US embassy cable - 03SANAA1742

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANAA 001742 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/13/2013 
TAGS: PREL, KPAO, YM 
SUBJECT: ENCOURAGING BALANCED ARAB MEDIA COVERGE OF IRAQ 
 
REF: STATE 199008 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Edmuind J. Hull, Reasons 1.5(b and d) 
 
1, (C) We totally agree with the Department's assessment of 
the Arab media coverage of Iraq.  That picture is repeated 
here in Yemen, with all media outlets, official and 
independent, carrying similar tunes.  During the war in Iraq, 
Ambassador and PAO Sana'a made personal calls to the official 
media and some independent media to ask for a more balanced 
approach.  As a result, we witnessed a diminution of the 
strident rhetoric we were seeing in some newspapers.  Our 
latest attempt to place an Op-Ed article on some coalition 
successes in Iraq bore fruit.  Six independent newspapers 
carried the article and four newspapers commented on it 
(septel). 
 
2. (C) We note however that it is not just the Arab media 
that has been guilty of misrepresenting the facts or carrying 
one-sided reports.  We have seen unbalanced and 
sensationalized coverage on CNN and other American networks. 
 
3. (C) In response to your latest call, we will expand our 
aggresive campaign to ask for a balanced coverage of events 
in Iraq.  Ambassador will emphasize progress in Iraq, e.g., 
the formation of the Governing Council, in a series of media 
interviews and make the points suggested in reftel during his 
meetings with ROYG officials. PD section will meet with the 
editors of all the media in Sana'a starting week of July 20 
and, whenever possible, with editors in other cities, to 
deliver the same message.  This method has worked well for us 
in the past. 
 
4. (C) In the meantime, we would welcome: (1) indications 
that the security situation is improving in the country, (2) 
indications that Iraqis are increasingly governing 
themselves, (3) indications that daily life is improving for 
the average Iraqi. 
HULL