Rudaw Media Network (, or ), is a media group in

Kurdistan Region Kurdistan Region ( ku, هەرێمی کوردستان, translit=Herêmî Kurdistan; ar, إقليم كردستان), abbr. KRI, is an autonomous region in Iraq comprising the four Kurdish-majority governorates of Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Duhok ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. It publishes in

Sorani Central Kurdish (), also called Sorani (), is a Kurdish dialect or a language that is spoken in Iraq, mainly in Iraqi Kurdistan, as well as the provinces of Kurdistan, Kermanshah, and West Azerbaijan in western Iran. Sorani is one of the two o ...

Kurmanji Kurmanji ( ku, کورمانجی, lit=Kurdish, translit=Kurmancî, also termed Northern Kurdish, is the northern dialect of the Kurdish languages, spoken predominantly in southeast Turkey, northwest and northeast Iran, northern Iraq, northern Sy ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

and Turkish. Rudaw Media Network also owns a weekly newspaper in the Sorani dialect with a circulation of 3,000, a

version published in Europe, a website in Kurdish, English, Arabic and Turkish and a satellite TV station. The network is funded and supported by Rudaw Company and aims to impart news and information about Kurdistan and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

. Rudaw Media Network was temporarily banned in

Syrian Kurdistan Syrian Kurdistan is a Kurdish-inhabited area in northern Syria surrounding three noncontiguous enclaves along the Turkish and Iraqi borders: Afrin in the northwest, Kobani in the north, and Jazira in the northeast. Syrian Kurdistan is often ...

due to its partisan news and alleged smear campaigns against the Kurdish political parties which oppose the

Kurdistan Democratic Party The Kurdistan Democratic Party ( ku, Partiya Demokrat a Kurdistanê; پارتی دیموکراتی کوردستان), usually abbreviated as KDP or PDK, is the largest party in Iraqi Kurdistan and the senior partner in the Kurdistan Regional G ...

, a ruling political party led by the Barzani family members. Turkey removed three television channels based in northern Iraq, including Kurdish news agency Rudaw, from its TurkSat satellite over broadcasting violations during the Kurdish Regional Government's referendum in September 2017. On 28 October 2017, the office of audio visual media of the Iraqi government's Media and Communications Commission issued a decree, ordering the shutdown of Rudaw TV broadcast, prevention of its crews and seizure of their equipment across Iraq. The decree says that the grounds for this move are that Rudaw is not licensed in Baghdad, and for programs "that incite violence and hate and target social peace and security".

Platform

Rudaw is based in

Erbil Erbil, also called Hawler (, ar, أربيل, Arbīl; syr, ܐܲܪܒܹܝܠ, Arbel), is the capital and most populated city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It lies in the Erbil Governorate. It has an estimated population of around 1,600,000. H ...

, the capital city of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The company has correspondents in various parts of the Middle East, Europe and the U.S. Rudaw publishes in the Kurdish dialects Sorani and Kurmanji as well as in English.

Digital portal

An online platform that covers Kurdish issues in both Kurdish dialects. The website also publishes news and information in English, Turkish and Arabic.

Radio

A radio news channel that broadcasts on shortwave across the Middle East. Audiences all over the world can listen to a live stream online.

Newspaper

Published on a weekly basis, with hard copies sold in the Kurdistan Region and Europe. In the Kurdistan edition, stories of interest to the local population are covered. The European edition features issues of interest to the Kurdish diaspora.

Television

A Kurdish news channel that broadcasts to the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Asia, Pacific, Canada and the U.S. This newly launched channel can be received on NileSat and Hot Bird satellites.

Awards

The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers recognized Rudaw for extending its reach to 100 million in social media in 2017. Majeed Gly, a Kurdish correspondent for Rudaw Media Network, was awarded the Ricardo Ortega Memorial Prize for broadcast media by the United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA) at its headquarters in New York.

Criticism

A number of international and Kurdish sources have described Rudaw as a "propaganda machine" of the ruling

, particularly Kurdistan Region President

Nechirvan Barzani Nechirvan Idris Barzani ( ku, نێچیرڤان بارزانی, translit=Nêçîrvan Barzanî; born 21 September 1966) is a Kurdish politician serving as the second President of Kurdistan Region, Iraq. He was elected into office by the Kurdistan ...

Sources

External links

* {{in lang, en Television stations in Kurdistan Region (Iraq) Television stations in Iraq Kurdish-language mass media Mass media in Kurdistan Region (Iraq) 2008 establishments in Iraqi Kurdistan Mass media companies of Iraq