ENCOURAGING BALANCED ARAB MEDIA COVERGE OF IRAQ

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANAA 001742 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/13/2013 TAGS: PREL KPAO YM SUBJECT: ENCOURAGING BALANCED ARAB MEDIA COVERGE OF IRAQ REF: STATE 199008 Classified By: Ambassador Edmuind J. Hull, Reasons 1.5(b and d) 1, (C) We totally agree with the Department's assessment of the Arab media coverage of Iraq. That picture is repeated here in Yemen, with all media outlets, official and independent, carrying similar tunes. During the war in Iraq, Ambassador and PAO Sana'a made personal calls to the official media and some independent media to ask for a more balanced approach. As a result, we witnessed a diminution of the strident rhetoric we were seeing in some newspapers. Our latest attempt to place an Op-Ed article on some coalition successes in Iraq bore fruit. Six independent newspapers carried the article and four newspapers commented on it (septel). ¶2. (C) We note however that it is not just the Arab media that has been guilty of misrepresenting the facts or carrying one-sided reports. We have seen unbalanced and sensationalized coverage on CNN and other American networks. ¶3. (C) In response to your latest call, we will expand our aggresive campaign to ask for a balanced coverage of events in Iraq. Ambassador will emphasize progress in Iraq, e.g., the formation of the Governing Council, in a series of media interviews and make the points suggested in reftel during his meetings with ROYG officials. PD section will meet with the editors of all the media in Sana'a starting week of July 20 and, whenever possible, with editors in other cities, to deliver the same message. This method has worked well for us in the past. ¶4. (C) In the meantime, we would welcome: (1) indications that the security situation is improving in the country, (2) indications that Iraqis are increasingly governing themselves, (3) indications that daily life is improving for the average Iraqi. HULL