DIWANIYAH: JOURNALISM TRAINING WORKSHOP IN

UNCLAS BAGHDAD 002126 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PINR ECON IZ SUBJECT: DIWANIYAH: JOURNALISM TRAINING WORKSHOP IN DIWANIYAH UNCOVERS LOCAL MEDIA LIMITATIONS REF: BAGHDAD 2069 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: A Public Affairs Section and Diwaniyah PRT co-sponsored two-day training session by a visiting U.S. professor helped train local journalists and offered valuable insights into their thinking and concerns. Their limitations are due largely to their media outlets being owned and controlled by political or religious entities. The journalists expressed frustration that they had not done more to inform the public of voting rules ahead of the January 2009 election, and hoped they would play a bigger role in the next election. Their frustration was matched by hopes for more training and exposure to Western journalism. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) The highly valuable August 1-2 training session by media trainer Joyce Barrett (College of Charleston) attracted several of the province's leading journalists and editors. That session responded to earlier appeals to the PRT by many in the provincial media for training and other forms of exposure to Western journalism techniques and standards. By their own accounts, the journalists came away with new ideas and a greater sense of what they should aspire to accomplish in their professional development, but the lively give-and-take also gave us insights into their thinking. FRUSTRATED JOURNALISTS -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The discussions made very clear that the journalists are aware of and frustrated by the limitations on media reporting. Although they argued that some media outlets can be considered somewhat free (including, in Diwaniyah, one weekly newspaper),they noted that the vast majority remains under the ownership or control of political parties or religious groups, which severely limits reporting. Failure by the public, particularly in a relatively isolated and socially conservative province like Diwaniyah, to understand the importance of a free media exacerbates the problem by eliminating a major source of pressure for more "objective" news. ¶4. (SBU) Our interlocutors told us that the situation is only slightly better with the more technocratic current provincial government than the previous, ISCI-controlled one. The journalists all agreed that they needed more protection, yet also argued that a new law for the protection of journalists aims primarily to limit the powers of the media. They expressed hope that a freedom of information law will eventually be passed. The extent to which it would facilitate investigation of corruption was unclear. However, it was apparent that currently attempting to report on corruption was a dangerous business, for the journalists and their families being subject to retribution for doing so. ROLE IN ELECTION REPORTING -------------- ¶5. (SBU) One module of the training centered on election coverage, and the journalists disagreed among themselves over the extent of logistical problems faced by voters in the January 2009 election. All agreed, however, that the news media had not been effective in educating the public on voting rules and procedures. They hoped for a bigger role in the upcoming election and as a result of the training, are thinking of ways to better use the media to engage the public, especially younger voters, in the voting process. PUBLIC CONCERNS -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Asked about the issues of greatest concern to the public as upcoming elections begin to near, the journalists listed electricity, water and unemployment as key, followed by delivery of services by government entities and then security. (This view is largely consistent with those we Qsecurity. (This view is largely consistent with those we hear from political elites, who are becoming concerned that they cannot effectively respond to the public's key concerns - reftel.) Health care, education and human rights were judged to be of lesser importance, with women's rights and the environment toward the bottom of the list. COMMENT -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Although frustrated, the journalists demonstrated pride in and excitement about their chosen career. They clearly crave more training, as well as other exposure to Western media practices and standards. HILL