VZCZCXRO7610
PP RUEHDBU RUEHPW
DE RUEHBUL #1276 1390722
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 190722Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8986
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS KABUL 001276 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/PPD, SCA/A, PA 
 
E.O. 12958 N/A 
TAGS: KPAO AF
SUBJECT: A MEDIA SUCCESS STORY: SALAM WATANDAR 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY: Ambassador Eikenberry's first exclusive local 
interview in Kabul highlights a shining success story of Afghan 
media development: the growth of Salam Watandar (SW) ["Hello 
Countryman"], a network of 39 rural, independent radio stations in 
21 provinces.  With programs on current affairs, women's issues, 
health, agriculture, and general knowledge Q&As, SW is currently the 
largest radio network in Afghanistan, reaching more than 7 million 
listeners, and receives much of its funding from USAID.  Given the 
fact that approximately 70% of Afghans still get their news via 
radio, SW presents a positive - and growing - way to reach the 
Afghan population through local, community based stations.  SW will 
dub Eikenberry's interview, which focused on security in Afghanistan 
and Pakistan, U.S. support for elections, and civilian casualties, 
into Dari and Pashto for nationwide broadcast within the next 24-48 
hours. 
 
BACKGROUND 
---------- 
 
¶2. (U) With the addition of two new radio stations this month, Salam 
Watandar's Harvard-educated, Afghan-American Director Masood Farivar 
explained to the Ambassador on May 18 that the SW network now 
includes 39 stations in 21 provinces, with more than 7 million 
listeners daily.  Farivar expects to add seven to ten additional 
stations in the next year.  At SW's main production studio in Kabul, 
where the Ambassador conducted his interview, a team of 29 Afghan 
journalists broadcast 14 hours of programming per day, including 7 
hours of original content.  As Farivar explained, member stations 
re-broadcast at least three hours of this programming nationwide, 
then choose other program options or add their own local content. 
 
¶3. (U) Created by Internews in 2003 as a production unit for the 
network's then 15 members, SW's most popular program is still its 
flagship current affairs show, Ba Khabar ["Look Out"], followed 
closely by the general knowledge question and answer program 
Porsopal ["Seek and Search"].  Citing her show as an example of the 
country's poor level of technology, Porsopal's producer told the 
Ambassador that callers on this week's show asked about the origin 
of thunder and lightening, which she said she will google and then 
respond to on her next program.  Other features include an Hourly 
News Bulletin (alternating Dari and Pashto), discussions of women's 
issues ["Hawa"], reports on agriculture ["Zera'at"], and a program 
on health ["Jan Jor"] that profiles a different hospitalized patient 
every week and discusses their illness or injury.  The Ambassador 
sat in on the beginning of the hourly Pashto news broadcast with a 
man named Jalali, who also hosts a political satire show and was 
introduced as "the most popular comedian in Afghanistan." 
 
FUNDING 
------- 
 
¶4. (U) While Farivar explained that advertising revenue is a growing 
source of income for the network, the majority of SW's operating 
costs still come from the US taxpayer through USAID's funding of 
Internews.  Internews runs USAID's "Building Independent Media in 
Afghanistan" project with a three-year grant of $11.8 million (due 
to expire in July 2009) that includes SW's costs, as well as costs 
for many of the 37 independent stations in the SW network. 
 
THE AMBASSADOR'S INTERVIEW 
-------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) Farivar began his interview by asking the Ambassador what 
went wrong with the security situation after he left Kabul as a 
general two years ago, to which the Ambassador explained that you 
have to go back to 2001-2002 to understand the security environment 
and that both the Afghans and the USG underestimated the challenges. 
 After some follow up questions on the new U.S. strategy and the 
security in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the interview shifted to U.S. 
support for the Afghan elections, with the ambassador dispelling 
rumors that the election might be cancelled or postponed.  A final 
question on civilian casualties gave the Ambassador a chance to 
explain the complex nature of the fight against enemies trying to 
destroy the Afghan government, and to suggest that better 
information sharing, improved tactics, and the steady development of 
ANP and ANA forces will help ease a difficult situation for 
everyone. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶6. (U) Amidst all the negative reports of civilian casualties and 
violent attacks around the country, the success of Salam Watandar at 
the hands of a dedicated team of young journalists provides reason 
for optimism, as well as a useful tool for getting our messages out 
to rural populations.  The Ambassador's offers to show an SW 
journalist around Wednesday's Agricultural Fair in Kabul, and to ask 
his wife to appear on the Women's program were very warmly received 
by the entire staff. 
 
EIKENBERRY