In an effort to demonstrate to the Azerbaijani public the importance of debate in a democracy, IREX Azerbaijan worked with Ictimaj, Azerbaijan’s public television broadcaster, to air the three US presidential debates and the vice presidential debate in September and October.
Through IREX’s USAID-funded Media Advancement Project [6], IREX worked in cooperation with the US Embassy in Baku, which ensured the delivery of the transcript of the debates. IREX and the Embassy then worked together to arrange for translations and voiceovers of the debates, and IREX supervised taping the live feeds in the Ictimaj control room at 6am each morning of the debates. Ictimaj subsequently aired the debates each Monday evening at 8:30pm, and at 10am on Tuesdays.
AGB/Nielsen reported major audience surges for the initial airings. The usual rating for that time period on Ictimaj is a 4.3 share of the audience. The first Monday broadcast garnered an 11.7 share, nearly triple the normal audience. As a result, Ictimaj began promoting the subsequent debates for the second week and the results showed that the program won the time period with a 22.2 rating, beating out the Azerbaijani version of “American Idol,” which typically wins the biggest audience share for that time period. Aside from the ratings success, Ictimaj’s general director decided that the format of future political debates in Azerbaijan should be revamped to follow the American example.
Additionally, two representatives from Ictimaj travelled to Washington, sponsored by the US Embassy, to observe the US elections and produce a documentary for Ictimaj on the voting process in America.
IREX’s Media Advancement Project in Azerbaijan is a USAID-funded program that aims to improve journalistic professionalism, enhance media outlets’ financial viability, improve media advocacy, and boost civic journalism and civic participation.
