Newspapers in Kurdistan Region face mixed fortunes
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Kurdish newspapers have faced mixed fortunes since the financial crisis dented their circulation and income. While the weekly Chawder dropped its print edition this week, Hawlati has returned to hard copy following a two-year hiatus.
Chawder is owned by senior Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) official Mullah Bakhtyar. In an editorial this week, Bakhtyar announced the paper is moving exclusively online.
“Chawder on paper will be closed and will be released in the electronic [form] from now on,” Bakhtiyar announced.
“Our pockets could not afford it anymore. We, like other printed [newspapers] have been crippled temporarily and we are sure we cannot pay back our debts for the coming six months,” Bakhtiyar added.
Chawder’s first issue was published on October 4, 2004. It contains articles on culture, theatre, literature, philosophy and politics. It has published 651 editions since its launch.
The crippling economic conditions that befell on the Kurdistan Region, following budget cuts by the Iraqi government in 2014, the drop in oil prices, and then the war with ISIS, resulted in severe financial constraints for almost every sector of the region.
Bucking the trend of Kurdistan’s declining print media is Hawlati (Citizen), another outlet that halted its print edition two years ago owing to money woes. Its editor announced this week the paper will resume printing due “to improving financial conditions.”
“We believe the necessity of Hawlati continuing as the first private media project in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq has the same necessity of the year 2000, when Hawlati newspaper was first released,” Tariq Fatih, owner and editor-in-chief, said in a statement.
The newspaper is set to change its administrative and fiscal policies by paying greater attention to advertisement, “so that we ensure the continuity, as we are hopeful that the financial condition of the Kurdistan Region improves.”
Fatih said the newspaper will remain “unbiased and critical” and disseminate accurate information. “The right to citizenship is our top mission,” he said.
Meanwhile in Turkish Kurdistan, the Kurdish newspaper Azadiya Welat has also been forced to move exclusively online. Rather than financial difficulties, however, the decision is reportedly the result of government pressure on printing houses.
There is growing optimism that the financial crisis in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq could be receding after Erbil and Baghdad struck a deal. The Iraqi government will send the KRG a portion of its budget. The remainder of Erbil’s revenues will come from its own oil sales.
Chawder is owned by senior Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) official Mullah Bakhtyar. In an editorial this week, Bakhtyar announced the paper is moving exclusively online.
“Chawder on paper will be closed and will be released in the electronic [form] from now on,” Bakhtiyar announced.
“Our pockets could not afford it anymore. We, like other printed [newspapers] have been crippled temporarily and we are sure we cannot pay back our debts for the coming six months,” Bakhtiyar added.
Chawder’s first issue was published on October 4, 2004. It contains articles on culture, theatre, literature, philosophy and politics. It has published 651 editions since its launch.
The crippling economic conditions that befell on the Kurdistan Region, following budget cuts by the Iraqi government in 2014, the drop in oil prices, and then the war with ISIS, resulted in severe financial constraints for almost every sector of the region.
Bucking the trend of Kurdistan’s declining print media is Hawlati (Citizen), another outlet that halted its print edition two years ago owing to money woes. Its editor announced this week the paper will resume printing due “to improving financial conditions.”
“We believe the necessity of Hawlati continuing as the first private media project in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq has the same necessity of the year 2000, when Hawlati newspaper was first released,” Tariq Fatih, owner and editor-in-chief, said in a statement.
The newspaper is set to change its administrative and fiscal policies by paying greater attention to advertisement, “so that we ensure the continuity, as we are hopeful that the financial condition of the Kurdistan Region improves.”
Fatih said the newspaper will remain “unbiased and critical” and disseminate accurate information. “The right to citizenship is our top mission,” he said.
Meanwhile in Turkish Kurdistan, the Kurdish newspaper Azadiya Welat has also been forced to move exclusively online. Rather than financial difficulties, however, the decision is reportedly the result of government pressure on printing houses.
There is growing optimism that the financial crisis in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq could be receding after Erbil and Baghdad struck a deal. The Iraqi government will send the KRG a portion of its budget. The remainder of Erbil’s revenues will come from its own oil sales.