Media Sustainability Index reports on trends in Eastern Europe, Eurasia (07/03/05)

Media Sustainability Index reports on trends in Eastern Europe, Eurasia

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

WASHINGTON - According to IREX, a U.S.-based NGO, its recently-released Media Sustainability Index for 2004 shows that media in Eastern Europe and Eurasia are on divergent paths.

Mark Whitehouse, director of media development for IREX, and Peter Graves, a project manager for the U.S. Agency for International Development, which funded the media index, told an RFE/RL audience last week that, while recent revolutions have sparked positive trends in Georgia and Ukraine, politicized media and self-censorship remain persistent obstacles to development of an independent press in almost all of the countries surveyed.

This is the fourth annual Media Sustainability Index (MSI) funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which uses the survey as an indicator for the effectiveness of technical assistance programs (the index is available on the IREX website, at http://www.irex.org/msi/index.asp).

A panel of media professionals was assembled in each of the 20 countries studied, to assess their respective media environments over the last four years. According to Mr. Whitehouse, "to a large degree we're relying on local professionals to discuss the [media] situation in their own country within the framework of the methodology we provide them to provide the level of comparability across countries."

The MSI evaluates indigenous media on key aspects including: legal protection of the media, the professionalism of journalists and the plurality of sources available to citizens, as well as whether or not the independent media are well-managed and "business savvy." Mr. Whitehouse said a country's media environment should include "international media, regional media and a variety of local media widely available to people."

During the last four years, the MSI has identified both positive trends and highly troublesome trends. Mr. Whitehouse noted that, "one can really see that Southeastern Europe, despite problems, is the leader in terms of its advancement of a sustainable and independent media." He continued, "It's not there yet by any means, but when compared to either Western Eurasia or, in particular, Central Asia, it is far more advanced."

The countries of Montenegro, Bosnia, Macedonia and Bulgaria, according to Mr. Whitehouse, have made significant progress. "This is not to say that every country in the region is doing fine," Mr. Whitehouse said. "If we look at Albania, it's made progress but remains relatively stagnant." Kosovo has made some progress, but hasn't progressed as far as some believe it should have - which many Kosovars believe is "because of the international presence," according to Mr. Whitehouse.

Central Asia was at the opposite extreme from Southeastern Europe: "It is evident and not necessarily surprising that [Central Asia] remains the farthest from having independent or sustainable media," Mr. Whitehouse said. Three of the four lowest-ranking countries in this year's survey were Central Asian countries; the fourth was Belarus.

Georgia, after its Rose Revolution, and Ukraine, after its Orange Revolution, have both provided bright spots in the short term. According to Mr. Whitehouse, panel members were emboldened by the fact that many media outlets in Ukraine - either state or private - that were closely allied to the previous regime became more independent during the Orange Revolution. The MSI report notes: "The protests after the fraud-ridden second round of elections led to major changes in the behavior of journalists and their ability to report as they saw fit. Many journalists protested the pressure being applied by politicians and owners loyal to the government and, by and large, saw them give in and allow more balanced coverage. The temnyky [official instructions to the news media] ceased to hold sway as journalists refused to follow them, ruining the power structure's system of propaganda and manipulation.

"This almost certainly changed the perception of Yushchenko among the electorate. 'After the informational breakthrough, people from eastern Ukraine were surprised to know that there is another reality which had not been spoken of by newspapers and television channels controlled by the government,' noted media-training specialist Oleg Khomenok, moderator of the 2004 Media Sustainability Index panel.

"It is too early to say whether these changes will be permanent, however, and there are some signs that journalists have merely switched their allegiance to the new president without committing to fair and objective reporting. The ownership of national media also makes the triumph of independent journalism less than certain. Most national, private television channels and newspapers are controlled by oligarchs and politicians, and historically have served the interests of power. Such outlets were used as tools of propaganda, rather than providing unbiased and accurate information to the public."

However, panelists expressed concern that democratic gains could be reversed, as happened in Serbia in 2000-2001. There, the former opposition media gave up their independence and became subservient to the new government, whose leaders they had supported when they were in the opposition.

Mr. Whitehouse said that journalists agree that there is a "natural grace period" that exists after a new government comes to power, but that a danger exists that "the grace period becomes permanent."

Although it seemed on a positive trend line when the first Media Sustainability Index was prepared four years ago, Russia is ranked in the lower tier of countries in this year's survey, according to Mr. Whitehouse, because of its "backsliding." He said that "overall, the Putin government has continued its policy towards the media, which is not encouraging." The situation for media in Russia's neighbors in Western Eurasia also continues to get worse, according to the MSI - especially in Belarus.

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