Contrary to earlier international speculation that his hold on power was weakening, President Saddam Hussein appears to maintain unchallenged authority in Iraq. As a result, little has changed in the area of press freedom; the notoriously ruthless Ba'ath regime continues its stranglehold over the media. News outlets are under the full control of the Ministry of Information, where government officials are responsible for composing all "news." The pages of the country's daily newspapers differ little in content, which consists of endless articles extolling Hussein's virtues. Reporting on events outside Baghdad, the capital, is virtually nonexistent, and in cases where international stories make the newspapers, the content is highly resticted. Saddam's son Uday unofficially serves as the head of the Ministry of Information and appears to exercise increasing control over the country's media. He owns Iraq's only "private" newspaper (Babil) and television station (Al-Shabab).

Foreign journalists encountered unexpected difficulties when covering armed clashes between Kurdish factions in northern Iraq in September. Supporters of the government-backed Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) temporarily prohibited foreign correspondents from entering the Kurdish city of Irbil. In a separate incident, KDP insurgents detained and confiscated the passports of a group of Turkish journalists near the city of Dohuk. The journalists were eventually released and their passports returned.

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