Media Commission Announcement on Parliamentary election

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from Media Commission

The Media Commission announces that 2,889 candidates for the Wolesi Jirga and the Provincial
Councils have been authorized to broadcast on radio or TV at no cost to the candidates, as of Tuesday
September 13.
We believe this has given an unprecedented opportunity to the people of Afghanistan to hear a wide
range of opinions both geographically and substantively on radio and television.
This is intended to help them become a more informed electorate in taking the necessary decisions
about who to vote for on Sunday.

On Wednesday September 14 we release the Media Commission Interim Report covering the period
from July 19 to September 8. It gives a great deal of data about how the media covered the campaign
(http://www.jemb.org/media_commission/index.html).
The Interim Report consists of a monitoring report covering the pre-election period; a onitoring report covering the official Campaign Period from August 17 to 30; a set of daily reports of the rise of the number of candidates using the Sponsored Advertising Program, and a number of graphs that give information on the various stations and provinces using the program.

This data is intended to be used by observers, analysts and the media as they conduct their own
analyses of this campaign, as it relates to the media. It provides only preliminary conclusions. This is deliberate. Further comments will be made in the final report once the final data has been assessed.
The journalism in this campaign has not violated code of conduct rules against hate speech, incitement to violence or any other serious concerns of a Media Commission, to our knowledge.
On the other hand, covering 5,800 candidates has been a challenge that has severely tested the media.
We believe it is appropriate, for those who may not be familiar with the media here, to keep this in context. The Afghan media is being re-established after an extended period of severe media repression. In the years before 2001, television was abolished, pictures were banned from newspapers, and any kind of music and even sport was kept off the radio. Since that time approximately 300 publications have been established, five 24 hour television stations,
and more than 30 new private radio stations established. International radio stations including BBC, Radio Azadi, Voice of America, RFI, and DW now broadcast in Afghanistan.

While private broadcasting has flourished, the state broadcaster, RTA, has failed to keep up with this media growth. Provincial authorities retain direct control over much of the local media, and their journalists still feel answerable to national government as well as local figures.
Where governors were approached by the media Commission to loosen the constraints this was often successful. However, official influence is still strong, and the arrests of several journalists and unconfirmed reports of intimidation continue to have a chilling effect on free, professional journalism. In this environment, the daunting task of covering 5,800 candidates has been tackled with inevitably mixed results. The Sponsored Advertisement Program, with 2,889 candidates approved for broadcast as of September 13, brought a uniquely wide range of opinion to the Afghan airwaves.

This has provided a wealth of information that should be positive for the future political development of Afghanistan. The integration of this range of opinion into the journalism of the first parliament in nearly 40 years is a long-term process.

Sponsored Advertisement Program
Date: 13.09.2005
N Name Province Authorized In-process Refused
Total
Applications

Commercial Stations
1 Killid Kabul 87 2 34
2 Radio Voice of Afghan
Women Kabul 23 0 5
3 Afghan TV Kabul 39 0 6
4 AynaTV Samangan 69 0 1
Ayna TV Balkh 100 0 5
Ayna TV Kabul 32 1 5
Ayna TV Faryab 72 0 9
Ayna TV Takhar 56 0 20
Ayna TV Kunduz 79 0 23
Ayna TV Jowzjan 78 0 0
Ayna TV Sar-i-Pul 54 0 0
5 Tolo Kabul 134 0 45
6 Ariana Network Kabul 8 0 7
7 Arman FM Kabul 1 0 0

RTA Stations
1 RTA Takhar Takhar 23 0 12
2 Baghlan TV (RTA) Baghlan 110 3 8
3 Baghlan FM (RTA) Baghlan 2 0 0
4 Herat TV (RTA) Herat 262 0 5
5 RTA TV Samangan 14 0 6
6 Kandahar RTA TV Kandahar 51 4 0
7 Kandahar RTA radio Kandahar 30 0 1
8 RTA Ghazni TV Ghazni 73 0 4
9 RTA Ghazni Radio Ghazni 6 0 0
10 RTA Kunar Kunar 15 0 0
11 RTA TV Balkh 39 0 4
12 RTA TV Kunduz 51 0 41
13 RTA TV Paktia 91 0 0
14 RTA Radio Paktia 6 0 1
15 RTA Radio FM Faryab 15 0 6
16 RTA Kabul Radio FM Kabul 3 0 2
17 RTA Kabul TV Kabul 83 0 33
18 RTA TV Helmand 19 0 2
19 RTA Radio FM Helmand 19 0 3
20 RTA TV Parwan 23 0 1
21 RTA TV Farah 68 0 3
22 RTA TV Badakhshan 48 0 10
23 RTA TV Nimroz 36 0 0
24 RTA Radio Nangarhar 13 1 3
25 RTA Radio Zabul 4 0 0
Internews Stations
1 Radio Zafar Kabul 8 0 2
2 Radio Isteqlal Logar 14 1 3
3 Radio Milli Peygham Logar 59 0 2
4 Spin Ghar Nangarhar 113 0 6
5 Sloeh Paygham Khost 65 0 0
6 Sharq Nangarhar 98 5 10
7 Quyash Faryab 14 0 4
8 Newe Bahar Balkh 12 0 12
9 Radio Ghaznawian Ghazni 48 0 2
10 Azad Afghan Radio Kandahar 43 2 0
11 Yaw Wale Ghag Wardak 87 0 0
12 Shora I Qarabagh Kabul 37 0 7
13 Radio Paktika Ghag Paktika 7 0 0
14 Zohra Kunduz 33 0 20
15 Radio Sahar Herat 5 0 1
16 Radio Bamyan Bamyan 16 0 0
17 Radio Teraj Mir Baghlan 24 0 4
18 Radio Rabia Balkhi Balkh 6 0 3
19 Radio Takharestan Takhar 68 2 18
20 Radio Sabaoun Helmand 81 0 2
21 Sada-i-Solh Parwan 35 0 4
22 Sada-i-Solh Kapisa 36 0 0
23 Radio Imam Sahib Kunduz 2 0 5
24 Radio Neda-i-Sobh Herat 1 1 0
25 Radio Amou Badakhshan 41 0 26
Total 2889 22 436 3347