Special Report: Media in Iraq

Introduction

Iraqi journalists struggle to get their stories out in the face of intimidation, abductions and targeted killings.

By Tiare Rath (ICR No. 234, 2-Oct-07)

Jawad al-Daami was a well-known poet and line producer for al-Baghdadia, an independent channel based in Cairo.

On September 23, his day off, al-Daami reportedly attended a cultural conference in Baghdad. As he headed home, he was shot dead in his car in Baghdad’s southwestern neighbourhood of Al-Qadissiya, making him the 113th journalist to be killed in Iraq since March 2003, the Committee to Protect Journalists reported.

“Baghdad is fraught with risk for journalists trying to cover what is happening in Iraq - they contend with targeted killings, abductions, and other harassment,” said CPJ executive director Joel Simon, in a statement.

Four and a half years ago, following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein’s regime, the media here mushroomed. Since then, organisations such as IWPR have supported local journalists by offering on-the-job training. Some of those who we’ve worked with have gone on to become editors. Others have left the trade because of the dangers associated with their work. And a number have lost their lives.

Journalism has made incredible strides in Iraq since 2003, but it has also suffered painful setbacks. In this latest special report, IWPR takes a look at some of threats and problems journalists face across the country.

Iraq is the most dangerous place in the world for journalists, according to international journalists’ rights organisations.

IWPR correspondent Sahar al-Haideri was killed by Islamic militants in her home city of Mosul last summer. Her story documents the attacks on photojournalists and cameramen by Sunni Arab extremists.

In Basra, where several members of the media have been killed since 2005, journalists are reluctant to cover controversial issues such as corruption. IWPR correspondent Safa al-Mansoor and trainee Dhiya al-Mussa report that journalists are preyed upon by militias associated with the political parties that run the southern city.

Numbed and exhausted by the endless carnage, many Baghdadis no longer bother with the television news, preferring to escape the harsh realities of life by watching hours of light entertainment, such as cartoon shows and music videos, reveals another story.

“There’s nothing nicer than the satellite music channels, which take me away to another world - a world that is pure, comfortable and far away from the bloody reality of Iraq," said Muhammed Abadi, a university student.

Journalists operating in religious centres are wary of upsetting local clerical leaders. But in the Shia holy city of Karbala, we report on one independent radio station, Karbala FM, which is challenging religious traditions. The station’s phone-in shows on social issues and un-Islamic music are raising eyebrows in the conservative city.

While in the oil-rich and ethnically diverse city of Kirkuk, party media are fuelling ethnic divisions, journalists and citizens report.

In Iraqi Kurdistan, where the government has arrested several reporters over the past two years, rival independent and government journalists have agreed on a draft press law.

Shwan Mohammed, an editor with the independent newspaper Awene, told IWPR that the new law “isn’t perfect” but would replace old Ba’ath-era Iraqi legislation under which journalists can be imprisoned for libel.

Tiare Rath is IWPR’s Middle East editor.