Small and Resistant: Europeanization in Media Governance in Slovenia and Macedonia
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London School of Economics and Political Science Small and Resistant: Europeanization in Media Governance in Slovenia and Macedonia Sarah E. Broughton Micova (Sally) A thesis submitted to the Department Media and Communications of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London, August 2013 0 Abstract This thesis contributes to our understanding of the role of European Union policy in national level governance of the audiovisual media sectors in small states in South East Europe. It compares the Republics of Slovenia and Macedonia, two countries of similar size and population that emerged from the same former-Yugoslav media system. Slovenia is a new EU member state and Macedonia is a candidate country, therefore both are formally bound by EU audiovisual media policy. Europeanization research, particularly in new Member States and candidate countries, has focused on compliance with transposition deadlines and the implementation of specific EU Directives. This study takes a bottom-up approach, making media governance its object of study based on a conceptualisation of governance by Jan Kooiman (2003), but still focused on identifying the role of the EU within that national level governance. It draws on interviews with stakeholders in both countries, examination of secondary data available on the respective media markets, and accounts from civil society actors and regulators to arrive at an overall picture of media governance. It finds that in these two cases the role of Europeanization, defined in this thesis in relation to the EU, centres on the use of EU rules by domestic actors in order to forward their strategic interests. It argues that the media sectors in these two cases are largely resistant to Europeanization because of their small size and the particular relations between media and political elites. This thesis suggests that the media sector may be different from other sectors such as transport, environmental protection, or labour in terms of Europeanization and governance because the role of media in domestic politics. However, this is not a simple story of the democratic and governance failures often attributed to Southern European countries. This thesis shows the complexity in which Europeanization takes place, and highlights the importance of market conditions and market players to this process. i Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of 100,352 words. ii Acknowledgements Going back into academic life after more than a decade of working in various international organisations was quite an adjustment for me, and keeping focused on one very long-term task was a challenge. There are many people who helped me get to the end, so I will take the liberty to attempt to give them credit here. I am deeply grateful for the guidance and support of my supervisor Damian Tambini, who was patiently kept bringing my back to the point and challenging my conclusions, and carefully balanced giving me space to work things out with pushing me to finish. I also thank Lilie Chouliaraki and Linje Manyozo who were on my thesis committee for their contributions, and all those in the department who advised me and, most importantly, asked me the difficult questions at the right time. This thesis could not have been done without the gracious agreement of those who were interviewed, who provided me with the data needed, and helped me execute my fieldwork. I wish to thank all of them, but in particular Tomaz Gorjanc and Cvetanka Mitrevska, who assisted me with getting the data on regulatory decisions, Sabina Briški of the Slovenian Film Centre, and the following agencies that provided me with audience and market data: Mediana Slovenia, AGB Neilson Market Research Macedonia, AGB Neilson Market Research Slovenia. My appreciation also goes to Tina Čuček, and to Slavko Splichal and his researchers at the Faculty of Social Science of the University of Ljubljana who welcomed me into their department and gave me a base from which to work. My parents supported me both emotionally and financially when needed, and my mother proofread early drafts of these chapters. My sister Stephanie Broughton and Rashmi Agarwal cheered me and often cheered me up on from across the Atlantic. For all that I am eternally grateful. I could not have made it through without Isa Pavez Andonaegui, who started this journey with me, and Anna Tate who lived with this project closer than anyone else. I also thank Ranjana Das for all her advice and support, Rahoul Masrani, Max Hänska-Ahy, Rafal Zaborowski, Anita Howarth, my many other friends at LSE, Joao de Silva for keeping me fed through the last six iii months of this, and the Rockhoppers for keeping me in touch with the physical world. Blagica and Zoran Angelkovikj and Pavlina Micova sustained me in so many ways through this project. I thank them profusely, along with Sevda Deari, Anita Palčeska, the Sandjakovski family, Simeon Lavčiski, the Vertigo gang, and all my friends in Skopje, Štip and Struga. I also thank Srđan Bogosavljević in Belgrade for his support and encouragement. I dedicate this thesis to Roberto Beličanec and Dejan Siljanovski. Both of them were interviewed for this project, had been long time professional contacts from my previous positions who I considered friends, and passed away before I finished this thesis at very young ages. Finally, I am forever grateful to Nikola Micov. Although he was not physically here for this, he helped me have the confidence, endurance and perspective on life that made it possible. Секогаш е со мене. iv Acronyms AEK Agency for Electronic Communications (Macedonia) APEK Agency for Post and Electronic Communications (Slovenia) AVMSD Audiovisual Media Services Directive BC Broadcasting Council of Republic of Macedonia CEE Central Eastern Europe CME Central European Media Enterprise CoE Council of Europe DTT Digital Terrestrial Television EBU European Broadcasting Union EC European Commission EPRA European Platform for Regulatory Authorities EU European Union GRP Gross Rating Point GD General Director IPTV Internet Protocol Television KZK Commission for the Protection of Competition (Macedonia) MDC Media Development Center (Macedonia) MFF Macedonian Film Fund MIM Macedonian Institute for the Media MRT Macedonian Radio Television MRD Macedonian Radio Diffusion MUX Multiplex for digital terrestrial broadcasting NMS New Member States NRA National regulatory authority ODIHR Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights OSI Open Society Institute OSCE Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe PSB Public service broadcasting RTVSLO Radio Television Slovenia SEE South East Europe SFC Slovenian Film Centre TWFD Television without Frontiers Directive UVK Competition Protection Office (Slovenia) v List of Figures FIGURE 3.1 THE MAIN FORMS OF MEDIA GOVERNANCE ................................................................................................... 51 FIGURE 3. 2 MEDIA GOVERNANCE IN MACEDONIA AS EXTENSIONS OF GOVERNMENT ............................................... 52 FIGURE 3.3 ILLUSTRATION OF ACTORS AND INTERACTIONS WITH EXAMPLES............................................................. 56 FIGURE 4. 1 ILLUSTRATION OF POINTS OF COMPARISON .............................................................................................. 102 FIGURE 5.1 BREAKDOWN OF THE TOTAL ANNUAL GRP SLOVENIAN NATIONAL TELEVISION STATIONS (NOT INCLUDING GRP ATTAINED BY SMALLER OR FOREIGN CHANNELS) ................................................................. 117 FIGURE 5.2 PERCENTAGE OF AUDIENCE SHARE OF FOREIGN CHANNELS IN MACEDONIA 2006-2010 ............... 126 FIGURE 5. 3 DIAGRAM OF THE REGULATORY BODIES IN SLOVENIA APRIL 2011 .................................................... 135 FIGURE 6. 1 TIMELINE OF MEDIA LAW CHANGES AND ELECTIONS IN SLOVENIA SINCE FIRST LAWS ..................... 151 FIGURE 6.2 TIMELINE OF MEDIA LAW CHANGES AND ELECTIONS IN MACEDONIA SINCE THE FIRST LAW ........... 152 FIGURE 6.3 TYPES OF MEASURES TAKEN AGAINST BROADCASTERS FOR VIOLATIONS 2007-2011 .................... 173 vi List of Tables TABLE 4.1 BREAKDOWN OF ACTORS IN AUDIOVISUAL MEDIA GOVERNANCE IN SLOVENIA AND MACEDONIA FROM WHICH INTERVIEWEES WERE SELECTED ................................................................................................................. 81 TABLE 4.2 TYPES AND SOURCES OF MARKET DATA USED ............................................................................................... 84 TABLE 4.3 THEMES AND QUESTIONS USED TO DESIGN THE TOPIC GUIDE .................................................................... 88 TABLE 4.4 DEDUCTIVE THEORY-DRIVEN CODES FOR FIRST LEVEL OF TRANSCRIPT CODING .................................... 98 TABLE 5.1 REACH OF NATIONAL TELEVISION STATIONS IN SLOVENIA 1996-2001 BASED ON DAY AFTER RECALL - PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL SAMPLE ANSWERING TO THE QUESTION