About the MSI
[8]
IREX designed the MSI to measure the strength and viability of any country’s media sector. The MSI considers all the factors that contribute to a media system—the quality of journalism, effectiveness of management, the legal environment supporting freedom of the press, and more—to arrive at scores on a scale ranging between 0 and 4. These scores represent the strength of the media sector components and can be analyzed over time to chart progress (or regression) within a country. Additionally, countries or regions may be compared to one another. IREX currently conducts the MSI in 80 countries, and produced the first Middle East and North Africa MSI in 2005.
MSI Overview [9] | Africa [10] | Asia [11] | Europe & Eurasia [12] | Middle East & North Africa [13]
MSI Methodology [14]
Download the Complete Iraq MSI Chapter (PDF): 2009 [15] | 2008 [16] | 2006/7 [17] | 2005 [18]
MSI Iraq - 2009 Introduction
Overall Country Score: 1.87
Iraq has enjoyed wide-ranging freedoms since the forcible ouster of Saddam Hussein and the political upheaval in 2003. However, media professionals and press organizations still operate in a hazardous environment. Local organizations continue to raise warnings about dangers to freedom of the press and expression, particularly in the aftermath of the United States military withdrawal from Iraqi cities.
The Journalistic Freedoms Observatory (JFO), an Iraqi organization that defends journalists and their rights, reports that violence against journalists is climbing. In 2009, JFO reported a rise in attacks on journalists and media professionals to an estimated 262 cases over the course of the year. The report indicates that the Iraqi government has put forth significant efforts to control the free flow of information and has exerted pressure on journalists to prevent them from doing their jobs. The government uses criminal libel and defamation laws to stifle critical media outlets.
In addition, the Iraqi government has tried to restrict information on a national level by imposing censorship and control over the Internet. On July 22, 2009, Farouk Abdel Kader, Iraqi minister of communications, admitted that a proposal had been put forth to control and restrict Internet use in Iraq. According to Kader, Prime Minister Nouri at Maliki had given instructions to impose controls and limits on information published on the Internet, because the information being published was currently "out of control." Kader, who is a member of a religious political party, added that the controls are intended to prevent any political movements or other activities that violate the ethics of the country.
Such instructions seem to contravene article 40 of the Iraqi Constitution, which states: "The freedom of communication, and mail, telegraphic, electronic, and telephonic correspondence, and other correspondence shall be guaranteed and may not be monitored, wiretapped, or disclosed except for legal and security necessity and by a judicial decision."