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

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Principles for Guaranteeing Editorial IndependenceProposed by theOSCE Representative on Freedom <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Media</strong>Over the past years, foreign companies have started investing inthe media in the emerging democracies. In several countries, foreignownership is generally high with control exercised over themajority <strong>of</strong> the print media. In the history <strong>of</strong> Europe’s constitutionalculture media play an important and indispensable role forthe development <strong>of</strong> our democracies. <strong>The</strong> role and therefore theresponsibility <strong>of</strong> the owners <strong>of</strong> journalistic media go far beyondother market oriented industrial products. In some Westerndemocracies this difference is marked by special tax allowances.<strong>The</strong>se are the reasons why the OSCE Representative on Freedom<strong>of</strong> the <strong>Media</strong> is monitoring the situation closely. In general hedoes not get involved in cases where foreign ownership <strong>of</strong> mediais in line with domestic legislation. However, potential reasonsfor concern exist, especially regarding the editorial policies <strong>of</strong> thejournalistic media in light <strong>of</strong> the <strong>of</strong>ten-fragile state <strong>of</strong> democracyand rule <strong>of</strong> law. On the other hand freedom <strong>of</strong> the media can bestrengthened by investments in the media.<strong>The</strong> OSCE Representative on Freedom <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Media</strong> hasapproached media companies with international businessinterests to agree to observe the following principles:- <strong>The</strong> ownership structure <strong>of</strong> all journalistic media,including those that are partly or solely owned by foreigninvestors, must be known by the public.- On the editorial independence <strong>of</strong> the journalistic media,a common code <strong>of</strong> conduct should be reached betweenthe staff and the board <strong>of</strong> directors on basic journalisticprinciples.200 THE IMPACT OF MEDIA CONCENTRATION ON PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISM
- This common code <strong>of</strong> conduct shall at least containthe following principles:• standing up for human rights• standing up for the fundamental democratic rights,the parliamentary system and international understanding,as laid down in the United Nations Charter•fighting totalitarian activities <strong>of</strong> any political tendency• fighting any nationalist or racial discrimination- Any institutional political affiliation <strong>of</strong> a journalisticmedia should be clearly and publicly stated.- Should cases <strong>of</strong> the dismissal <strong>of</strong> editors-in-chief be controversial,they could be brought before the Representativeon Freedom <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Media</strong> who would, upon requestby one <strong>of</strong> the parties involved, act as arbitrator, whichshall be limited to journalistic matters. He or she wouldspeak out in favour or against the dismissal on the basis <strong>of</strong>the journalistic principles referred to in the mandate 1 . This,however, shall not affect the right to dismiss the editor-inchieffor serious non-journalistic reasons. Furthermore, itshall not exclude the ordinary jurisdiction.- Where a company holds more than one title, it commitsitself to safeguarding journalistic independence and pluralityas a contribution to democratisation and to strengtheningfreedom <strong>of</strong> the media.1 “<strong>The</strong> OSCE Representative on Freedom <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Media</strong> may at all times collect and receivefrom participating States and other interested parties (e.g. from organizations or institutions,from media and their representatives, and from relevant NGOs) requests, suggestionsand comments related to strengthening and further developing compliance withrelevant OSCE principles and commitments, including alleged serious instances <strong>of</strong> intoleranceby participating States which utilize media in violation <strong>of</strong> the principles referredto in the Budapest Document, Chapter VIII, paragraph 25, and in the Decisions <strong>of</strong> theRome Council Meeting, Chapter X. He or she may forward requests, suggestions andcomments to the Permanent Council recommending further action where appropriate”.OSCE PRINCIPLES 201
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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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Understandably all German journalis
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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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Do you feel free to voice and write
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Newspaper reach (%)All Adults 30.1M
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As regards ownership concentration,
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Financial BackgroundDespite the pre
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5.4.2 Survey resultsIf Finnish jour
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of those mini-comp
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for example, is very clear on this
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Newspaper reach (%)All Adults 40.1M
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5.5.2 Survey ResultsAn anonymous It
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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 164 and 165: Newspaper reach (%)All Adults 31.7M
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 178 and 179: indicated that Rodipet applies a di
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: 29. How would you describe the situ
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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