A fragmented landscape: barriers to independent media in Iraq

The Iraqi media landscape has been characterised by partisan ownership, mainly based on political and religious affiliations. Comparative ethnographic research has revealed highly irregular practices and the struggles of Iraqi journalists to adhere to the norms of professionalism, suggesting that these practices are contributing to and fuelling the ongoing context of conflict and violence in Iraq. Within this challenging environment, there have been some attempts to develop media platforms that carve out spaces which can contribute to better journalism and, ultimately, better local and national governance. This report explores, in the context of this environment, the challenges that these platforms face. It examines a number of barriers to the development of independent media in Iraq, providing some recommendations as to how these obstacles might be tackled. Based on interviews with key media and political stakeholders in early 2019, it provides some insight into the complex interaction between political and social conditions, structure and agency in Iraq.