Iraq: May '09

IWPR Iraq trained 13 journalists and media experts in media monitoring skills in May, enabling them to critically evaluate Iraqi news reporting.



The three-day training course, the first of its kind conducted by IWPR Iraq, examined how bad reporting by print and broadcast media can provoke unrest. The trainees were taught how graphic visual images and biased reporting could incite violence, particularly among young, unemployed and desperate teenagers.



The trainees learned how to distinguish between direct and indirect incitement – the latter often caused unintentionally by news organisations that lack properly trained staff.



“A bad reporter coupled with a bad editor can have disastrous consequences and [negatively] impact the public,” said Roman Zagros, an IWPR Iraq editor and trainer, who led the course.



The training gave monitors the skills to critically analyse news reports and determine whether the programming could serve to incite violence or promote peace. Trainees were also taught how to evaluate the neutrality and fairness of coverage, as well as to test for the accuracy of reports.



"The training was very good and built the practical skills and expertise of the trainees,” said Raghdad Hasib, a trainee and coordinator with Mirat, an Iraqi media watchdog organisation.



He said IWPR’s staff “showed great professionalism” with their knowledge and understanding of the Iraqi media and how to critically observe news coverage.



Hasib also said the training explained “how media reports on the topics that directly touch citizens’ lives, especially violence, which has deeply impacted Iraqis over the past few years”.



In June, the trainees are putting their skills to work by monitoring several Iraqi media outlets for one month. The team will then evaluate the level of incitement in reports.



The media incitement monitoring project is sponsored by the United States Institute for Peace and is implemented by Mirat.



Zagros said the project will shed light on the media’s impact on the public, the government and news organisations.



He said the goal is to “positively influence the performance of the media so that it works on promoting peace rather than inciting violence – in many cases unintentionally – in an increasingly tense political environment”.



"The topic of media incitement monitoring is brand new and is critical” for Iraq, said Afrah Mahdi, a trainee and coordinator for the United States Institute for Peace. “After participating in the training, I feel like we need more practice and advanced skills in monitoring.”



Mahdi said the participants responded positively to the training, which built their existing knowledge. “One of the trainees told me that she is going to apply everything she learned to her work daily,” said Mahdi.



"The concept goes beyond mere training,” said IWPR Iraq chief of party Ammar al-Shahbander. “It was about cultivating this knowledge in Iraq ... In a year's time, we would like to see this ad hoc activity become a permanent feature and develop into an institution.”