Could small ads help rebuild Iraq?

By Jonathan Duffy
BBC News Online

Willing hands, but not many adverts (L-R: Seb Walker, Dave Enders and Mark Gordon-James)

A group of fearless twentysomethings has set up an English newspaper in Baghdad to try to bring both sides closer in post-war Iraq. Now they just need to explain the idea behind advertising.

Next time you pick up the weekly freesheet from your doormat and unthinkingly transfer it to the nearest cat litter tray, spare a thought for the people of Baghdad.

Since the end of the war, only three months ago, the newspaper industry in the Iraqi capital has blossomed. One recent survey estimated there to be 70 published in the city.

In post-Saddam Iraq, the idea of free expression has clearly kick-started a mini publishing boom.

Before the war, all advertising on TV, radio and print effectively went through Saddam's son Uday Mark Gordon-James

But while most are little more than newssheets backed by political parties, one newspaper stands out, especially to the occupying powers and the sizable English-speaking intelligentsia.

Western influence

The Baghdad Bulletin is Iraq's first post-war English language newspaper. What's more, to anyone who has picked up a copy, it is one of the first chinks of commercial western influence in this shattered country.

BAGHDAD BULLETIN Stories in issue 3 Is the water safe to drink? Iraqi football pros make welcome return University students prepare for exams

The twice-monthly paper is the brainchild of a few plucky twentysomething Britons, and one American, looking for adventure and hoping to make a positive contribution to this potential new democracy.

But if these young pioneers are really going to make their mark on the new Iraq, they have to master one thing above all else - the idea of advertising in a country where business used to be strictly regulated.

Although the Baghdad Bulletin carries a price of 500 Iraqi dinars, it is being distributed free in the hope of reaching as broad an audience as possible.

Yet finding advertisers to cover the costs has been harder than originally expected, says Mark Gordon-James, the Bulletin's business manager.

"Before the war, all advertising on TV, radio and print effectively went through Saddam's son Uday. He controlled the two or three companies which sold advertising," says Gordon-James, 25, formerly an investment banker in London.

"If a random Iraqi businessman wanted to advertise, someone would usually come round and tell him to back off unless he was favoured by the Baath party or Uday's business interests."

Hand over fist

Nevertheless, some Iraqi companies are starting to get a feel for advertising in the pages of the Baghdad Bulletin. Which is more than can be said for foreign firms, which continue to keep Iraq at arm's length, says Gordon-James

Iraq's media free-for-all

Despite it all - Gordon-James says the paper is "losing money hand over fist" - the Bulletin is starting to get noticed and appreciated.

"When we started to deliver to the smart neighbourhoods of Baghdad, people were pretty confused," says American David Enders, 22, who is editing the paper.

"There is no history of door-to-door delivery in Baghdad, so we had to cover a lot of new ground with our paper boys. Now, when they take it round, people chase after them in the street for a copy."

Enders says the paper is playing a role in calming the fractious feelings between the Americans and some Iraqis.

"By printing in English, we are reaching both sides. There's an extreme lack of communication here between the people and the coalition.

"The coalition's civil reconstruction headquarters are in an old palace which is known as the bubble. A lot of the troops don't know why people are angry. But they understand by reading our paper."

Going to press

Credit for the idea of an English language paper in Baghdad goes to former Oxford graduate Ralph Hassall, 24, who was studying in Beirut with Enders in April, when he decided to make a go of it.

When the paperboys take it round, people chase after them in the street for a copy David Enders

But the journey from drawing board to printing press was arduous, not to say perilous. As the British and American forces currently trying to rebuild Iraq will testify, doing business there in is unlike anywhere else in world.

"Where do you start with the problems? Electricity was not existent at the time, the heat hits 50 Centigrade in the day, there was no phone network in place, no directory of businesses and even if there was many are still closed," says Enders.

"Now there is a limited phone network. But you still have to do everything face-to-face, which means driving across Baghdad and frequently getting stuck in a two-hour jam because there are no traffic lights.

They persisted, securing a $14,000 gift from a London benefactor and settling in a rented office in Saadoun Street, even though an unexploded bomb lay beneath the pavement outside.

It fell to Gordon-James to seek out a suitable printing press.

"It was a matter of wandering down the High Street and seeing each printer for a quote," says Gordon-James. "We've had a few hiccups. One time they printed the paper back to front, as you would with in Arabic. They ran off 3,000 copies and when they realised it was wrong, tried to change it by switching page numbers."

The venture has grown quickly and in addition to the seven foreign staff - including one Jordanian - they employ 15 Iraqis, and use local freelances as well.

Finances are still shaky and the paper had to sell its staff car to pay for the latest edition, but living costs are low - $1.80 per person a day - and no one takes a salary.

And Gordon-James is optimistic about the future.

"They are starting to get the message about advertising. I think costs will even out soon. We'll be ready when the big multinationals finally come into Iraq."