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Introduction: Media trends in Central and Eastern Europe
by Stefaan Verhulst
Almost a decade after revolutionary changes in Central and Eastern Euroope and the collapse of the Soviet Union, with some notable exceptions, overt institutional censorship has largely disappeared, private media have proliferated, and journalists have founded associations to defend their rights. Press freedom has been declared as part of the legal foundation of the new democratic systems. In most countries new media (press) laws have been approved or are awaiting parliamentary approval, or new constitutions contain provisions guaranteeing freedom of the press. As a result newspapers and radio and television stations have started to mushroom. Yet across the region, to varying degrees, the following pessimistic trends on the media front are discernible:
Government interference. Although privatisation has made spectacular progress in the written press and local broadcasting, sale of the national radio and television networks has stalled in many countries, and proceeds only slowly even in the advanced reformer countries, like the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland. The state-run postal systems often have near-monopolies in distributing newspapers and magazines, while television and radio-transmitting facilities and licensing (access to frequencies) are still under direct government control. Governments appoint the heads of the state-owned media or select members of the overseeing boards in radio and television organisations. In many countries the state controls the media in part through ownership and funding. The government can funnel advertisements of state-owned companies or agencies to favoured papers and broadcasts, and provide other forms of subsidies. Discrimination against the independent press is evident in high taxes and fines, or refusal to deliver newsprint.
Tough finances. The short-lived media boom that followed the 1989-91 period gave way to a consolidation of the communications market. Many papers closed down as state subsidies dried up and newsprint became both expensive and in short supply (for example, in Albania and Romania). Production and distribution costs increased, and yet the distribution systems remained inadequate. With the deteriorating economic situation fewer people could afford to buy newspapers.and foreign investment made headway in some countries, primarily in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland. As a result the media industries in most countries have been taken over by foreign interest or are on the brink of collapse.
Tabloid versus responsible journalism. An increasing number of private newspapers and radio and television stations in transition economies choose to entertain and satisfy mass demand (and powerful advertisers), in order to increase readership and audience, and hence, profits. It is an open question whether the limited national media markets can adequately support vehicles for responsible journalism, which advocate democracy; communicate public opinions, concerns, and hopes; and investigate abuses of political and economic power-in other words, which fulfill the watchdog role of the press. Moreover the competition among a handful of powerful media moguls has often proved dangerous, because they still use their media outlets as direct instruments of political power. In many countries in the region with developing market economies, the lines between political and business interests are blurred.