ERBIL, Iraq — The independent media, one of the essential elements of Iraqi Kurdish democracy, is experiencing its worst days since its emergence in 2000. As private media outlets — especially satellite TV stations — proliferate, independent sources are being squeezed out of the picture.

The changing political and socioeconomic dynamics in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq have added tension to the conflicts among political parties. After the emergence in 2000 of Daily Hawlati, the first free Kurdish media outlet, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) began establishing a number of media outlets to undermine the independent media. These outlets are widely referred to as the "shadow media," as they claim to be independent but are subservient to their respective political parties.

Independent media, nevertheless, continued to flourish with outlets such as the weekly Awene and Lvin magazine. Many analysts believe that the opposition party Gorran would not have emerged in the 2009 elections without the assistance of Iraqi Kurdistan's strong independent media.

Alarmed by their weakening grip on information, regional authorities moved to stifle independent media with force and intimidation. In 2008, Lvin reporter Soran Mama Hama was killed by unknown armed men for writing critically on the political situation in Iraqi Kurdistan. Independent journalists received death threats for reporting on corruption and other topics the authorities would rather ignore. In 2010, Sardasht Osman was killed for satirizing the political situation. Kawa Germyani was murdered outside Sulaimaniyah late last year after extensively documenting corruption in PUK territory.