edition-dw-akademie-in-the-service-of-the-public-functions-and-transformation-of-media-in-developing-countries-pdf

General Functions I: Political SphereFunctionIs it fulfilled?(Yes/partially/no)To what extent is the function fulfilled/not fulfilled?Information: comprehensive,balanced, objective –and also regional news.PartiallyLevel of program-making in general is relatively poor, therefore the newstoo is not of the best quality. Studios, etc., on TV present quite a polishedappearance, but neither presenters nor news editors are well-trained.News items are repeated without checking sources, hearsay often replacessound research. Very little coverage of regional developments; rural audiencesand ethnic minorities are largely ignored.Daily rebroadcast of 10 mins. of BBC (world) news in English, at 10 p.m.All political parties havethe opportunity to speakin the program and arepresent in interviews,sound bites, etc.PartiallyThere is a slot from parliament, some parliamentary debates are broadcastlive; once a week, OTRK rebroadcasts Inconvenient Questions, a highlypopular political talkshow from Radio Azattyk (Kyrgyz service of RadioFree Europe/Radio Liberty)Criticism of politicalactors (government,administration, otherpolitical actors)NoThe balanced and objective representation of the entire political spectrumis laid down in the constitution, the country’s media legislation isby far the most liberal in the region – but bad journalistic habits are stilltoo ingrained, and self-censorship is often automatic. Bad political habitsare also proving difficult to eradicate. Still incidents of journalists beingthreatened, although no fatalities since 2011.Societal criticism(social actors, individuals,problems in society)PartiallySelf-censorship means that journalists will stay away from topics thatmight be uncomfortable for daily politics to deal with. Radio Azattyk’sInconvenient Questions may be the only program that doesn’t shy awayfrom tackling touchy subjects: renaming Russian-named villages in Kyrgyz,discussing contentious Islamic leadership policies, etc.Moderation of debate/democratic facilitationPartiallyCoverage of parliament; Radio Azattyk’s Inconvenient Questions – debateis a form still very much in its infancy in radio and TV.Social/politicalorientationPartiallyOTRK’s relationships with audiences have been improving thanks torecent focus group research: audience feedback is being taken on board,it is likely that this will result in more programs on social/political issuesbeing provided.Agenda-setting/investigative journalismNoInvestigative journalism is completely underdeveloped in Kyrgyzstan,although this shortcoming has been widely recognized and is likely to beaddressed with increasing diligence. Agenda-setting at present is mostlikely to come from foreign news sources, although the Kyrgyz onlinenews agencies are fairly on-the-ball.68