Sulaymaniyah newspaper vendor keeps print tradition alive despite fading demand

SULAYMANIYAH — A veteran newspaper vendor in Sulaymaniyah is holding onto his decades-old profession despite plummeting demand for print media.

Rebwar Abdulrahman, who began selling newspapers in 1991, told 964media that he still delivers papers manually, even as readership has declined sharply. “In the past, there were many readers,” he said. “Now I sell only 10 to 15 newspapers a day, each priced at 500 IQD ($0.30).”

He recalled a time when dozens of newspapers and magazines were in circulation throughout the city. “The past was a golden time,” he said. “We had many readers, and they always waited eagerly for the newspapers to be published and delivered.”

Abdulrahman said that customers used to reserve their copies in advance, and he would personally deliver them in the evening. “They used to enjoy reading them,” he said.

Today, he said, only a handful of loyal readers remain—those who have maintained the habit and still enjoy the experience of holding a daily paper. He noted that many publications were once weekly or biweekly but have since disappeared.

“Selling newspapers has become a passion, and I couldn’t change the job,” Abdulrahman said. “Through this work, I meet many friends and companions daily, and that’s why I haven’t wanted to quit.”

He acknowledged the work now brings in very little money but said the job has meaning beyond income. “Twenty years ago, I used to sell hundreds of newspapers daily because there was demand and digital media hadn’t yet replaced print.”