tajikistan bosnia & herzegovina bulgaria uzbekistan albania croatia romania azerbaijan russia kyrgyzstan turkmenistan montenegro kazakhstan serbia kosovo macedonia ukraine belarus moldova georgia armenia DEVELOPMENT MEDIA OF SUSTAINABLE SUSTAINABILITY INDEPENDENT MEDIA IN INDEX EUROPE AND EURASIA 2012 MEDIA SUSTAINABILITY INDEX 2012 The Development of Sustainable Independent Media in Europe and Eurasia MEDIA SUSTAINABILITY INDEX 2012 The Development of Sustainable Independent Media in Europe and Eurasia www.irex.org/msi Copyright © 2012 by IREX IREX 2121 K Street, NW, Suite 700 Washington, DC 20037 E-mail: [email protected] Phone: (202) 628-8188 Fax: (202) 628-8189 www.irex.org Project manager: Leon Morse Assistant editor: Dayna Kerecman Myers IREX project and editorial support: Robert Zabel Copyeditors: Carolyn Feola de Rugamas, Carolyn.Ink; Kelly Kramer, WORDtoWORD Editorial Services Design and layout: OmniStudio Printer: Westland Enterprises, Inc. Notice of Rights: Permission is granted to display, copy, and distribute the MSI in whole or in part, provided that: (a) the materials are used with the acknowledgement “The Media Sustainability Index (MSI) is a product of IREX with funding from USAID.”; (b) the MSI is used solely for personal, noncommercial, or informational use; and (c) no modifications of the MSI are made. Acknowledgment: This publication was made possible through support provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under Cooperative Agreement No. DGS-A- 00-99-00015-00. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed herein are those of the panelists and other project researchers and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or IREX. ISSN 1546-0878 ii USAID USAID is the principal U.S. agency to extend assistance to countries recovering from disaster, trying to escape poverty, and engaging in democratic reforms. U.S. foreign assistance has always had the twofold purpose of furthering America’s interests while improving lives in the developing world. The Agency carries out U.S. foreign policy by promoting broad-scale human progress at the same time it expands stable, free societies, creates markets and trade partners for the United States, and fosters good will abroad. Spending less than one-half of 1 percent of the federal budget, USAID works in over 100 countries to: promote broadly shared economic prosperity; strengthen democracy and good governance; improve global health, food security, environmental sustainability and education; help societies prevent and recover from conflicts; and provide humanitarian assistance in the wake of natural and man-made disasters. With headquarters in Washington, D.C., USAID’s strength is its field offices around the world where it works in close partnership with private voluntary organizations, indigenous organizations, universities, the private sector, international agencies, other governments, and other U.S. Government agencies. USAID provides assistance in five regions of the world: • Sub-Saharan Africa; • Asia; • Latin America and the Caribbean; • Europe and Eurasia; and • The Middle East. IREX IREX is an international nonprofit organization providing thought leadership and innovative programs to promote positive lasting change globally. We enable local individuals and institutions to build key elements of a vibrant society: quality education, independent media, and strong communities. To strengthen these sectors, our program activities also include conflict resolution, technology for development, gender, and youth. Founded in 1968, IREX has an annual portfolio of over $60 million and a staff of over 500 professionals worldwide. IREX employs field-tested methods and innovative uses of technologies to develop practical and locally-driven solutions with our partners in more than 100 countries. Implementing Partners IREX wishes to thank the following organizations that coordinated the fieldwork for and authored a number of the studies herein: Women’s Media Watch Azerbaijan http://www.wmw-az.org/ Innovative Solutions Inc. (Kyrgyzstan) Mediacentar Sarajevo http://www.media.ba BTC ProMedia (Bulgaria) http://www.btcpromedia.org Institute for Advanced Studies GAP (Kosovo) http://www.gapinstitute.org/ Media Development Center (Macedonia) Independent Journalism Center (Moldova) http://ijc.md/eng/ Media LTD (Montenegro) http://www.media.cg.yu/index.htm Center for Independent Journalism (Romania) http://www.cji.ro/ iii EUROPE & EURASIA Introduction ..................................................................................................... vii Executive Summary .......................................................................................... ix Methodology ..................................................................................................xvii Southeast Europe TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE Albania ............................................................................................................... 3 Bosnia & Herzegovina ..................................................................................... 19 Bulgaria ............................................................................................................ 39 Croatia ............................................................................................................. 55 Kosovo ............................................................................................................. 75 Macedonia ....................................................................................................... 87 Montenegro .................................................................................................... 97 Romania ......................................................................................................... 111 Serbia ............................................................................................................. 129 Caucasus Armenia ......................................................................................................... 147 Azerbaijan ..................................................................................................... 161 Georgia .......................................................................................................... 175 Russia and Western Eurasia Belarus ........................................................................................................... 191 Moldova ......................................................................................................... 209 Russia ............................................................................................................. 227 Ukraine .......................................................................................................... 241 Central Asia Kazakhstan .................................................................................................... 267 Kyrgyzstan ..................................................................................................... 289 Tajikistan ........................................................................................................ 315 Turkmenistan ................................................................................................. 337 Uzbekistan ..................................................................................................... 349 v Divestment in East European media by West European conglomerates in need of cash resulted in transfer of ownership from investors interested in profit to groups interested in promoting personal political and/or business interests. vi MEDIA SUSTAINABILITY INDEX 2012 INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION I am pleased to introduce the latest annual Media Sustainability Index (MSI) study for Europe and Eurasia. The MSI is one of the most reliable and trusted evaluations of media health globally and in the various regions and countries included. Coverage of the same 21 countries in the Europe and Eurasia region for more than a decade Iallows interested readers to discover emerging trends—both positive and negative—in media development in the region. In this edition, IREX looks at one emerging threat: increased political control of media outlets. Weak financial footing has caused the loss of independence at media outlets across the region, resulting in a loss of objectivity and plurality in the news. Our analysis is available in the Executive Summary that follows. How does the MSI make a difference in the lives of citizens in each country? The MSI measures a number of contributing factors of a well-functioning media system and considers both traditional media types and new media platforms. This level of investigation allows policymakers and implementers to analyze the diverse aspects of media systems and determine the areas in which media development assistance can improve citizens’ access to news and information. Armed with this essential knowledge, citizens can help improve the quality of governance through participatory and democratic mechanisms, and help government and civil society actors devise solutions to pervasive issues such as poverty, healthcare, conflict, and education. How does the MSI aid journalists and independent media supporters realize the improvements they seek? The MSI provides important—and useable—information for the media and media advocates in each country and region. By reflecting the expert opinions of media professionals in each country, its results inform the media community, civil society, and governments of the strengths and weaknesses of the sector. IREX