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

Part II Mongolia: Achievements Through Public Service Capacity BuildingMongolia: Achievements Through Public Service Capacity BuildingIn nine years of transformation, Mongolian National Broadcaster (MNB) has undergone a change process with significantachievements. The decisive factor for this support was the continuous and long-term collaboration – in particular with RadioSweden, funded by the Swedish development agency SIDA – which was systematically planned and attuned to everyday challenges.DW Akademie has been active here since 2011. All stakeholders point out the great importance of the collaboration withinternational development experts and organizations which fuel and accelerate MNB’s transformation process. Today, despitepersisting problems, numerous MNB journalists have reached a basic level of professionalism. What remains to be done in particularis to build capacity at the management level. MNB fulfils important public service broadcasting functions: It providesthe Mongolian society with diverse programming of national coverage which gives a voice to different parts of society. Despiteincreasing competition from commercial rivals, it is still the broadcaster with the best ratings and highest credibility among thepopulation. For the empowerment of the most vulnerable in society, MNB plays an important role. The improvements achievedduring MNB’s transformation process so far prove that the efforts made by the different actors were and will be worth it. In Mongolia,there are no real alternatives to well-functioning public service media.In order to understand the particular situation of the publicservice broadcaster Mongolian National Broadcaster (MNB), abrief overview of Mongolia’s most important characteristics,its media landscape and the status of the media organizationshould be given.Mongolia – A Brief OverviewMongolia is a country of superlatives: With its population ofaround 2.8 million 1 people living on a surface area of nearly1.6 million 2 square kilometers, Mongolia is not only amongthe largest countries of the world, but also the least denselypopulated one. Another Mongolian superlative is its extremeclimate, with very hot summers and extremely cold winters.The capital Ulan Bator (or: Ulaanbaatar) is the coldest nationalcapital in the world with January temperatures as low as -40°Cand an average annual temperature of -2.4°C. 3 Almost half of allMongolians live in the capital which has a population of morethan 1.2 million people. 4 The rest of the country is divided into21 provinces, the so-called aimags. The Mongolian populationis fairly homogenous: With 85%, the Khalkh or Mongolian arethe largest ethnicity, followed by the Kazakh (7%). The remaining(8%) are divided into small groups with the major linguisticminorities being Kazakhs and Tuva-speaking Tsaatans. 5 Othergroups speak varying dialects of Mongolian. Further, there aresmall clusters of Chinese and Russian residents. 6As in many other countries, in Mongolia the breakdownof the Soviet Union initiated a democratic revolution in the1990s. This led to a multi-party system, 7 a new constitutionthat was adopted in 1992 as well as transition to a marketeconomy. Today, Mongolia has a number of political parties,the most powerful of which are the Mongolian People’s Party(MPP) and the Democratic Party (DP). The MPP 8 formed thegovernment of the country from 1921 to 1996 – in a one-partysystem until 1990 – and from 2000 to 2004. During the interviewsconducted for this study 9 several interviewees assertedthat Mongolia is still in the process of democratization andthat the political education of the population is still weak. Thecitizens neither have sufficient understanding of democracynor awareness of their rights. 10 As reasons for this, both the nomadicroots and traditions of the Mongolian society and thecommunist era are mentioned. According to the World Bank,a quarter of Mongolia’s population are still nomadic herders. 11In the last two decades, an increasingly affluent Mongolianmiddle class has emerged. However, wealth is distributed unequallyand especially the disparities between the urban andthe rural population are staggering.Media LandscapeThe disparities between the urban centers – especially thecapital – and the rural provinces are inherent in the Mongolianmedia system as well. While the newly-gained freedom inthe 1990s led to a media boom in the capital, not much haschanged in the countryside. According to the latest report(2013) by the Mongolian NGO Press Institute, 12 there are 555media outlets operating on a regular basis in Mongolia. 13 In2012, there were 135 newspapers, 99 magazines, 84 radio stations(77 are FM stations), 166 television channels and 68 infor-1NSO 2014.2UN Data 2014.3White, January 9, 2013.4UBstat 2012.5Ziyasheva 2007, 4.6MRG 2005.7Today, Mongolia’s politicalsystem can be described asa parliamentary republic.8The MPP was known as thePeople’s Revolutionary Partybetween 1921 and 2010.9For the purpose of this study, nineinterviews with different peoplewere conducted in Ulan Batorin January 2014. Among theinterviewees were representativesfrom Mongolian National Broadcaster(journalists, administrationand management level),representatives from differentNGOs, researchers, a blogger aswell as a former and a currentmember of the National Council.The interviews lasted betweenone and two hours.10Zanaa Jurmed, Director of theCentre for Citizens’ Alliance.11World Bank 2013.12The Press Institute is the onlyindependent NGO that monitorsthe Mongolian media landscaperegularly.13Press Institute 2013, 2.Edition DW Akademie In the Service of the Public 97