The Impact of Media Concentration on Professional ... - OSCE

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indicated that Rodipet applies a discriminatory policy, imposingtougher contractual provisions to “non-aligned” publicationsdespite the competition law that prohibits such practices.A couple <strong>of</strong> other facts add to the grim side <strong>of</strong> this picture:there is no legal incentive for the media industry, taxationis as high as for any other business. Of course, the“deserving ones” may receive tax re-scheduling, which creates– again – a misbalance on the market and benefits theobedient media.Caught in this maze <strong>of</strong> restrictions, media do the bestthey can. Muting the criticism against the authorities is thefirst step. Eliminating any shadow <strong>of</strong> criticism is a step further– he extreme: singing praises to the ones in power.<strong>The</strong>re is still a bright point about all the mechanismsdescribed earlier: they imply breaches <strong>of</strong> existing (even ifimperfect) legislation. <strong>The</strong>y can be spotted and eventuallycountered. With a tough civil reaction and duly blind Justice,the things can be corrected.But what happened in Romania over the last years is part<strong>of</strong> a more worrying trend. Given their economic weakness,more and more media have been literally bought by peoplebelonging or close to the political power. Wherever persuasionor pressure failed to silence the critical voices, buying didthe trick. If you can’t beat them, buy them – sounded like ageneral order all over the country. Buying businesses is a perfectlylegal and legitimate operation. Buying media operationsis no exception. Telling an owner what to do with theirbusiness is not part <strong>of</strong> the game. <strong>Media</strong> is no exception.So, what is to be done when a vast majority <strong>of</strong> the localmedia (some voices say up to 80%) are owned by peoplebelonging to the same interest group? What is to be donewhen they decided that obedience is the editorial policy?When the media agenda slides further and further awayfrom the public agenda? When street protests get only afraction <strong>of</strong> the coverage that a car crash gets?178 THE IMPACT OF MEDIA CONCENTRATION ON PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISM
<strong>The</strong>se are the questions that the workers in Brasovanswered in their own way. <strong>The</strong>ir protest was aimed equallyat the government and at the media which are no longertheir witness, or their guarantee that their voices will beheard. “Mooning” the media may be spectacular enough tobring them 30 seconds <strong>of</strong> visibility, but it does not solvetheir problem.In my humble opinion, the upcoming elections may bea bit more effective on this.COUNTRY REPORTS – ROMANIA 179
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REPRESENTATIVE ON FREEDOM OF THE ME
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ContentsPrefaceby Freimut Duve 9Int
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6. Conclusions 187AnnexQuestionnair
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advertisement is very insecure, mak
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industrial lobbying groups still di
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1. The Imp
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sidents” had been imprisoned. “
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determined Freedom of</stro
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co-operate fully with the OSCE Repr
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Such independence, however, comes a
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and mirror of the
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30 million rely exclusively on info
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Unchecked, concentration will reduc
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protected, a certain level
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indication of the
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time, as the concept of</st
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It appears, however, that this posi
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1.7 New Threats on the Horizon1.7.1
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owns or controls not only the three
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Target countries sometimes interpre
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independence proposed by the OSCE R
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groups to grow. And there is the in
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areas of Central a
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Directly or indirectly Mr. Silvio B
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Yet this simple notion appears to b
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newspaper firms. Using the argument
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a contribution to democratization a
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tation of this for
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This limitation in no way indicates
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press is ridiculous. Journalists co
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But these progressive aspects <stro
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Nevertheless, the loss of</
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may well be true for journalists fr
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Is there a works council at your ne
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will go to television, this being t
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Economic revenue (%) Fig. 61234510,
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Good relations with the business co
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Further, how can a newspaper, whose
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Service for civil society (%) Fig.
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The Norwegian medi
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Have you ever been put under pressu
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Do you feel threatened in your posi
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4. Number of Title
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5. Country Reports5.1 Germany5.1.1
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Süddeutsche Zeitung (463,000), Lei
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publisher, the Axel Springer Verlag
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A three directional strategy is wha
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5.1.2 Survey ResultsBacked by tradi
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Cross-ownership has also increased
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Service for civil society (%) Fig.
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Understandably all German journalis
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Do you feel threatened in your posi
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As also seen in Germany, the data p
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5.2.2 Survey ResultsFinland compete
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Newspaper chains were the logical r
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5.3 United Kingdom5.3.1 Country Rep
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• Daily Mail and General Trust: D
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Is there a works council at your ne
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Page 127 and 128: Service for civil society (%) Fig.
Page 129 and 130: Do you feel free to voice and write
Page 131: Do you feel threatened in your posi
Page 134 and 135: Newspaper reach (%)All Adults 30.1M
Page 136 and 137: As regards ownership concentration,
Page 138 and 139: Financial BackgroundDespite the pre
Page 140 and 141: 5.4.2 Survey resultsIf Finnish jour
Page 142 and 143: of those mini-comp
Page 144 and 145: for example, is very clear on this
Page 148 and 149: 5.5.2 Survey ResultsAn anonymous It
Page 150 and 151: portfolio. In addition, as democrat
Page 152 and 153: Mr. Berlusconi’s TV advertisement
Page 154 and 155: 5.6 Lithuania5.6.1 Country ReportCa
Page 156 and 157: is quite remarkable. The</s
Page 158 and 159: Lithuania is a small country with a
Page 160 and 161: Another tendency is that newspapers
Page 162 and 163: Only in 2003, the daily newspaper L
Page 166 and 167: October 22 2003 was an historic dat
Page 168 and 169: 5.7.2 Survey ResultsSince the end <
Page 170 and 171: y a mostly anonymous to the general
Page 172 and 173: On a daily, practical basis there
Page 174 and 175: Newspaper reach (%)All Adults 15Sou
Page 176 and 177: so-called “human interest” stor
Page 180 and 181: 5.8.2 Survey ResultsAlthough a smal
Page 182 and 183: 12345Objectivity (%) Fig. 57,114,32
Page 184 and 185: Strengthening of d
Page 186 and 187: Do you feel threatened in your posi
Page 188 and 189: emerging CEE countries with regard
Page 190 and 191: - Create in all OSCE participating
Page 193 and 194: Organization for Security and Co-op
Page 195 and 196: 1. In which country are you working
Page 197 and 198: 17. Who defines the editorial line
Page 199 and 200: 29. How would you describe the situ
Page 201 and 202: - This common code of</stro
Page 203 and 204: Personal and business interestsIt i
Page 205: Orkla Media’s
Page 208: www.osce.org/fomJohannes von Dohnan
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