All privately-owned daily newspapers were closed by a government decree in 1967.
In the late 80s, there were seven government-produced daily newspapers, the largest being ath-Thawra, which is issued by the Baath Socialist Party.
The government and the Ba'th Party own and control print, news agency and broadcast media. They generally do not report opposing views whether expressed domestically or outside the country.
Press and news agencies
"Iraqi News Agency" is the only news agency in the country and there are a few newspapers, all of which are state-controlled and some are on-line. There is a strong grip of control on the press and self-censorship within it. The main newspapers include:
-Ath-Thawra.
-Al-Jumhuriya.
TV
The state TV operates two channels; Shebab (youth)TV is believed to be owned by Uday, the eldest son of president Sadam Hussein.
Following the lifting of ban on the country's access to TV satellites, Iraq launched an external satellite TV service in 1998.
Satellite TV can be received with a permit and there are Kurdish TV stations in the north.
Radio
Medium-wave and short-wave radio from Iraq has been severely curtailed, due to radio transmitters being targets of air attacks since and during the Gulf War.
The official state broadcasting corporation, "Republic of Iraq Radio", operates a main domestic service in Arabic, a Kurdish service as well as a Holy Quran service. Other domestic broadcasting stations include "Voice of Youth" radio, owned by Uday Saddam Hussein as well as a number of Kurdish radio stations operating from northern Iraq.
There are numerous radio services aimed at Iraq, one of which is "Radio Free Iraq" backed by the US government.