Managing Intractable Conflicts: Lessons from Moldova and Cyprus

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The Role of Mass Media in the Settlement of the Cyprus Problem 39 THE ROLE OF MASS MEDIA IN THE SETTLEMENT OF THE CYPRUS PROBLEM By Orestis Tringides 1 Mass Media in Cyprus: Modus Operandi If it is agreed that in order for the mass media to be able to play a positive role in the peace-building process and cooperation in a conflict region they first have to ensure impartiality in both the way they present the news and in the way they operate, then the media in Cyprus cannot fulfill that role. Some of the problems regarding the media in Cyprus playing an effective role in peace- and trust-building between the two communities (Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots), are; the tendency of advocacy journalism (the kind of journalism that deliberately and transparently employs a nonobjective perspective for political or social intentions) and the reliance on external (official) sources (Christophorou, Sahin, & Pavlou, 2010). As a percentage of the population, the readership of newspapers is relatively low – the broadcast media is a preferred source of news and opinion. News programs frequently feature developments regarding the Cyprus problem, although due to a limited number of sources, and heavily politically influence, they often resort to advocacy journalism with a dramatized and sensationalized delivery of news about a political development. In many cases there is lack of investigative journalism, with the news falling short of informing the audience as they lack crucial, or background information required to understand and present the issue thoroughly (INDEX, 2010). Very frequently party-centric (male-dominated) and heated debates take place, thus diminishing (and sometimes, deliberately undermining) the role of those who can provide technocratic expertise, or a non-partisan view. Civil society events that work to bring the two communities together have been largely excluded in the “traditional” media outlets – although in recent years civil society organizations (CSOs) have started employing and increasing their skills capacity in the new media (social media) that indirectly tend to attract more attention by the mainstream media (Gillespie, Georgiou, & Insay, 2011). Exemplar cases of cooperation in the media across the divide (Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot) have largely taken place “outside” of the established administrative structures; mainly by individuals’ initiatives (Anastasiou, 2008, p. 250). 1 Orestis Tringides is an Information Management expert and a project officer of the Socio- Political Studies Institute (IKME).
40 Managing Intractable Conflicts: Lessons from Moldova and Cyprus Financial Dependencies and Political Influence on Media Applying to both sides of the island, since the market size in Cyprus is small and the media sector is populated by many outlets competing for a market share, the media’s susceptibility to either commercial or political influence and pressure is in large part the result of the difficulties encountered in establishing an independent economic base upon which any non-state media enterprise depends on (Lyndon, 2010). Thus, media outlets on both sides of the island have varying degrees of political, but especially political party alliances. This applies to the majority of newspapers and TV channels and to a lesser, but still significant, extent to radio stations (INDEX, 2010). For example, regarding television channels in the south, most of the wide-audience channels are heavily politically influenced. The range of labels applied to describe the kinds of influence range e.g. from the “rejectionist” (the “hardliners” when it comes to the Cyprus issue) political influences, to close party affiliations, to consistent government-backing stances (e.g. as is the case with the Cyprus Broadcasting Cooperation (CyBC), in the southern part of the island and the Bayrak Radyo Televizyon Kurumu (BRTK) in the northern part) (Christophorou et al., 2010; INDEX, 2010). Practical, Legal Obstacles; Press Freedom and Access to Information Although there is a large disparity in the Press Freedom Index between the southern part (an improved 16 th place in the rank for 2011-2012) and the northern part of the island (a deteriorated 102 nd place in the rank) (Reporters Sans Frontieres, 2012), in reality, journalists on both sides of the island are not (entirely) free to deviate from the agreed political modus operandi between their editors/outlet management and political party/ies, or other poles of political influence. Subsequently, on both sides of the island, media outlets, editors and journalists are limited to freely and openly question, research and criticize, so to create a shift when it comes to vital prerequisites in building for a settlement of the Cyprus problem. Moreover, journalists on both sides are being hindered to perform their duties due to a lack of an effective access to information legal framework. Journalists rely on their personal connections to have quick access (if any) to public documents and information, resulting in the difficult position journalists (especially young and nonnetworked) find themselves in due to lack of such contacts (Access to Information, 2011). Thus, without access to information, the news is susceptible to being biased
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