VZCZCXRO7294
PP RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #2126 2191107
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 071107Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4237
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS BAGHDAD 002126 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PINR ECON IZ
SUBJECT: DIWANIYAH: JOURNALISM TRAINING WORKSHOP IN 
DIWANIYAH UNCOVERS LOCAL MEDIA LIMITATIONS 
 
REF: BAGHDAD 2069 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY:  A Public Affairs Section and Diwaniyah PRT 
co-sponsored two-day training session by a visiting U.S. 
professor helped train local journalists and offered valuable 
insights into their thinking and concerns.  Their limitations 
are due largely to their media outlets being owned and 
controlled by political or religious entities.  The 
journalists expressed frustration that they had not done more 
to inform the public of voting rules ahead of the January 
2009 election, and hoped they would play a bigger role in the 
next election.  Their frustration was matched by hopes for 
more training and exposure to Western journalism.    END 
SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (U) The highly valuable August 1-2 training session by 
media trainer Joyce Barrett (College of Charleston) attracted 
several of the province's leading journalists and editors. 
That session responded to earlier appeals to the PRT by many 
in the provincial media for training and other forms of 
exposure to Western journalism techniques and standards.  By 
their own accounts, the journalists came away with new ideas 
and a greater sense of what they should aspire to accomplish 
in their professional development, but the lively 
give-and-take also gave us insights into their thinking. 
 
FRUSTRATED JOURNALISTS 
---------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) The discussions made very clear that the journalists 
are aware of and frustrated by the limitations on media 
reporting.  Although they argued that some media outlets can 
be considered somewhat free (including, in Diwaniyah, one 
weekly newspaper), they noted that the vast majority remains 
under the ownership or control of political parties or 
religious groups, which severely limits reporting.  Failure 
by the public, particularly in a relatively isolated and 
socially conservative province like Diwaniyah, to understand 
the importance of a free media exacerbates the problem by 
eliminating a major source of pressure for more "objective" 
news. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Our interlocutors told us that the situation is only 
slightly better with the more technocratic current provincial 
government than the previous, ISCI-controlled one.  The 
journalists all agreed that they needed more protection, yet 
also argued that a new law for the protection of journalists 
aims primarily to limit the powers of the media.  They 
expressed hope that a freedom of information law will 
eventually be passed.  The extent to which it would 
facilitate investigation of corruption was unclear. However, 
it was apparent that currently attempting to report on 
corruption was a dangerous business, for the journalists and 
their families being subject to retribution for doing so. 
 
ROLE IN ELECTION REPORTING 
-------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) One module of the training centered on election 
coverage, and the journalists disagreed among themselves over 
the extent of logistical problems faced by voters in the 
January 2009 election.  All agreed, however, that the news 
media had not been effective in educating the public on 
voting rules and procedures.  They hoped for a bigger role in 
the upcoming election and as a result of the training, are 
thinking of ways to better use the media to engage the 
public, especially younger voters, in the voting process. 
 
PUBLIC CONCERNS 
--------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Asked about the issues of greatest concern to the 
public as upcoming elections begin to near, the journalists 
listed electricity, water and unemployment as key, followed 
by delivery of services by government entities and then 
security.  (This view is largely consistent with those we 
Qsecurity.  (This view is largely consistent with those we 
hear from political elites, who are becoming concerned that 
they cannot effectively respond to the public's key concerns 
- reftel.)  Health care, education and human rights were 
judged to be of lesser importance, with women's rights and 
the environment toward the bottom of the list. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Although frustrated, the journalists demonstrated 
pride in and excitement about their chosen career.  They 
clearly crave more training, as well as other exposure to 
Western media practices and standards. 
HILL