Rûdaw Media Network
Corporate brand
UnclaimedA Kurdish media network headquartered in Erbil that operates television, digital, radio and print-related news services in several languages.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Rûdaw Media Network is a Kurdish news and broadcasting organization based in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region. Its editorial focus is Kurdistan, Iraq and the wider Middle East, while its language services are intended to reach both local audiences and Kurdish communities abroad. The network publishes and broadcasts in Kurdish, including Sorani and Kurmanji, as well as English, Arabic and Turkish. The organization began as a weekly newspaper distributed in the Kurdistan Region and in Europe. Its European edition helped it reach Kurdish diaspora communities and contributed to the network’s early international visibility. Rûdaw later moved substantially toward digital publishing and discontinued its newspaper publication, while retaining a broader media portfolio associated with its earlier print operations. Reference material describes a Sorani weekly newspaper with a circulation of 3,000 and a Kurmanji edition distributed in Europe during the print phase, but does not provide a dated launch year or a clear account of when print publication ended. Rûdaw’s principal services include a multilingual news website, a satellite television channel, live online video and a radio news service. The network’s website provides coverage in Kurdish, English, Arabic and Turkish. Its television operation broadcasts Kurdish-language news and other programming by satellite, while online streaming allows audiences outside the region to access its output. The radio service has been described as a shortwave news channel reaching listeners across the Middle East. The network also operates the Rûdaw Research Center in Erbil. Launched in 2016, the center conducts and supports research-related activity and has partnered with organizations and institutions including the Wilson Center for Middle East, JSTOR, the Seed Foundation, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy and Vision Education. It also hosts the annual Erbil Forum, which brings together policymakers, decision-makers and academics to discuss regional issues. Rûdaw has received recognition from media and professional organizations. Reported examples include a 2017 World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers recognition connected with social-media engagement, a United Nations Correspondents Association broadcast-media prize for Majeed Gly, a FIPP recognition for Shahyan Tahseen, and a 2023 Gold Stevie Award for medium-sized media and entertainment company of the year. The network also received recognition from the American Society for Autism in 2023 for work raising awareness of autism in the Kurdistan Region. In 2024, its Washington, D.C., bureau chief Diyar Kurda was reported to have received an Association of Foreign Press Correspondents in the USA award for professional excellence. Rûdaw’s public profile has also been shaped by political criticism and regulatory disputes. Several international and Kurdish sources have characterized the network as affiliated with, or sympathetic to, the Kurdistan Democratic Party and figures associated with the Barzani family. Rûdaw has faced restrictions in Syrian Kurdish areas and was removed from Turkey’s Türksat satellite in 2017 during tensions surrounding the Kurdistan Region’s independence referendum. Later that year, Iraq’s Media and Communications Commission ordered the shutdown of Rûdaw TV broadcasts and restrictions on its crews and equipment, citing licensing and programming concerns. These disputes have made questions of political alignment, editorial independence and media regulation recurring parts of the network’s public reputation.
History
Rûdaw Media Network developed from a weekly newspaper serving readers in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and Kurdish communities in Europe. The European edition was particularly important to the organization’s early international profile because it connected the publication with diaspora audiences outside Iraq. Reference material does not establish an exact founding year, identify a founder or provide a detailed chronology of the newspaper’s first years. The organization subsequently expanded beyond print into a multiplatform media network. Its portfolio included a Sorani weekly newspaper, described as having a circulation of 3,000, and a Kurmanji edition distributed in Europe. It also built a multilingual website offering news in Kurdish, English, Arabic and Turkish. As digital publishing became central to its operations, Rûdaw discontinued its newspaper publication and concentrated on online and broadcast distribution. Television became one of the network’s most visible services. Rûdaw TV operates as a Kurdish satellite news channel, while the network also provides live streaming online for audiences around the world. The organization later added or expanded a radio news service using shortwave transmission across the Middle East. Together, these services allow Rûdaw to distribute news through traditional broadcasting and digital channels, with regional reporting and Kurdish-language programming at the center of its identity. Rûdaw also broadened its activities into research and public-policy discussion. The Rûdaw Research Center was launched in Erbil in 2016. It has worked with institutions including the Wilson Center for Middle East, JSTOR, the Seed Foundation, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy and Vision Education. The center hosts the annual Erbil Forum, a gathering for policymakers, decision-makers and academics focused on issues affecting Kurdistan and the wider region. The network’s growth has been accompanied by professional and institutional recognition. Reported honors include recognition by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers in relation to social-media engagement in 2017; the Ricardo Ortega Memorial Prize for broadcast media, awarded by the United Nations Correspondents Association to Majeed Gly; a FIPP rising-star commendation for Shahyan Tahseen; and a 2023 Gold Stevie Award for a medium-sized media and entertainment company. Rûdaw also received an American Society for Autism certificate in 2023 for awareness-raising work in the Kurdistan Region. In 2024, Washington bureau chief Diyar Kurda was reported to have received an Association of Foreign Press Correspondents in the USA award. Political affiliation and editorial independence have remained contested issues. International and Kurdish sources have described Rûdaw as connected to the Kurdistan Democratic Party and to Nechirvan Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan Region. Rûdaw was temporarily banned in Syrian Kurdistan amid accusations of partisan reporting and alleged smear campaigns against Kurdish parties opposed to the KDP. In Turkey, three Kurdistan Region channels, including Rûdaw, were removed from Türksat during the 2017 independence referendum period. On 28 October 2017, Iraq’s Media and Communications Commission ordered Rûdaw TV to stop broadcasting and restricted its crews and equipment, citing licensing issues and alleged programming that threatened social peace and security. These actions illustrate the regulatory and political pressures faced by the network while operating across jurisdictions with differing approaches to Kurdish media. In August 2023, a Rûdaw interview with Yazidi survivor Fawzia Amin Sido, who was then in the Gaza Strip, generated criticism from other Iraqi media and from her father. The dispute added a separate editorial controversy concerning the presentation of a highly sensitive survivor account. Despite these disputes, Rûdaw remains an active Kurdish media network with television, online, radio and research operations.
- 2024
Diyar Kurda receives foreign-press award
[1]Diyar Kurda, Rûdaw’s Washington bureau chief, was reported to have received an Association of Foreign Press Correspondents in the USA award.
- 2023
Gold Stevie Award
[1]Rûdaw was reported as the Gold Stevie Award winner for medium-sized media and entertainment company of the year.
- 2023
Autism-awareness recognition
[1]The American Society for Autism recognized Rûdaw’s contribution to autism awareness in the Kurdistan Region.
- 2017
Recognition for digital audience engagement
[1]Rûdaw’s digital portal received recognition from the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers for reaching 100 million social-media engagements.
- 2017
Removal from Türksat
[1]Turkey removed Rûdaw and two other Kurdistan Region television channels from Türksat during the period of the Kurdistan Region independence referendum.
- 2017
Iraqi broadcast shutdown order
[1]Iraq’s Media and Communications Commission ordered the shutdown of Rûdaw TV broadcasting and restrictions on its crews and equipment.
- 2016
Rûdaw Research Center launches
[1]The research center opened in Erbil and became associated with institutional partnerships and the annual Erbil Forum.
Launch as a weekly newspaper
[1]Rûdaw originated as a weekly print newspaper distributed in the Kurdistan Region and Europe, including to Kurdish diaspora communities.
Expansion from print into digital and broadcast media
[1]The organization expanded into a multilingual website, satellite television, online streaming and radio news, later discontinuing its newspaper publication.
Products and positioning
A Kurdish regional and international news network combining television, digital, radio and research activities, with coverage centered on Kurdistan, Iraq and the Middle East.
Digital news
Rûdaw multilingual news website
Rûdaw’s digital portal provides news and information about Kurdistan, Iraq and the Middle East in Kurdish, English, Arabic and Turkish. It extends the network beyond its regional broadcast footprint and supports online access for international and diaspora audiences.
Satellite television
Rûdaw TV
Rûdaw TV is the network’s Kurdish-language satellite television service. It forms a central part of the organization’s broadcast operations and is supplemented by online live streaming. Its distribution has also been affected by regulatory actions in Turkey and Iraq.
Radio
Rûdaw radio news service
The network operates a radio news channel described as broadcasting on shortwave across the Middle East. The service complements Rûdaw’s television and digital outlets by providing an additional broadcast route for regional news.
Print news
Rûdaw weekly newspaper
Rûdaw began as a weekly newspaper distributed in the Kurdistan Region and Europe. Reference material describes Sorani and Kurmanji editions, including a Sorani edition with a reported circulation of 3,000. The newspaper publication was later discontinued as the network shifted toward digital media.
Research and policy forum · 2016
Rûdaw Research Center
Launched in Erbil in 2016, the Rûdaw Research Center develops research and policy-related partnerships and hosts the annual Erbil Forum. The forum brings together policymakers, decision-makers and academics to discuss regional issues.
Controversies
2023
Criticism of interview with Yazidi survivor
An interview with Fawzia Amin Sido, a Yazidi woman formerly captured by ISIS and then living in the Gaza Strip, was criticized by other Iraqi media and by her father. The criticism focused on Rûdaw’s presentation of the interview and the sensitivity of the subject.
2017
Political-affiliation and partisan-reporting allegations
International and Kurdish sources have characterized Rûdaw as affiliated with or sympathetic to the Kurdistan Democratic Party and figures associated with the Barzani family. Rûdaw was also temporarily banned in Syrian Kurdistan amid accusations of partisan reporting and alleged smear campaigns against opposing Kurdish political parties.
2017
Satellite and broadcast restrictions
Rûdaw faced removal from Turkey’s Türksat satellite and an Iraqi order to shut down television broadcasting. The Iraqi order cited licensing issues and allegations that programming incited violence and hatred or threatened social peace and security.
Brand decisions
2016
Creation of the Rûdaw Research CenterStrategyBackground
The network expanded beyond news distribution into research, policy discussion and institutional engagement.
Action taken
Rûdaw launched a research center in Erbil and established relationships with academic, policy and educational organizations.
Aftermath
The center became associated with the annual Erbil Forum and broadened Rûdaw’s public-affairs role.
- Shift from print publishing to a multiplatform networkStrategy
Background
Rûdaw began as a weekly newspaper serving Kurdish readers in Iraq and Europe, then expanded its reach through digital, television and radio services.
Action taken
The organization discontinued its newspaper publication and developed a multilingual website, satellite television service, online livestream and shortwave radio news channel.
Aftermath
The shift established Rûdaw as a broader regional media network with distribution to local, diaspora and international audiences.
Sources2 sources
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