*EPF209 03/25/2003
Journalists From Northern Iraq Examine American Community Television
(State sponsors international visitors to observe television programming) (1040)

By Steve Sinclair
Washington File Special Staff Writer

From January 18 to February 15 five Kurdish journalists from northern Iraq traveled the United States to learn about American TV techniques, technologies, and practices through a program called "Community-Based Television Broadcasting." Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the visitors are senior staff members at television stations based in northern Iraq, where Kurds have been able to establish a semi-autonomous region in the no-fly zone protected by American and British air patrols. Among the freedoms the Kurdish population has procured is access to a satellite that makes it possible for them to run several television news channels within the region.

The purpose of the visit was to acquaint the participants with the way television broadcasting in the United States offers news, information, entertainment, education, and public access to its viewers and promotes democratic pluralism, communal harmony, and civic culture. Specifically, the sponsors hoped to expose the journalists to small-scale broadcasting in the private and public sectors as appropriate models for their stations. They hoped to demonstrate how smaller stations maximize scarce broadcasting resources by sharing programming or developing affiliations with larger stations regionally, or by using the Internet. The program gave the visitors opportunities to observe the role of cable companies in providing local programming and public access to television.

Not least they learned about American telecommunications policy as well as regulatory and legal issues.

"I strongly believe the program was an excellent experience for the participants," reports Mohammed Smadi, a veteran Department of State interpreter who escorted the journalists throughout their trip across the United States. "They had the opportunity to meet with high level officials from the U.S. government and to exchange points of view about the situation in Iraq with those officials." At the State Department they met with department spokesman Richard Boucher and attended the daily press briefing.

Among other highlights,

In Washington, D.C.:

A two-day seminar at the United States Telecommunications Training Institute (USTTI), a non-profit joint venture between leaders of the U.S. telecommunications, broadcast and information technology industries and the federal government. Besides providing the formal training, USTTI offered an overview of the American television industry and programming. Through a visit to WHUT-TV at Howard University, the first TV station owned and operated by African-Americans, USTTI gave the visitors a glimpse into public-interest television and broadcasting's role in giving local citizens a powerful voice in their communities.

In Raleigh, North Carolina:

The visitors met the staff of News 14 Carolina, a cable news channel that broadcasts around the clock. News 14 provides the Raleigh community with 24-hour news, complete local weather forecasts and live coverage of fast-breaking news stories. The participants held an in-depth discussion with the station's administrative committee about how to use limited human resources to achieve the objectives of the station.

At UNC-TV, a public broadcasting station, they were given a demonstration of such technological innovations as closed-captioning for the hearing impaired and descriptive video services for the blind.

In Seattle, Washington:

At the University of Washington's Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, the participants talked about their experiences during the Iran-Iraq-Iraq war and when Baghdad used chemical agents against the Kurdish village of Halabjah. The Dart Center trains journalists in how to cover such traumatic events as terrorist attacks, airplane crashes, and natural disasters and their effects on victims.

In Atlanta, Georgia:

The participants toured the studios and witnessed ongoing production at Atlanta Interfaith Broadcasters (AIB), the largest local faith-based cable network in the nation. The network delivers educational and public service programming that includes many points of view: liberal and conservative, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and other faiths. Besides broadcasting, AIB provides video production, duplication facilities, web hosting, design and maintenance services and video streaming.

The visitors had a substantive meeting with the president of CNN, a highly popular service in northern Iraq. "Both parties exchanged addresses and phone numbers," says Smadi, "and promised to help each other in the event of war."

In New York City:

At the Islamic Center the journalists discussed freedom of worship in the U.S. with Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf. They also asked some members of the congregation about the difficulties they have encountered as Muslims after September 11, 2001. The congregants assured the participants of the commitment of the United States government and society to freedom of worship. They said that they have faced no problems in practicing their religion before or after September 11.

Back in Washington, the participants visited the studios of the Voice of America (which broadcasts in more than 50 languages worldwide) and Radio Sawa, an Arabic radio service also sponsored by the U.S. government. "They were pleased to discover that all Voice of America products, including State Department print publications and electronic publications, including this article, are in the public domain, available for free duplication and use," reports Mofid Deak, a senior editor at the State Department's Office of International Information Programs.

The participants also viewed Rebuilding Afghanistan, a videotape produced by the State Department's Bureau of Public Affairs about the international effort to assist the post-Taliban administration in Kabul. In a subsequent discussion with Patricia S. Harrison, the Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, the participants expressed the hope that the United States might provide similar assistance to the Iraqi people.

Perhaps the most telling revelation about American TV journalism, the participants reported during the final evaluation session of the program, was its role as watchdog, ever vigilant to criticize government and publicize social problems. "They noted the interest and freedom of television stations to report on matters of religion and ethnicity," says Dr. Sana Abed-Kotob, a program officer at the State Department's Educational and Cultural Affairs Bureau. "American television's impartiality and self-reliance -- its willingness to forego government funding for complete independence -- struck them forcibly. They noticed that the governmental regulation is strictly limited to technical matters and is prohibited from interfering with content."

(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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