Focus on media licensing

A plan to license broadcasters in Iraq may be a good one, but it is taking so long that media players feel they are dealing with the former regime all over again, a radio station manager said in jest as he tried to get approval to go on the air. Two months after submitting the required application, Wadi Nuri al-Handal, the manager of the company setting up the Iraq Online radio station in the capital, Baghdad, expects to meet regulators this week at the new media development office working as part of the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA). "What’s the difference between Saddam Hussein and the CPA?" al-Handal asked, laughing. "Maybe it’s because I don’t know all the procedures, but before it would take one week to get this licence. Now it takes two months," he told IRIN in Baghdad. Licensing at the media development office would be like at the Federal Communications Commission in the US or the newly formed Office of Communications in Britain, said Dieter Loraine, the office's deputy director. Licensing is part of a six-month process being done through the new Iraqi communications ministry, which has a new minister and many new employees. "We don’t want to move too far too fast," Loraine told IRIN. "They have more freedom now than they ever had. We’re regulating to bring international norms to the process," he added. BROAD LICENSING ENVISAGED In reality, the 80 or so radio stations and the estimated 20 television stations would probably all be licensed, since most of them were already operating, Dieter said. In most countries, licensing is provided as a means of overseeing the limited number of broadcasting frequencies. Licensing requirements often also subject broadcasters to signing a code of conduct. In the US, certain words contained in a short list of profanities are prohibited on the air, for example. "What we’re looking for here is that the rules are the same for all broadcasters," Loraine explained. "Elections are now looming. In order for the public to make informed decisions, there should be media rules as part of the process." Iraq Online did not want to focus on politics, because its owners were regional businessmen who wanted to make money by broadcasting advertisements and popular music, al-Handal said. But he admitted that the business owners also had issues they wanted addressed. Under the former regime, al-Handal had close ties with the information ministry and Saddam Hussein. The ministry was abolished by the new authorities. Many of the technicians now work for al-Handal. "We’re looking to make business for our investors," al-Handal said. "We now have the promise for freedom in Iraq, so we’ll broadcast music and some news." MEDIA AS COMPLAINTS CHANNEL Under the former regime, all media were virtually part of the government, so broadcasters are unused to thinking about elections and government officials. But at the Iraq Media Network (IMN), run by a former state television broadcaster, Shamim Rassam, people can call in and complain about various ministers appointed after the fall of Saddam this spring. Their complaints were being passed on to the ministries, and ministers were asked to respond, she said. "We had the governing council [the Iraqi Governing Council, a transitional government appointed by the CPA] on the air. We record complaints, then ask ministers to respond to people," Rassam explained. For the election period, Rassam said she expected all candidates to get plenty of airtime to give their opinions. IMN had already created its own code of ethics, with help from international advisers. However, the IMN still faces an uphill battle. The media development office wants to help it become a public service broadcaster. They would be governed by basic rules to report facts accurately and timely with fairness and balance and right of reply, Loraine said. "It has a long way to go before it will be accepted by the general public." Rassam agreed that the IMN faced criticism and major competition from regional satellite channels like the Arabic Al-Jazeera station. But she said her 400 workers must be doing something right to generate such discussion. "If we’re not getting criticism, we must not be doing anything," Rassam said. INDEPENDENT MEDIA COMMISSION ENVISAGED After licensing the broadcasters, the media development office wants to start an independent media commission to help the media police themselves. The commission will serve as an oversight board, similar to an ombudsman’s office at a newspaper. The US does not have such a national board, but various European countries do, according to Loraine. "Part of the press council’s role is to uphold the freedom of the press," Loraine asserted. "All governments would like to control the press. Even my own government in the UK wants to gag the press." Loraine and other advisers will meet Iraqi press leaders to discuss creating such a board. A similar board had been created in Bosnia after war there, Loraine said. Ireland, on the other hand, has discussed creating such a board for seven years, but still does not have one.