stories broaden the minds of Iraqis so that they understand what is happening in the entire country – unlike party, sectarian, ethnic, religious or other biased media outlets that work for their own interests,” she said.

Emad Faraj, a 53-year-old electrical engineer from Kut, the capital of Wasit province, said he follows political and security stories, “This is my primary concern, just as it is for every other Iraqi.”

IWPR’s reports “help citizens to understand what is going on in Iraq, especially in the political arena”, Faraj said. “I like the accuracy in dealing with issues, and the lack of bias in tackling delicate subjects.”

(Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting)

Educational centers teaching journalism and media studies in Iraq have increased dramatically since 2003, which observers find promising in the country’s opening.

After the toppling of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003, under which independent journalism was strictly censored, many independent media centers opened in Iraq, the majority of which are based in Kurdistan Region due to the security situation of other parts of the country.

The centers oversee media courses which have been attracting a large number of journalists in recent years.

Some of the most prominent media centers include:

• the Dutch “Press Now”;
• the Independent Media Center in Kurdistan (IMCK);
• the Independent Media Center in Baghdad (IMCB); and
• the Institute for War and Peace (IWP),

in addition to other local organizations linked to international bodies.

The representative of the IMCB, Kholud Ramzi, said, “These centers organize courses to teach the basics of the press and media and admit graduates of Iraqi universities from various parts of the country.” Last year, only graduates from a limited number of Iraqi provinces were admitted to the center.

The majority of the organizations give four to six sessions per year, according to official statistics of the Union of News Organizations in Iraq, involving dozens of Iraqi journalists.

Student Manaf Taleb, 25, told AKnews that he had participated in lengthy sessions of teaching journalism and media that are held in Kurdistan. At the completion of the courses Taleb said he realized what the press was and what its importance and accuracy meant.

“I got certificates that qualified me to work in the field of journalism and the media.” Taleb said with joy.

Another trainee, Ayoub Hasan, 25, said he learned a lot from the journalism training and that he loves his career as a journalist.

“I am a graduate of the Faculty of Science – Department of Chemistry – but I entered the field of journalism, and participated in the course for eight months at the Institute of Journalism of the Independent Media Center in Kurdistan,” said Hasan.

“I felt it served me a lot in my professional career, I am ready to participate in other sessions that develop my abilities in journalism and media.” said Hasan.

(Source: AKnews)

The Kurdistan Democratic Party has filed a one billion US dollar defamation lawsuit, the largest in Iraqi history, against an opposition newspaper, the Metro Center to Defend Journalists, which represents the Journalistic Freedoms Observatory JFO in Kurdistan region, said on Monday.

On July 20, Rozhnama, a newspaper affiliated with the main opposition group Change, published a report about illegal oil trade in Iraqi Kurdistan. The story included claims that the two ruling parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party, KDP, and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, PUK, have made millions of dollars from oil smuggling.

Fazil Mirani, KDP politburo secretary, filed a defamation lawsuit on July 25 demanding one billion US dollars in compensation from the newspaper. The plaintiff filed a separate lawsuit seeking travel ban on Nawshirwan Mustafa, publisher of Rozhnama and head of the Change movement; Azad Chalak, Rozhnama editor-in-chief; and Sirwan Rasheed, who wrote the article.

A court hearing for the travel ban has been scheduled for August 8 in Erbil.

“This is the biggest compensation demand by a plaintiff in the history of Iraqi journalism,” said the Metro Center to Defend Journalists. “We are very concerned about this lawsuit. We believe it sets a precedent that will negatively affect the press in the region and will have a chilling effect on journalists.”

“I was really shocked by the lawsuit,” Rasheed said. “I depended on various sources to write the report. If they (KDP) claim that the information is not correct then they should tell people the correct information.”

Rozhnama, launched in June 2007, is published by Wisha Company. Nawshirwan Mustafa, leader of Goran (Change) Movement established the company in 2006.

Metro Center to Defend Journalists is an independent organization defending journalists and press freedom in Iraqi Kurdistan, The organization represents the Baghdad-based Journalistic Freedoms Observatory in the Kurdistan Region.

(Source: JFO)

Related articles:

• Freedom of Speech in Iraq
• Iraq’s media regulator calls for greater press freedoms
• Foreign Reporters Rap Kurdish Authorities over Press Freedom

The planned second session of the new Iraqi parliament was due to be held on Tuesday, but considering the lack of progress in forming the next government, few were surprised when it was postponed.

“We are postponing the session until further notice because the political entities failed to reach any agreement”, said Fuad Massum, who as the oldest member of Parliament holds the post of caretaker Speaker. “We held a meeting this morning with the heads of the parliamentary blocs and we agreed to give more time to [the] political entities to reach agreement.”

A spokeswoman for Ayad Allawi’s Iraqiya coalition said “the root cause of the problem is sectarian rather than political or national”.

That being the case, it is particularly worrying to see that the government has proposed setting up a special court to try journalists – the potential for abuse of such a court in a society where sectarianism is a problem is obvious.

To many it seems bizarre that the government would choose to focus on the ‘problem’ of journalism, when press freedom is key to solving two of Iraq’s biggest challenges: the smooth running of the democratic process, and the eradication of corruption.

Whether this, and the so-called ‘Journalists Protection Law’, are really moves by the authorities to control the media, is of course still open to debate. But according to Iraq’s constitution, “special or exceptional courts may not be established”, so we can expect some legal challenges to this initiative.

In an interesting piece of timing, UNESCO is allocating funds for the “promotion of free expression and media pluralism, associated with the free flow of information [in Iraq]”.

An environment is which information can be reported without fear is important for the people of Iraq, and also for the legions of foreign businesses that will be required to bring Iraq’s economy back to prosperity.

Upper Quartile and AAIB are the ideal partners to guide your business through the complexities of Iraqi life. For more information please contact Gavin Jones or Adrian Shaw.

Ali Al-Mawlawi, Iraqi Institute for Economic Reform

18 May 2010

The head of Iraq’s Communications and Media Commission (CMC) has announced plans to hold a major conference in partnership with the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council as part of efforts to abolish laws that are incompatible with press freedoms.

Dr Burhan Al-Shawi explained that the CMC, an independent authority that is solely responsible for licensing and regulating telecommunications and media in Iraq, also seeks to propose new laws that guarantee greater rights to media professionals. Al-Shawi said that Iraq was in need of legislation that entitles journalists broader access to information, as well as stronger mechanisms to hold media professionals accountable to ensure responsible and accurate journalism.

Iraq has yet to pass a freedom of information law, which is seen as a crucial step towards promoting transparency, guaranteeing access to public documents and combating corruption. Earlier this month, UNESCO held a conference in Baghdad to coincide with World Press Freedom Day, and in an open letter to the Iraqi government, over 1000 journalists and media workers called on the passage of freedom of information legislation that meets international standards and best practices.

Al-Shawi also revealed that the CMC, which acts as a converged regulator similar to the American Federal Communications Commission (FCC), was making 50 million dollars per month in revenues. The CMC is a stakeholder in major mobile and internet network providers operating in Iraq, including Zain, Asiacell and Kalimat. It has now become the second largest revenue generator for the state after the Ministry of Oil. Al-Shawi pointed out that the CMC is entitled to invest 10 percent of its revenues in research and development, with the remaining profits going to the state treasury.

Experts suggest that the CMC model could not only be a significant source of finance for Iraq’s reconstruction needs, but it could serve as a model for other countries in the Middle East to follow. Although the CMC was established by Paul Bremer in 2004 under Coalition Provisional Authority Order 65, Al-Shawi believes that the lack of adequate legislation and staff shortages are limiting the Commission’s potential growth and impact.

Ali Al-Mawlawi, ali.mawlawi@iier.org

The head of Iraq’s Communications and Media Commission (CMC) Dr Burhan Al-Shawi, has announced plans to hold a major conference in partnership with the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council as part of efforts to abolish laws that are incompatible with press freedoms.

An independent authority that is solely responsible for licensing and regulating telecommunications and media in Iraq is proposed., New laws that guarantee greater rights to media professionals are also proposed.

Al-Shawi said that Iraq was in need of legislation that entitles journalists broader access to information, as well as stronger mechanisms to hold media professionals accountable to ensure responsible and accurate journalism. Iraq has yet to pass a freedom of information law, which is seen as a crucial step towards promoting transparency, guaranteeing access to public documents and combating corruption.

Earlier this month, UNESCO held a conference in Baghdad to coincide with World Press Freedom Day, and in an open letter to the Iraqi government, over 1000 journalists and media workers called on the passage of freedom of information legislation that meets international standards and best practices.

Al-Shawi also revealed that the CMC, which acts as a converged regulator similar to the American Federal Communications Commission (FCC), was making 50 million dollars per month in revenues. The CMC is a stakeholder in major mobile and internet network providers operating in Iraq, including Zain, Asiacell and Kalimat.

It has now become the second largest revenue generator for the state after the Ministry of Oil. Al-Shawi pointed out that the CMC is entitled to invest 10 percent of its revenues in research and development, with the remaining profits going to the state treasury. Experts suggest that the CMC model could not only be a significant source of finance for Iraq’s reconstruction needs, but it could serve as a model for other countries in the Middle East to follow. Although the CMC was established by Paul Bremer in 2004 under Coalition Provisional Authority Order 65, Al-Shawi believes that the lack of adequate legislation and staff shortages are limiting the Commission’s potential growth and impact.

( Iraq Directory )