Region backslides in freedom of independent media

Central Asia ranks as the least hospitable region for the independent media as governments continue to place "serious obstacles" to the development of press freedom, according to the newly released Media Sustainability Index (MSI) from the International Research and Exchange Board (IREX). IREX, an international non-profit organisation based in the US, publishes the annual MSI which analyses the overall situation of free media worldwide on the basis of several parameters such as freedom of speech, the plurality of media available to citizens, and professional journalism. "In general, independent media are struggling in Central Asia," Mark Whitehouse, director of IREX's media development division, told IRIN on Thursday from Washington, noting that media laws have been poorly developed, remaining "non-existent" in some countries in the region. "The economy remains weak, meaning private media have a difficult time surviving in the market and are therefore susceptible to sponsors with political interests," he added. Furthermore, in some countries, independent media were charged higher prices for print materials, and distributors were intimidated and forced to deny services to independent outlets, according to the report. Whitehouse noted that professionalism among journalists remained low as most media workers had not had access to proper training, and called on donors to promote programmes focused on supporting "promising" outlets and journalists by providing training. He explained that all of these factors led to a lack of coverage of important issues in Central Asia, forcing citizens to turn to often biased Russian sources for news. "Without access to news and information about government policy decisions, economic and business developments, and social issues, citizens have a hard time participating in the development of their societies," he maintained. The study assessed media developments in all the Central Asian states, except Turkmenistan, highlighting Uzbekistan as the worst country on the "anti-free press" index. "Uzbekistan has lagged behind and has seen things get worse for independent media," Whitehouse asserted. According to the report, the majority of the media in Uzbekistan was undeveloped, centrally controlled and served "the ideological goals of the government". For Kazakhstan, the report noted a near halt in 2003, stressing that the existing media law had a restrictive nature and "only the parts concerning restrictions are complied with fully". It also remarked that more than half of those journalists surveyed said they had experienced pressure while reporting. And with Kyrgyzstan continuing to slide in the past year, Tajikistan was presented as the only country in the region making some progress, despite the fact that Tajik journalists were still facing problems of access to information, according to the survey. "The government continued slowly but steadily to return independence to the press. The number of non-state print publications is growing rapidly," it said. Whitehouse remarked on the efforts of some journalists, outlets and organisations, saying they were making sacrifices to move the profession forward, but said that much more needed to be done in the long term, including support from the international community. "Any assistance needs to be done as a partnership between the international organisations and the best local voices to not only support quality journalism, but demonstrate its value to citizens," he maintained.