30 May 2013 Last updated at 06:30 ET

Iraq profile

• Overview
• Facts
• Leaders
• Media
• Timeline
• Kurdistan timeline

Many media outlets are controlled by groups with a political or religious agenda

Iraqis can choose from among hundreds of publications and scores of radio and TV stations.

Several large players dominate the market, with a plethora of niche broadcasters catering for diverse views. Many outlets are controlled by political or religious movements.

Freedom of expression is protected by the constitution. Targeted attacks on journalists by terror groups have all but disappeared, notes Reporters Without Borders (RSF). But RSF says threats to the media come "above all from the authorities or political figures that block them from gaining access to certain areas".

Iraqis get much of their news from television. Radio listening has declined in tandem with the rise of TV. For private media, advertising revenues seldom produce a reliable income.

The Iraqi Media Network (IMN) is a government holding company for outlets including Al-Iraqiya TV and Republic of Iraq Radio.

Local relays

Foreign broadcasters targeting Iraq include the BBC, Paris-based Monte Carlo Doualiya radio, and US-backed Al-Hurra TV, Radio Sawa and Radio Free Iraq. Many of them are available via local relays. The BBC is relayed in Baghdad and Basra.

Satellite TV is watched by around 70% of viewers; the pan-Arab news stations Al-Arabiya and Al-Jazeera are popular. Iran's Al-Alam TV, which broadcasts in Arabic, can be seen in Baghdad without the need for a satellite dish.

In the northern autonomous Kurdish enclaves, rival political factions operate their own media.

Iraq's internet penetration is the lowest in the region, according to OpenNet Initiative. There were 2.5 million users by December 2012 - around 8% of the population (InternetWorldStats.com). Internet cafes have contributed to extensive usage among young Iraqis. There is no official national filtering policy.

While few Iraqis have internet access at home, and electricity blackouts are routine, more than 80% have a mobile phone.

The press

• Al-Sabah - sponsored by state-run Iraqi Media Network
• Al-Zaman - private London-based daily, printed in Baghdad and Basra; English-language pages
• Al-Mada - Baghdad, private daily
• Al-Mashriq - Baghdad, private daily
• Al-Dustur - Baghdad, private daily
• Al-Manarah - Basra, private daily

Television

• Al-Iraqiya - state-run public TV
• Al-Sharqiya - private, based in London, broadcasts terrestrially and via satellite
• Al-Sumaria - private, satellite and terrestrial
• Kurdistan TV - operated by Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) from autonomous northern enclave
• KurdSat - operated by Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) from autonomous northern enclave

Radio

• Republic of Iraq Radio - national, public
• Radio Basra - public
• Voice of Iraq - private, Baghdad
• Radio Dijla - private speech-based station, Baghdad

News agency/internet

• Voices of Iraq - pooled news service launched by Reuters Foundation and UN Development Programme, English-language pages
• National Iraqi News Agency (Nina) - private, English-language pages