IREX
International Research & Exchanges Board

U.S. funding cuts to affect Iraqi media development

17/04/2006

The U.S. government is spending less on programs aimed at building democracy in Iraq, including those aimed at strengthening news media. The shift comes despite the Bush Administration's hopes for Iraq as a democratic example for the region.

The administration is cutting back on funds for organizations working on promoting democracy and civil society, the Washington Post reported April 5. Many of these groups' programs receive funds through grants from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Affected organizations include the America's Development Foundation and the International Researches and Exchange Board (IREX), among others.

One example of a program that will be affected by the cuts is the National Iraqi News Agency (NINA). IREX is a subcontractor in a USAID-funded initiative to create a sustainable, independent news agency in Iraq. The initiative was part of the Iraq Civil Society Program (ICSP), implemented by the America's Development Foundation.

IREX helped create NINA in 2004 and provided start-up funding, and the agency planned to become self-sustainable by June 2007. However, because of recent cuts to the ICSP budget, the nascent news agency would run out of money this summer, the Post reported.

NINA Chairman Farid Ayar told IJNet in a phone interview that he was unaware of the planned cuts. On April 16, NINA launched a new Web site that requires a subscriber's user name and password to access news. Ayar said that the agency plans to start raising its own funds by accepting subscriptions – and that it hopes to find more sources of revenue.

“I admit, we have no other sources of support, NINA is dependent on the ICSP funds,” he said. "We are totally independent and we don't have any [political] party influences. We were opposed by the Sunnis, the Shiites, and even the Americans."

A much larger agency that remains partially dependent on ICSP assistance is the Iraqi Media Network (IMN). IMN includes the popular Al-Iraqiya satellite channel, the Al-Sabah newspaper, and a radio network. The government owns the network, while ICSP continues to provide consultation and monitoring. IMN aims to build public-service media, but some critics say its perspective clearly favors the Iraqi government.

Satellite channels, news agencies and newspapers have proliferated in Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein's authoritarian regime. But by and large, ethics and professionalism are still conspicuously missing. The great majority of Iraqi media are clearly biased, aligned with political parties or religious sects, and unable to inform public opinion.

Further complicating the situation is the chaos in the field, as Iraq has become the most dangerous country in the world to practice journalism. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 91 journalists and other media workers have been killed in Iraq since the March 20, 2003, U.S. invasion.

This article was originally published by the International Journalists' Network (IJNET), Washington, DC.