(WAN/IFEX) – The following is an 11 October 2004 WAN press release: Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan , 11 October 2004 For immediate release Self-Sufficiency Key to Media Success in Central Asia Press executives from across Central Asian came together in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on Monday for a World Association of Newspapers’ conference aimed at providing practical solutions to […]
(WAN/IFEX) – The following is an 11 October 2004 WAN press release:
Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan , 11 October 2004
For immediate release
Self-Sufficiency Key to Media Success in Central Asia
Press executives from across Central Asian came together in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on Monday for a World Association of Newspapers’ conference aimed at providing practical solutions to the many problems facing independent media in the region.
Fifty publishers and journalists from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia were joined by speakers from Serbia, France, Denmark, Canada, Finland and the United States in an effort to find ways to combat the obstacles that are hindering independent media development in the region — restrictive press laws, poor infrastructure and the absence of professional organisations among them.
Participants in the event, called “Media in Danger/Media in Transition”, said there was a greater need for solidarity in the region and common actions to aid media and journalists in danger. They also emphasized the need for international support to pressure their governments, citing the success of international pressure in preventing the approval of a new media law in Kazakhstan in March.
In addition to combating the well-known problems, several speakers warned against an over-reliance on donations, which might be hindering the commercial success of newspapers in the region.
“To break the cycle of grant dependency, we are looking for a small handful of people who understand that being dependent upon international donations is no more freeing than being dependent on the government,” said Mike Stone, Project Director of the first independent printing plant in Kyrgyzstan. The project was set up by Freedom House and paid for by the US government.
Natasa Vuckovic Lesendric, Managing Director of APM Press, an independent printing and distribution company in Serbia, also spoke about donor dependency and said the “Golden Rule” for operating independent operations is economic self-sufficiency.
Jorgen Ejboel, Chairman of the Board of JP/Politiken Hus in Denmark, who is chairing the Bishkek conference, said reliance on outside donations could artificially support a business that was not economically viable. “Sometimes the best idea is to kill a bad idea,” he said.
On the first day of the two-day conference, speakers focused on the general obstacles to press freedom that are found in most of the countries in the region.
Sergei Duvanov, an independent journalist recently released from a Kazakh prison, spoke about the numerous licensing laws and regulations imposed by the government to inhibit the operations of independent publications, as well as the improper use of defamation laws to cripple news organizations financially.
Umed Babakhanov, the Managing Director of Asia Plus news agency in Tajikistan, spoke about a lack of professionalism and experience among newspaper managers, as well as the human costs of years of civil war in terms of journalists killed and journalists in exile.
Inera Safargalieva, Director of the online news site Arena in Uzbekistan, said self-censorship among journalists was a major problem. She also cited three additional problems: an authoritarian government, poor media laws and poor salaries.
The conference continues on Tuesday.
The Paris-based WAN, the global organisation for the newspaper industry, defends and promotes press freedom world-wide. It represents 18,000 newspapers; its membership includes 72 national newspaper associations, individual newspaper executives in 102 countries, 13 news agencies and ten regional and world-wide press groups.
