Once touted as a benchmark for the media of the region, Iraq's media organisations have been plagued by misinformation, political bias and sectarianism, writes Salah Nasrawi More than nine years after the US-led invasion that toppled the regime of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and was hailed as paving the way for democracy in Iraq, the country's media is facing major hurdles, including shady ownership, political influence and government interference. Instead of the hoped-for free and vibrant press in the post-Saddam era, Iraq's media today is mired in a deep malaise, with poor quality, unprofessionalism, misinformation, political bias and sectarianism looming large. Such problems have largely been blamed on the government and feuding political and sectarian groups that have been showing a strong appetite to control the media and use it in their wrangling. In the view of many international media watchdogs, there is little freedom of information in Iraq, and the country remains one of the world's most dangerous places for journalists. More than 340 media personnel, most of them Iraqis, have been killed since the US-led invasion in 2003. Last Sunday, one Iraqi press watchdog disclosed that a state regulatory body had ordered several offices of foreign and local media organisations to be shut down, allegedly for breaches of the law. The Iraqi Journalistic Freedoms Observatory said that the Iraqi Communications and Media Commission (ICMC) had also asked government departments to halt cooperation with media organisations not licensed by the Commission. Citing an official document it had obtained, the group said that some 44 media organisations would be affected by the ban, including some privately owned television channels and foreign media outlets such as the BBC and the US-financed Radio Sawa and Voice of America. One of the stations on the list, the Cairo-based Al-Baghdadiya television station, has already been ordered to shut down its Baghdad offices, apparently for its unfavourable coverage of Iraqi affairs. This latest measure is the latest in a series of crackdowns on the media in Iraq, which is rated near the bottom of global press freedom rankings. The country was placed 152nd out of 179 countries in the international NGO Reporters Without Borders 2011-2012 report. Meanwhile, the ICMC has accused the targeted media of inciting chaos and violating financial, legal and professional codes. In a statement on Sunday, it described criticisms of its measures as "a politically motivated smear campaign" targeting its integrity and independence. In February, the ICMC ordered all media organisations in Iraq to comply with a set of rules it had introduced, including applying for licenses and paying fees. The commission also gave itself the right to shut down or suspend the licenses of any media organisations not complying with its regulations, or to fine or confiscate their equipment. Journalists and media watchdogs have slammed the latest moves as just the latest in a string of attempts to manipulate the media in Iraq. Critics charge that the regulations impose restrictions that are preemptive, vague and easily misused. They also say that the regulations are not clearly defined and that they fail to provide guidelines for crucial issues such as "encouraging sectarianism or violence". The rules were designed to stifle free speech in Iraq, journalists said. The ICMC move comes as Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki has been accused of attempting to centralise power into his own hands at the expense of coalition partners seeking to unseat him with a vote of no confidence in parliament. Al-Maliki's opponents have joined the campaign to defend media rights and freedom of expression, apparently in order to attack Al-Maliki. Supporters of Shia leader Muqtada Al-Sadr, who has been pressing for Al-Maliki's ouster as prime minister, flocked to Baghdad's central square last Wednesday in order to protest against what they said was a government crackdown on press freedoms. The ICMC was created after the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 by the US Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance in Iraq, which later became the Coalition Provisional Authority (CAP) that administered Iraq under the US occupation. It was set up as the sole authority for the licensing and regulation of the broadcasting sector in Iraq and was mandated to create an effective code of practice for broadcasting responsibility and editorial standards for the programme content of television and radio broadcasters. At the same time, the CAP also created the Iraqi Media Network (IMN) to replace the Iraqi state-owned media and produce "fair and balanced news coverage". Later, the multi-million-dollar body, meant to be a world-class media operation and including TV satellite and radio channels and a national newspaper, was accused of being the voice of the occupation and a propaganda tool designed to paper over its consequences. Critics say that the CAP's mishandling of the project encouraged later Iraqi governments to bring the two bodies under their control. Since Al-Maliki took office as prime minister in 2005 he has filled most senior posts in the Commission and the IMN with cronies and members of his Daawa Party, raising fears of the further use of state-funded media to consolidate his power. Al-Maliki's government has also been under fire for new press legislation that limits the rights of journalists. The so-called "Journalists' Rights Law" that was introduced last November has been criticised by observers for reenacting the restrictions on the media that were in place under the Saddam regime and creating a system of cronyism by using public funds to buy off journalists. A group of journalists has filed a lawsuit against the Iraqi government and parliament, calling for them to repeal the legislation and halt government intervention in the media. Both controversies have drawn attention to the Iraqi media, seen as a mirror of the chaos elsewhere in the country. Since the US-led invasion, hundreds of media outlets, including satellite television stations, radio stations and newspapers, have sprung up, many of them owned or run by political groups touted as sectarian. Many of these outlets are closely associated with such groups and are used as propaganda organs, even though they claim to be independent. Some of the television channels are believed to be funded by government officials, political leaders or wealthy businessmen connected to the ruling elite or even to the governments of neighbouring countries. As a result of the political imperatives weighing on the shoulders of journalists, the Iraqi media may not have done its job of accurately reporting on news in the country, but it has provided a mirror image of the problems affecting Iraq.
