Calling Iraq: An Evaluation of Listeners' Opinions

The BBC World Service Trust (WST) produced a series of programmes for Iraq, broadcast on the BBC's Arabic Service, as part of its commitment to offer support - via broadcasting - to people in post-conflict zones. The series of programmes was launched in April 2003 and ran for one year. These 'Calling Iraq' programmes were each 5 minutes long and were broadcast twice a day, 5 days a week, on BBC FM outlets.

Here is an excerpt from the 47-page report, prepared by Andrea Millwood Hargrave, which highlights some trends in the media environment in which this programme was broadcast:

"II. MEDIA ACCESS AND USE

Media access

• All participants in this research were BBC Arabic service listeners and therefore, had access to the radio.
• The entire sample appeared to have access to television, including foreign satellite services, transmitting in Arabic but from outside Iraq.
• Many of the participants talked about the press.
• There was little mention made of the Internet or other forms of media such as the cinema - however, these were not probed.

Media preferences

• There was a clear desire to have access to accurate and impartial information. The press was not felt to fall within such a category, and broadcast services were looked to offer fair and accurate reporting. Participants wanted 'honest' information.
• The television was the preferred means of communication and entertainment, with some participants asking why one would want just sound when one could have vision and sound.
• The radio provided an alternative form of entertainment to the television, not being affected when the electricity went off or being listened to in places other than the home, such as in the car.
• Participants would like their local broadcast services to offer quality programming and impartial reporting, but they did not do so at present. The BBC and other foreign broadcast services (particularly some satellite delivered television channels) were considered more likely to be accurate in their reporting, and to have a better quality of production.

Television

• Television was much enjoyed and was watched in the home as a family.
• Electricity cuts disrupt viewing frequently.
• There was some criticism made of local Iraqi television but there was an expressed desire that good domestic product should be available.
• Many participants had seen satellite television services beaming in from other countries. Al Jazeera and Al Arabia were mentioned by name. A very few participants suggested that the presentation of news from outside Iraq by these services negatively affected the internal stability of the country.
• Participants had differing views on the channels on offer; some finding them entertaining and informative while others said they were not.

Radio

• Radio listening tended to be more solitary than television viewing, and was frequently listened to in the car, to and from places of work or school. This meant that opportunities for exchange about programmes heard would be less frequent than for television.
• However, the radio is used when television is not available (because of power cuts for example) although there was no mention of cross-family listening.
• One participant said that he felt the radio was more objective in its reporting.
• All but one participant was a regular listener to the BBC Arabic service and the BBC was respected and looked up to as a symbol of quality and independence in the broadcasting available to this sample.
• Other radio services were also mentioned, especially Monte Carlo.

Press

• The press was mentioned by many participants, particularly in the context of bias and inaccurate reporting. It seemed to be expected that newspapers would contain untruths and they were not a valid source of information for many.

Other media

• Only a few of the sample mentioned the Internet. Very few had used it and those who had found it a very useful tool.
• Other media systems were not explored."

Click here to download the full version of this paper in PDF format.