Media: No prerequisites for development
Alena Artsiomenka
Summary
The traditional media still lead the field of mass communications despite the fact that the number of Internet users has been growing steadily. No prerequisites for qualitative development were created in 2013 either in the state-controlled or independent media segments. Commercialization of the media could contribute to greater independence, stronger competition or higher quality of the content.
The authorities try to enhance cost-efficiency of the state-controlled media, but the actions taken, such as creation of print media holdings and restructuring of TV channels broadcasted by the Belarusian National TV and Radio Company (BTRC) are either not working or pretty much perfunctory. The past year saw a certain mitigation of pressure on the independent media probably because there were no significant political events or campaigns to cover. In general, the government’s policy towards the media is mainly focused on taking Internet domains under control.
Trends:
- Attempts to enhance cost-efficiency of the state-controlled media;
- Certain improvements in the field of freedom of speech;
- A search for new leverage to control and harass the independent media.
Maintaining the traditional media’s predominance and benefits of the state-controlled media
Traditional outlets retain leadership in the field of mass communications, including the news and general interest media. Although the number of Internet users has been steadily growing,1 e-mail services, search engines and social networks are still in greater demand in Belarus than news websites, and the proportion of online news consumers is declining. For instance, in the 4th quarter of 2012, the average monthly audience coverage by news.tut.by was at 23.3%, while in October-December 2013, it declined to 19.9%. The same happens with naviny.by (6.7% in late 2012 and only 5.0% at the end of 2013).2
Very few new traditional media outlets opened in 2012.3 The registered printed media in Belarus totaled 1,555 outlets (1,145 private and 410 state-run) against 1,482 in 2012 (1,071 private and 411 state-run).4
The independent and state media are still treated differently. According to the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), in 2013, the government allocated € 60 million or more to support controlled media outlets.5 Alongside other advantages, state newspapers are sold through the national distributors Belpochta and Belsoyuzpechat, which not all independent periodicals have access to.
Competition killing advantages given to the state media however undermine their credibility to a certain extent. A last year’s survey showed that in 2012, independent outlets enjoyed more trust than the president, which can be explained by the financial recession in 2011.6 In 2013, the situation changed and the level of confidence in the president and state media went up considerably. According to the Independent Institute of Socio-Economic and Political Studies (IISEPS), in 2013, respondents trusted the state-run media more than independent outlets, which means that the media scene was recovering after the crisis.
| Trust | Do not trust | Do not know/No answer | Index | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2013 | ||||
| Independent media | 31.1 | 51.6 | 17.3 | –0.205 |
| State-controlled media | 33.6 | 53.0 | 13.3 | –0.194 |
| President | 48.9 | 40.6 | 10.5 | 0.083 |
| June 2012 | ||||
| Independent media | 35.5 | 48.1 | 16.4 | –0.127 |
| State-controlled media | 32.4 | 58.4 | 9.2 | –0.261 |
| President | 38.5 | 51.9 | 9.6 | –0.135 |
State mass media: attempts to improve profitability
Low commercialization has always been very typical of the Belarusian media market. Neither state nor independent outlets can be regarded as effective business projects, because most of them have to seek financial support from the government or foreign donors.
The state media fall under the general strategy of spending cuts. Attempts have been made to carry out a reform to increase their self sufficiency and profitability. In late 2012, President Lukashenko insisted on cutting government spending on TV channels. Creation of a media holding together with China was announced with a view to start making money in the mass communications market. Lukashenko spoke about it during a meeting with member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Liu Yunshan.7 Joint projects with China are however unlikely to take off quickly, given that China is quite prudent when it comes to economic cooperation with Belarus.
The government has made certain adjustments seeking spending cuts and improved profitability of the media. Print media holdings were established in 2013 on the basis of Zvyazda and Sovetskaya Belorussia newspapers. The merger officially aimed at synergizing and competitive recovery of the periodicals, which primarily implies a reduction in production costs and personnel retrenchment.
Making comments on the results of the merger, Information Minister Oleg Proleskovsky said that the media reform did not require extra expenditures and even lead to significant budget savings.8 Notable is that cost saving has been always prioritized when the print media or public sector enterprises and organizations are talked about instead of trying to enhance the quality of their products and competitive performance.
In response to Lukashenko’s demand to increase the attractiveness of television products, the BTRC set a course for segmentation and diversification of its TV package. The TV channel Lad, which covered sport and cultural events, was replaced by Belarus-3 and Belarus-5 channels with a specialized content. Belarus-4 with family shows is on the way.
The segmentation of TV channels and their specialization is a very popular strategy, which can result in a bigger commercial return. However, a content quality improvement and effective brand promotion is what the channels really need to attract viewers. Apparently, the channels have plenty of work to do to build up product awareness, win the audience, and make their names recognizable.
In order to earn profit and bring in investments, the traditional media should have adequate infrastructure to collect and analyze information about ratings, sell advertising spaces and air more commercials. This infrastructure in Belarus is coming apart instead of getting upgraded. Before 2012, there were a media panel of the NOVAK Axiometrical Research Laboratory, GEVS people meters and advertising monitoring by the International Agency of Social and Market Research MASMI. Only GEVS has remained by now. An ambitious project to create a unified system of rating data acquisition and monitoring of TV commercials failed as the GFK Group, which won the tender in 2011, was not given proper financial guarantees from the Belarusian side and pulled out.9
Independent media segment: positive developments in the field of the freedom of speech
The independent media’s functioning in Belarus usually depends on political cycles. There were no election campaigns in 2013, which determined the authorities’ conniving attitude to the media. Minsk was gradually improving relations with the European Union, maintaining active diplomatic contacts with EU institutions. The thaw was accompanied by some positive trends in the field of the freedom of speech, although the situation was still far from substantial improvements.
A number of independent journalists were no longer persecuted. Prominent publicists, who took part in protest actions after the presidential election in December 2010, such as Irina Khalip, Sergei Voznyak and Alexander Feduta, could breathe a sigh of relief (mostly because charges against them expired).
According to the KGB, Anton Suryapin, who posted photos of teddy bears with notes of support for the freedom of speech on the Internet in July 2012, was vindicated from the charge on June 28. Andrzej Poczobut, reporter of Polish Gazeta Wyborcza daily indicted of insulting the president, was released from penalty after his suspended sentence ended.10
It was informed a week after Poczobut was granted a discharge that ARCHE Pachatak magazine would not face charges and its blocked accounts were released. The magazine was included in the subscription catalog of Belpochta and it has been available on subscription since January 2014. The independent newspaper Borisov News is also back on the subscription catalog since June 2013 after a ban imposed before the 2006 presidential election, but it is still not available through the Belsoyuzpechat network.
New tools for control and pressure
The independent mass media are still under pressure, regardless of certain improvements. Non-state outlets feel more freedom and journalists are detained less frequently when there are no significant political events in the country. Nonetheless, six reporters were detained in Astravets during traditional actions in commemoration of the Chernobyl accident.
The police detained a number of journalists and public activists, who came to the Minsk railway station on October 19 to meet co-chairman of the organizing committee of the Belarusian Christian Democracy party Pavel Sevyarinets, who was released from a penitentiary. After the detention, leaders of the Belarusian Association of Journalists Zhanna Litvina and Andrei Bastunets asked Minsk Chief of Police Alexander Barsukov for a meeting, which was fruitless.
On June 24, the photo book BELARUS PRESS PHOTO 2011 was officially pronounced extremist, which also displays the lack of progress in the field of the freedom of speech. The independent Logvinov Publishing House, which printed the book, was closed by a court ruling. The Ministry of Information revoked its license and the petition for a rehearing was dismissed. The accusation of extremism is used again to restrict the freedom of speech.
Tightened control over the Internet is another accelerating trend in this area. Deputy Information Minister Dmitry Shedko has announced plans to introduce obligatory registration of major news websites as media outlets. The purpose is to acquire additional regulatory tools to take web resources under control and terminate their registration.11 Deputy Chairman of the Belarusian Association of Journalists Andrei Bastunets thus notes that it can have a positive effect, because, theoretically, online media reporters will be able to obtain accreditation like their colleagues from the traditional media.
The president instructed head of the Ideology Department of the Presidential Administration Vsevolod Yanchevski to coordinate activities of the online media and TV broadcasts (decree No. 531 on informatization of December 2, 201312), which also indicates the authorities’ intention to tighten control over web resources.
Conclusion
The year 2013 did not see any preconditions for qualitative development of the state-controlled and independent media. Although commercialization of the state media has been the order of the day for quite a while, all measures taken in this direction are perfunctory. Besides, there are no conditions for development of an infrastructure, which is needed badly to increase the commercial and investment attractiveness of the media and the advertising market.
No conditions for development and improvement are seen in the field of the independent media either. The pressure on the media slightly decreased in 2013 because there were no significant political events or campaigns in the first place. The Belarusian authorities are seeking new leverage to control the media sector, including independent online news resources. It is however possible that another round of dialogue between official Minsk and the West can produce a short term positive effect on the freedom of speech in Belarus.
In general, the media situation still depends on the political climate. It is not in any way determined by media market laws, and nothing is going to change in the foreseeable future.