Support for Technical Media in Iraq

In spring 2004 the BBC World Service Trust provided 150 Iraqi technical media profesionals with a platform to openly discuss their work with, and to hear the views of, colleagues from across the Arab world. Each week these media managers and broadcast engineers met to debate the status and direction of their industry. These 'Wednesday Debates' were part of a series of training courses for media technicians that ran for 3 months in Amman. The project was funded by the British Council Iraq, with support from the British Council offices in Jordan.

This 9-page document details the major trends that emerged from these discussions and illustrates some of the main points with comments from speakers. Some of the questions explored include:

• What is it like for a media professional in Iraq?
• What problems does the media encounter?
• What is the future of media regulation in Iraq?
• So, will Iraq have an independent media?
• What are the main needs of the Iraqi media now?
• What do Iraqis think of existing TV and radio channels?
• But what sort of programmes do they want?
• How can regional diversity, and nation unity, be achieved?
• And the role of women in the media?