VZCZCXRO8104
PP RUEHDA RUEHDH RUEHKUK
DE RUEHBC #0003/01 0370800
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 060800Z FEB 10
FM REO BASRAH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0963
INFO RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD PRIORITY 0539
RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
RUEHBC/REO BASRAH 1001

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BASRAH 000003 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC KPAO KMDR KDEM PGOV PREL IZ
SUBJECT: BASRAH'S PRESS: A WORK IN PROGRESS 
 
BASRAH 00000003  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
======= 
Summary 
======= 
 
¶1. (SBU) A recent joint press conference held by Basrah PRT 
Leader and Basrah Governor Shiltagh Aboud to highlight USG 
reconstruction efforts generated revealing insights into the 
current state of Basrah's local media.  The coverage -- which 
ranged from exaggeratedly positive ("PRT to rebuild city of 
Basrah") to largely negative ("Some PRT projects a failure")-- 
pointed or demonstrated the underdeveloped nature of Basrah's 
press corps, including an unhealthy dependence on patronage and 
government pay-for-play financing to stay in business.  Local 
independent journalists have less bias, but still see negative 
stories as a way to gain credibility and build a reputation. 
Nevertheless, despite its deficiencies, the local media serves 
an important role in Basrah, and will hopefully mature and 
improve over time. End Summary. 
 
========================= 
Good Stories Are Bad News 
========================= 
 
¶2. (U) The January 14 joint press conference -- a PRT Public 
Diplomacy section initiative -- sought to emphasize the positive 
working relationship between the PRT and local government, and 
to highlight the significant reconstruction work being supported 
by the USG.  In his opening remarks, the Team Leader reviewed 
several dozen PRT infrastructure projects worth more than $120 
million, including numerous bricks-and-mortar projects to 
improve the delivery of essential services.  A six-page listing 
in Arabic of ongoing PRT projects was distributed.  The PRT also 
displayed a large map depicting in Arabic several hundred past, 
current, and planned USG projects in Basrah Province.  In 
highlighting the partnership between the PRT and local 
government, the Team Leader explained that, with the completion 
of these infrastructure projects over the next 12 months, the 
USG role would shift from infrastructure development (which he 
noted that the Iraqi government would need to assume and fund) 
to capacity building within the local government. 
 
¶3. (U) Reports published following the press conference ranged 
from purely positive to largely negative.  The positive stories 
focused on the importance of the projects and the significant 
investment the USG has made in Basrah province.  Most stories 
(both positive and negative) credited the significant USG 
investment in specific projects, but also noted Basrawi 
discontent with the lack of dramatic progress in solving the 
province's massive infrastructure problems.  The largely 
negative stories twisted comments made by the Governor Shiltagh 
into criticisms, or complained that the projects had failed to 
completely rebuild Basrah's infrastructure.  A number of stories 
reported the PRT's transition from a focus on bricks-and-mortar 
projects to capacity building assistance without characterizing 
it as good or bad. 
 
¶4. (U) The most negative article, distributed by 
Gulf-Arab-owned, pro-Sunni Al-Somariya, led with a paragraph 
citing Governor Shiltagh as criticizing some PRT-supported 
projects for not having been implemented satisfactorily and 
stating that they were "doomed to failure."  Though the next few 
paragraphs of the story reported the Team Leader's review of 
specific projects, the final half of the story expanded on the 
comments by the governor who had expressed concern about a few 
projects (garbage trucks that remained inoperable for want of 
spare parts and a canal cleanup project that he saw as failing 
because of shortcomings of the Iraqi companies implementing the 
project).  The journalist concluded with a paragraph claiming 
that dozens of reconstruction projects carried out over the past 
years have not improved the quality of life for Basrawis. 
 
============================================= ======= 
Underdeveloped Media Lacks Experience, Creates Fears 
============================================= ======= 
 
¶5. (SBU) PRT experience and conversations with journalists, 
scholars, Basrah government press officers, and politicians 
reveal several factors that explain the diverse coverage of the 
press conference.  An underlying problem is that the local Iraqi 
media is underdeveloped.  An unfettered press is a recent 
development in Iraq, and journalists and editors here are still 
climbing the learning curve, as are government information 
officers.  A key reason the PRT organized the joint press 
conference was because the government's information officers are 
reluctant to engage the media.  They harbor fears that the media 
will misreport something, politically endangering their bosses 
as a result.  Their lack of faith in the media is to some degree 
warranted because few reporters are trained or experienced 
journalists.  Mahmoud Bachari (protect), an independent 
journalist the PRT is using to conduct transparency training for 
Basrawi journalists, told us that many journalists in Basrah got 
 
BASRAH 00000003  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
their jobs through connections or as favors.  Most had little or 
no experience in the field before being hired. 
 
============================================= === 
Southern Iraq's Journalists: Beholden and Bought 
============================================= === 
 
¶6. (SBU) Apart from lacking experience, these journalists are 
often beholden to benefactors, and report their stories to 
satisfy their biases.  News bias is not just circumstantial; it 
is part and parcel of the economics of journalism southern Iraq. 
 Bachari recounted how journalists are paid by political 
parties, businesses or wealthy people to run specific stories or 
cover certain events.  He added that the government is a big 
source of revenue for media outlets because it pays journalists 
to cover specific stories.  PRT staff witnessed this 
pay-for-play practice several months ago, watching as the media 
advisor to the governor openly passed out envelopes of money to 
journalists at the end of a joint Governor/Prime Minister press 
conference.  Positive coverage by a journalist generates more 
coverage requests and thus more revenue from the government.  As 
a result, many journalists, editors, and media outlets are 
reluctant to criticize the government in their stories. 
 
¶7. (SBU) In addition to payment for placement, another key 
factor in biased coverage is politicization of the media. 
According to Bachari, certain media outlets are effectively 
extensions of specific political parties or foreign interests, 
and they follow the party line in reporting on any issue. 
Commenting on the coverage of the joint press conference, 
Bachari said that the outlets that had run positive stories were 
Al-Forat, Al-Nakhile, Al-Fayyhaa, Al-Massar, Al-Ateja, 
Al-Babilya, Al-Iraqiya.  He added that Al-Massar was backed by 
the Da'wa party, and that the founders of Al-Forat and 
Al-Nakhile were Da'wa supporters, thus generating sympathetic 
coverage.  Largely negative coverage had come from Al-Sharkia, 
Al-Baghdadya, and Al-Somariya.  These outlets, said Bachari, 
were all owned by Sunni foreigners, and typically criticized 
Maliki and the Da'wa party in their reporting.  The stories that 
had fallen in the middle, but which were more positive than 
negative, were generally reported by independent or 
international journalists, such as Reuters, Radio Sawa, IHA, and 
al-Hura.  Saudi-backed al-Arabiya attended the conference, but 
chose not to report the story. 
 
============================== 
Independent Does Not Mean Fair 
============================== 
 
¶8. (SBU) Bachari also remarked that sometimes even independent 
journalists emphasize negative aspects of a story to gain 
credibility and exposure.  He added that any attempt to seek 
redress from a reporter or media outlet, even for a factual 
misrepresentation, would likely lead to even more negative 
coverage.  The reporter would probably run a second story 
playing up the role of the original coverage in angering 
powerful interests, such as Basrah's governor or the USG. 
Overall, he said that Basrah's press has not developed the 
traditions or role of most western press -- to be an unbiased 
reporter of information that checks abuse of government power. 
 
 
======= 
Comment 
======= 
 
¶9. (SBU) The reporting media in southern Iraq, like so much else 
in Basrah and the rest of Iraq, is a work in progress.  While it 
may not have yet developed the objectivity and professional 
independence that would best serve a budding democracy, it does 
serve a useful role despite its many deficiencies.  The press 
gets information to the public, has politicians vying (albeit 
paying) for coverage, and every story critical of the government 
reminds Basrawis that they no longer live in a society where the 
government is above reproach.  Training through projects like 
the PRT's transparency project and the existence of independent 
journalists are two positive influences that will help build a 
more professional cadre of reporters over time.  Until then, the 
Basrah government (and the PRT) can occasionally expect good 
stories to be bad news.  End Comment. 
NALAND