Syndication Deal Boosts Iraq Reports

Growing republication of IWPR’s acclaimed Iraqi Crisis Reports, ICRs, which editors and readers say provide impartial stories in a media landscape tainted by bias, are further evidence of the credibility of its editorial output.

IWPR’s local media partners singled out the ICRs for providing unique and balanced stories that accurately reflect the situation in Iraq and the country’s diverse communities.

Jaleel Ibrahim, the manager of Baghdad-based al-Marsad news website, which began syndicating ICRs in June, said readers look to IWPR’s reports “to find out the truth, which the Iraqi news sometimes fails to honestly reflect”.

"IWPR stories broaden the minds of Iraqis so that they understand what is happening in the entire country."
Diana Sameer al-Obaidi, 25-year-old freelance journalist

He said Iraqi journalists “side with their ethnic group or sect, but IWPR’s reports are neutral and professional … Sunnis, Shias, Kurds, Arabs , Muslims, Christians and other ethnic or religious groups are frequently quoted ... Our society needs such reporting”.

Basim al-Shammeri, who manages Wasit news agency in eastern Iraq, also began syndicating the ICRs in June.

“Many journalists and intellectuals inside and outside of Wasit province read these stories because they primarily tackle Iraq’s political, security and social topics which are relevant to every Iraqi individual in this critical period of the country’s history,” he said.

“The diversity of topics draws the readers’ attention, meaning IWPR reports don’t focus on one issue but instead deal with many subjects, which is something unique.”

IWPR Iraq chief of party Ammar al-Shahbander said the syndication deals were a sign of growing appreciation of international standards of journalism within the country.

“The interest in articles written by IWPR-trained journalists shows that the international standard of reporting is making an impact here,” he said.

IWPR’s stories have also been published on news websites and in newspapers in Nasiriyah, Basra, Sulaimaniyah, Erbil and Baghdad, where they have been praised by readers and writers alike.

Diana Sameer al-Obaidi, a 25-year-old freelance journalist, said she reads the ICRs through the Baghdad-based Eye Iraq and Wasit news agency websites.

“What I like most about these reports is that they are credible and transparent and do not distort the truth about Iraq. They clearly convey the ideas to readers… these reports are done by trained [Iraqi] journalists, which is really amazing,” she said.

Like Ibrahim, Obaidi believes that IWPR’s neutral reporting is critical for Iraqi readers.

“IWPR stories broaden the minds of Iraqis so that they understand what is happening in the entire country - unlike party, sectarian, ethnic, religious or other biased media outlets that work for their own interests,” she said.

In another development, two pillars of Iraqi press freedom established by IWPR and its trainees have joined forces in a bid to strengthen the breadth and impact of the two organisations.

The Baghdad-based Journalistic Freedom Observatory, JFO, an IWPR partner, and Metro Centre to Defend Journalists, which IWPR Iraq created in Sulaimaniyah in 2009, merged and elected a board of directors at a conference in Erbil in July.

The merged organisation will be known as the JFO, but the Metro Centre will retain a high degree of autonomy.

Both organisations are well respected in Iraq as influential, independent watchdogs that defend the rights of Iraqi journalists and campaign for greater press freedom.

The JFO, which was founded by IWPR staff and trainees in 2004, is considered Iraq’s foremost press freedom advocacy group.

The organisation has tracked hundreds of cases of attacks against press and assisted threatened journalists in Iraq, which the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists considers the most dangerous country in the world for journalists.

The Journalistic Freedom Observatory, which was founded by IWPR staff and trainees in 2004, is considered Iraq’s foremost press freedom advocacy group.

The JFO’s accomplishments include lobbying the Iraqi government to protect reporters, organising demonstrations calling for greater media rights, securing news organisations more access to cover events and establishing – together with the interior ministry - a hotline for media workers under threat.

The Metro Centre has served as a leading campaigner for press freedom in Iraqi Kurdistan, including assisting members of the media who have been detained or threatened, documenting threats against journalists and issuing dozens of statements that have raised awareness of media rights violations in the region.

“The step of unifying the two organisations – JFO and Metro Centre - is essential to enhancing the impact of our work to protect journalists and their legal rights,” said Ali Marzook, a JFO board member and manager of IWPR Iraq’s Safety, Security, Law and Protection programme for journalists.

“While JFO has proven itself as an effective organisation for journalists’ issues, its connection to IWPR has given it even more credibility because of the great reputation that IWPR enjoys among journalists.”

The organisations’ immediate goals include pressing for laws that protect freedom of speech and media rights to replace restrictive Baath-era legislation that leave journalists vulnerable to prosecution and even the death penalty.

The JFO also hopes to provide financial assistance for journalists in distress and for the families of those who have been killed. In addition, the organisation is aiming to arrange ethics, hostile environment and media law training sessions for journalists and lawyers.

JFO executive director Ziyad al-Ajili said the organisation is also considering expanding its operations to other countries in the region where press freedoms are under threat, although the focus for now remains on Iraq.