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Abstract
This article focuses on a particular aspect of media capture by examining how the Kurdistan Region of Iraq’s media regulatory authorities and governmental bureaucracy use both formal and informal instruments and practices at their disposal to regulate press freedom. It reports on the findings of a mixed-methods approach: A qualitative document analysis of media regulations (such as laws, bills, and guidelines) was combined with 20 in-depth semistructured interviews with both state officials involved in media regulatory authorities and journalists, media managers, and editors-in-chief (N = 20). The findings show deliberate shortcomings in the contents of the laws as a result of pressure from the ruling political parties. In addition, they reveal the existence of informal structures and practices to control formal media regulations through patronage relationships and clientelism. We conclude by discussing the implications of these results with regard to the state of the regulatory chaos occurring within an unstable political environment. This includes imprecise laws and the irregular and unpredictable enforcement of media laws that are restricting journalists, to discern the boundary between legal and illegal. As such, the findings provide key insights on the different dimensions of regulatory capture in transitional democracies more broadly.
Notes
1 See Katrin Voltmer, The Media in Transitional Democracies (2013); Jan Zielonka, Media and Politics in New Democracies: Europe in a Comparative Perspective (2015); Matt J. Duffy & Mariam, Arab Defamation Laws: A Comparative Analysis of Libel and Slander in the Middle East, 22 Commun. Law Policy 189, 211 (2017).
2 See Katrin Voltmer, supra.
3 See Mohammedali Yaseen Taha, Media and Politics in Kurdistan 21–22 (2020).
4 See Anya Schiffrin, In the Service of Power: Media Capture and Threat to Democracy (2017). https://www.c ima.ned.org/wpcontent/uploads/2017/08/CIMA_MediaCaptureBookF1.pdf.
5 See Anya Schiffrin, Introduction to Special Issue on Media Capture, 19 Journalism 1033–1042 (2018).
6 See Andrew Finkel, Captured News Media the Case of Turkey (Oct. 2015), https://www. cima.ned.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/CIMA-Captured-News-Media_The-Case-of-Turkey.pdf.
7 See Don Podesta, Soft Censorship: How Governments Around the Globe Use Money to Manipulate the Media (Jan. 2008), https://www.cima.ned.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/CIMA-Soft_Censorship-Report.pdf . See Anya Schiffrin, supra. See Servet Yanatma, Advertising and Media Capture in Turkey: How Does the State Emerge as the Largest Advertiser with the Rise of Competitive Authoritarianism?, 22 ISO4 (May 2021).
8 See Grondahl Larsen et al., Journalist Safety and Self-Censorship (2021).
9 See Roxane Farmanfarmaian et al., The Turkish Media Structure in Judicial and Political Context: An Illustration of Values and Status Negotiation, 27 Middle East Crit. 111–125 (2018).
10 See Daniel C. Hallin & Paolo Mancini, Comparing Media Systems Beyond the Western World (2012).
11 See Peter Bajomi-Lazar, Party Colonization of the Media in Central and Eastern Europe (2015); Peter Bajomi-Lazar, Media in Third-Wave Democracies. Southern and Central Eastern Europe in a Comparative Perspective (2017).
12 Id.
13 Natalya Ryabinska. Media Capture in Post-Communist Ukraine. 61 Problems of Post-Communism 46–60 (2014); Peter Bajomi-Lazar, supra, 2017.
14 See Duffy & Alkazemi, supra, 192. See Grondahl Larsen, supra, 13.
15 See José Luis Benítez, Journalism and Self-Censorship in the Insecure Democracies of Central America, in Journalist Safety and Self-Censorship 15, 13–29 (Grondahl Larsen ed., 2021); Farmanfarmaian et al., supra, 122.
16 See Freedom in the World 2020: Iraq (Freedom House, 2020); Freedom in the World 2020: Iraq. https://freedomhouse.org/country/iraq/freedom-world/2020.
17 See Olunifesi A. Suraj, Online Surveillance and the Repressive Press Council Bill 2018: A Two-Pronged Approach to Media Self-Censorship in Nigeria, in Journalist Safety and Self-Censorship 84, 80–100 (Grondahl Larsen ed., 2021); Farmanfarmaian et al., supra, 117.
18 See Sadia Jamil, Increasing Accountability Using Data Journalism: Challenges for the Pakistani Journalists, 15 Journalism Pract. 19–40 (2021).
19 Olunifesi A. Suraj, supra, at 81.
20 See Rasmus Kleis Nielsen et al., What Can Be Done? Digital Media Policy Options for Strengthening European Democracy, Reuters Institute Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (2019), https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2019-11/What_Can_Be_Done_FINAL.pdf.
21 See Don Podesta, supra, 13.
22 See Maciej Bernatt & Alison Jones, Populism and Public Procurement: An EU Response to Increased Corruption and Collusion Risks in Hungary and Poland, Yearbook of European Law 1–37 (2023).
23 See Eleanor M. Fox, Antitrust and Democracy: How Markets Protect Democracy, Democracy Protects Markets, and Illiberal Politics Threatens to Hijack Both, Leg. Issues Econ. 317–328 (2019).
24 See Farmanfarmaian et al., supra, at 119.
25 See Jiyan Faris et al., Media Capture and Journalism as Emotional Labor: How Do Media Professionals Manage Bureaucratic Violence in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq? Journalism Studies, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1461670X.2023.2185077?journalCode=rjos20; Sadia Jamil, Culture of Impunity and Safety of Journalists: Is Safe Journalism a Distant Dream in Pakistan?, 1 Journal of World Media 51–67 (2019).
26 See Taha, supra, 99.
27 See Taha, supra, 99; Hataw Hama Saleh Hussein, The Role of News Media in Supporting Democracy in Kurdistan Region (Ph.D. diss., Nottingham Trent University 2018), 153; Taha, supra, 109.
28 See Sadia Jamil, supra, 2012; Hataw Hama Saleh Hussein, supra, 149–156.
29 See Andrei Richter, Post-Soviet Perspective on Censorship and Freedom of the Media: An Overview, 70 Int. Commun. Gaz. 308, 307–324 (2008).
30 See for exceptions Hussein, supra, 142–162; Taha, supra, 58–64.
31 Iraqi Publication Laws, No. 206 (1969); Iraqi Penal Code, No. 111 (1969), https://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/natlex4.detail?p_lang=en&pisn=5720 6&p_country = IRQ&p count = 232&p _classification =01.04&p classcount =5.
32 See Taha, supra, 99.
33 See Taha, supra, 59.
34 Id.
35 See Hussein, supra, 142–162. See Taha, supra, 60–63.
36 See Taha, supra, 60–63.
37 See The Law of Journalism in the Kurdistan Region in Iraq, No. 35 (2007), https://presidency.gov.krd/krp/docs/PressLaw-KRI.pdf.
38 See Political Parties Laws in the Kurdistan Region in Iraq, No. 17 (1993), https://www.parliament.krd/english/parliament-activities/legislation/1993.
39 Hussein, supra, 158–162.
40 See Jiyan Faris et al., Newspaper Advertising in a Nontransparent Media Market: The Case of Iraqi Kurdistan (2014–2018), 15 Int. J. Commun. 1393–1413 (2021).
41 Id.
42 See Hussein, supra, 111–128.
43 See Denise Natali, The Kurdish Quasi-State: Development and Dependency in Post- Gulf War Iraq (Syracuse University Press, 2010).
44 See Taha, supra, 60–61.
45 See Radio Free Europe (RFE) and Radio Liberty (RL), Iraqi Kurdish Parliament Passes Softer Media Law (Sept. 2008), https://www.rferl.org/a/Iraqi_Kurdish_Parliament_Passes_Softer_Media_Law/1247515.html.
46 Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Ministry of Culture and Youth in the Kurdistan, Guidelines for Audiovisual Media: Instructions for Regulating Frequency Spectrum and Licensing Radio and Television Stations (Erbil, Ministry of Culture and Youth, 2014), at 31.
47 See Taha, supra, 63.
48 Personal communication with a high-ranking official within executive authority of the Kurdistan region in Iraqi (KRG) (Aug. 6, 2019).
49 Ministry of Culture and Youth in the Kurdistan, supra, 31.
50 See Law of the Rights to Access Information in the Kurdistan Region, Iraq, No. 11 (2013), https://www.parliament.krd/english/parliament-activities/legislation/2013.
51 See Law of the Rights to Access Information in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, No. 11 (2013), https://www.parliament.krd/english/parliament-activities/legislation/2013.
52 See Commercial Advertising Law in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, No. 4, (2019), https://www.parliament.krd/english/parliament-activities/legislation/2019.
53 See Zhelwan Z. Wali, Kurdish Parliament’s Digital Media Regulation Bill Blurs Boundaries of Expression, Opponents Say, Rudaw (Aug. 17, 2021), https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/17082020.
54 See Hussein, supra, 144.
55 See Taha, supra, 99.
56 See Hevi Khalid, Freedom of Expression in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (Dec. 2020), https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Countries/IQ/Freedom-of-Expression-in-the-Kurdistan-Regionen.pdf.
57 See Klaus Bruhn Jensen, Handbook of Media and Communication Research: Qualitative and Quantitative, Methodologies (Routledge, 2002).
58 See Hussein, supra, 142–162.
59 Id, 111–138.
60 Jean Faugier & Mary Sargeant, Sampling Hard to Reach Populations, 26 J. Adv. Nurs. 790–797 (Oct. 1997).
61 Id.
62 See Hawre Hasan Hama et al., Political Parties and the Political System in Iraqi Kurdistan, 56 J. Asian Afr. Stud. 754–773 (2021).
63 See Jensen, supra.
64 Ministry of Culture and Youth in the Kurdistan, supra, 1–31.
65 Interviewee no. 15, interview by author, Erbil-Iraq (Aug. 5, 2019, at 17:30).
66 Id.
67 See The Law of Journalism in the Kurdistan Region in Iraq, No. 35 (2007). See Commercial Advertising Law in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, No. 4 (2019); Law of the Rights to Access Information in the Kurdistan Region, Iraq, No. 11 (2013); Bill 76, Digital Media Law drafted by the Kurdistan Parliament, Iraq on March 8, 2020, Erbil-Iraq, (passed by the KRG Parliament on July 21, 2020).
68 Interviewee no. 14, interview by author, Erbil-Iraq (Aug. 6, 2019, 13:56); interviewee no. 17, interview by author, Erbil-Iraq (Aug. 5, 2019, at 13:18).
69 Interviewee no. 19, interview by author, Erbil-KRI (Aug. 6, 2019, 10:20).
70 Interviewee no. 14, interview by author, Erbil-KRI (Aug. 6, 2019, 13:56).
71 Bajomi- Lazar, supra, 2013.
72 Interviewee no. 4, interview by author, Duhok-KRI (July 23, 2019, 10:30).
73 In-depth interviews by author with state-actors involved in the committee established by the MCY in the KRI (July & Aug. 2019).
74 Interviewee no. 17, interview by author, Erbil-Iraq (Aug. 5, 2019, at 13:18).
75 Interviewee no. 17, interview by author, Erbil-KRI (Aug. 5, 2019, at 13:18). Interviewee no. 19, interview by author, Erbil-KRI (Aug. 6, 2019, 10:20).
76 Interviewee no. 17, interview by author, Erbil-KRI (Aug. 5, 2019, at 13:18).
77 Interviewee no. 2, interview by author, Duhok-KRI (July 28, 2019, at 18:15).
78 Interviewee no. 2, interview by author, Duhok-KRI (July 28, 2019, at 18:15).
79 See The Law of Journalism in the Kurdistan Region in Iraq, No. 35 (2007).
80 Interviewee no. 1, interview by author, Duhok-KRI (July 21, 2019, at 10:20).
81 Interviewee no. 8, interview by author, Sulaymaniyah–KRI (Aug. 21, 2019, at 17:50).
82 Interviewee no. 10, interview by author, Sulaymaniyah–KRI (Aug. 21, 2019, at 10:35). Interviewee no. 4, interview by author, Duhok-KRI (July 23, 2019, 10:30). Interviewee no. 6, interview by author, Duhok-KRI (Aug. 3, 2019, 16:25).
83 Interviewee no. 8, interview by author, Sulaymaniyah–KRI (Aug. 21, 2019, at 17:50).
84 Interviewee no. 15, interview by author, Erbil-Iraq (Aug. 5, 2019, at 17: 30). Interviewee no. 14, interview by author, Erbil-Iraq (Aug. 6, 2019, 13:56).
85 Interviewee no. 15, interview by author, Erbil-Iraq (Aug. 5, 2019, at 17: 30).
86 Interviewee no. 17, interview by author, Erbil-KRI (Aug. 5, 2019, at 13:18).
87 The Law of Journalism in the Kurdistan Region in Iraq, No. 35, (2007).
88 Interview no. 19, interview by author, Erbil-KRI (Aug. 6, 2019, 10:20).
89 Interviewee no. 17, interview by author, Erbil-KRI (Aug. 5, 2019, at 13:18).
90 Interview no. 19, interview by author, Erbil-KRI (Aug. 6, 2019, 10:20).
91 Id.
92 The Law of Journalism in the KRI, No. 35 (2007).
93 Interviewee no. 14, interview by author, Erbil-KRI (Aug. 6, 2019, 13:56).
94 Interviewee no. 15, interview by author, Erbil-Iraq, (Aug. 5, 2019, at 17: 30).
95 Interviewee no. 1, interview by author, Duhok-KRI (July 21, 2019, at 10:20). Interviewee no. 4, interview by author, Erbil-Iraq (Aug. 4, 2019, 16:45). Interviewee no. 8, interview by author, Sulaymaniyah–KRI (Aug. 21, 2019, at 17:50). Interviewee no. 6, interview by author, Duhok-KRI (Aug. 3, 2019, 16:25).
96 Interviewee no. 19, interview by author, Erbil-KRI (Aug. 6, 2019, 10:20).
97 Interviewee no. 19, interview by author, Erbil-KRI (Aug. 6, 2019, 10:20). Interviewee no. 17, interview by author, Erbil-KRI (Aug. 5, 2019, at 13:18).
98 Interviewee no. 19, interview by author, Erbil-KRI (Aug. 6, 2019, 10:20).
99 See Duffy & Alkazemi, supra; Larsen, supra.
100 The Law of Journalism in the Kurdistan Region in Iraq, No. 35 (2007).
101 Interviewee no. 8, interview by author, Sulaymaniyah–KRI (Au. 21, 2019, at 17:50).
102 Interviewee no. 1, interview by author, Duhok-KRI (July 21, 2019, at 10:20).
103 Interviewee no. 14, interview by author, Erbil-KRI (Aug. 6, 2019, 13:56).
104 Id.
105 Interviewee no. 14, interview by author, Erbil-KRI (Aug. 6, 2019, 13:56).
106 Interviewee no. 19, interview by author, Erbil-KRI (Aug. 6, 2019, 10:20).
107 Interviewee no. 14, interview by author, Erbil-KRI (Aug. 6, 2019, 13:56).
108 See Podesta, supra, 2008; Orayb Aref Najjar, The 1995 Palestinian Press Law: A Comparative Study, 2 Commun. Law Policy 41–103 (2009); Nielsen et al., supra.
109 See The Law of Journalism in the Kurdistan Region in Iraq, No. 35 (2007).
110 See Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Ministry of Culture and Youth in the Kurdistan, Guidelines for Audiovisual Media: Instructions for Regulating Frequency Spectrum and Licensing Radio and Television Stations (Erbil, Ministry of Culture and Youth, 2014).
111 Id.
112 Id.
113 Id.
114 See Commercial Advertising Law in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, No. 4 (2019), https://www.parliament.krd/english/parliament-activities/legislation/2019.
115 Interviewee no. 17, interview by author, Erbil-KRI (Aug. 5, 2019, at 13:18).
116 Interviewee no. 14, interview by author, Erbil-KRI (Aug. 6, 2019, 13:56).
117 Interviewee no. 16, interview by author, Duhok-KRI (Aug. 19, 2019, 16:20).
118 Interviewee no. 19, interview by author, Erbil-KRI (Aug. 6, 2019, 10:20).
119 Interviewee no. 20, interview by author, Erbil-KRI (Aug. 6, 2019, 16:00).
120 Interviewee no. 14, interview by author, Erbil-KRI (Aug. 6, 2019, 13:56).
121 See Jan Zielonka, supra, at 73–85.
122 See Péter Bajomi-Lázár, The Party Colonisation of the Media: The Case of Hungary, 27 East Eur. Politics Soc. 60–89 (2013).
123 Id.
124 See Péter Bajomi-Lázár (2013), supra, at 74.
125 See Péter Bajomi-Lázár (2015), supra.
126 Martin Krygier, Good, Bad, and ‘Irritant’ Laws in New Democracies, in Media and Politics in New Democracies, 119–136 (Jan Zielonka ed., 2015).
127 Martin Krygier, supra, at 123.
128 Jacques Rupnik & Jan Zielonka, Introduction: The State of Democracy 20 Years on: Domestic and External Factors, 27 East Eur. Politics Soc. 13, 3–25 (2013).
129 See Don Podesta, supra.
130 Michal Klíma, Politics in Post-Communist Europe Political Parties, Clientelism and State Capture, 8–50 (2020).
131 Id.
132 Michal Klíma, supra, at 11.