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

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media) been unsuccessfully explored, the state would have t<strong>of</strong>inancially guarantee a basic provision to the nation <strong>of</strong> qualitynews and information, free <strong>of</strong> state or commercially inducedintervention”. 63Such ideas are not new. <strong>The</strong> German centre-left Governmentthought, already in the 1970s, <strong>of</strong> a pilot project organizedalong such lines. <strong>The</strong> proposal was, however, abandoned almostimmediately as the treatment <strong>of</strong> daily newspapers as public servicecompanies would have significantly infringed on the entrepreneurialrights <strong>of</strong> the private owners <strong>of</strong> daily newspapers.As every legislative framework meant to limit ownershipand entrepreneurial rights is contrary to the principles <strong>of</strong> anopen and democratic market economy, editorial independencein the end can only be guaranteed by the voluntary acceptance<strong>of</strong> a framework <strong>of</strong> principles.<strong>The</strong> OSCE Representative on Freedom <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Media</strong> hasproposed a set <strong>of</strong> principles for guaranteeing editorial independence.This proposal includes• total transparency <strong>of</strong> the ownership structure <strong>of</strong> all journalisticmedia to the public;• a common code <strong>of</strong> conduct reached between the staff andthe management on basic journalistic principles, including:– standing up for Human Rights– standing up for the fundamental democratic rights, theparliamentary system and international understanding,as laid down in the United Nations– fighting totalitarian activities <strong>of</strong> any political tendency– fighting any nationalist or racial discrimination• a clear and public statement on any institutional politicalaffiliation <strong>of</strong> a journalistic media;• a commitment <strong>of</strong> media companies, holding more than onetitle to safeguard journalistic independence and plurality as56 THE IMPACT OF MEDIA CONCENTRATION ON PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISM
a contribution to democratization and to strengthening freedom<strong>of</strong> the media.Of the European media, only the Essen/Germany based WAZgroup and the Norwegian ORKLA group have so far adheredin full to these principles.Dangers to the freedom <strong>of</strong> the press also come from thepolitical environment. As fallout from September 11 and thefollowing global war on terror, the pressure on independentjournalism is mounting. “Several <strong>of</strong> the laws passed to fight terrorismhave raised concern and undermine the basic principle<strong>of</strong> a free flow <strong>of</strong> information”. 64 Especially targeted is the protection<strong>of</strong> journalistic sources, which is not perfectly regulatedanywhere, and has been further weakened .Recent court sentences in the US and other countries indicatethe growing temptation <strong>of</strong> the political powerful to stripjournalists <strong>of</strong> this most important tool <strong>of</strong> their pr<strong>of</strong>ession.While the principle is well defined – “Journalists have a dutyto protect confidential sources” and “<strong>The</strong> independent status<strong>of</strong> journalists is compromised when their sources and materialbecomes readily available to the public.” 65 Source protectionhas also recently been an issue in the United Kingdom, in Germany,Switzerland, the International Criminal Court at <strong>The</strong>Hague and even in Denmark.Only superficial infotainment can live without in-depthinvestigation, which is <strong>of</strong>ten based on confidential insiderinformation. With ever less legally guaranteed protection <strong>of</strong>journalistic sources it becomes nearly impossible to obtain relevantconfidential information.63 Michael Rutz, editor-in-chief <strong>of</strong> the German weekly newspaper Rheinischer Merkurin a speech on Freedom and Pluralism <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Media</strong> (Berlin, 30 May 2003).64 Reporters without Borders, World Freedom Press Report (2002).65 International Federation <strong>of</strong> Journalists, Executive Committee Meeting (Brussels, June 2003).JOHANNES VON DOHNANYI 57
Page 3 and 4:
REPRESENTATIVE ON FREEDOM OF THE ME
Page 5 and 6: ContentsPrefaceby Freimut Duve 9Int
Page 7: 6. Conclusions 187AnnexQuestionnair
Page 10 and 11: advertisement is very insecure, mak
Page 12 and 13: industrial lobbying groups still di
Page 15 and 16: 1. The Imp
Page 17 and 18: sidents” had been imprisoned. “
Page 19 and 20: determined Freedom of</stro
Page 21 and 22: co-operate fully with the OSCE Repr
Page 23 and 24: Such independence, however, comes a
Page 25 and 26: and mirror of the
Page 27 and 28: 30 million rely exclusively on info
Page 29 and 30: Unchecked, concentration will reduc
Page 31 and 32: protected, a certain level
Page 33 and 34: indication of the
Page 35 and 36: time, as the concept of</st
Page 37 and 38: It appears, however, that this posi
Page 39 and 40: 1.7 New Threats on the Horizon1.7.1
Page 41 and 42: owns or controls not only the three
Page 43 and 44: Target countries sometimes interpre
Page 45 and 46: independence proposed by the OSCE R
Page 47 and 48: groups to grow. And there is the in
Page 49 and 50: areas of Central a
Page 51 and 52: Directly or indirectly Mr. Silvio B
Page 53 and 54: Yet this simple notion appears to b
Page 55: newspaper firms. Using the argument
Page 59: tation of this for
Page 62 and 63: This limitation in no way indicates
Page 64 and 65: press is ridiculous. Journalists co
Page 66 and 67: But these progressive aspects <stro
Page 68 and 69: Nevertheless, the loss of</
Page 70 and 71: may well be true for journalists fr
Page 72 and 73: Is there a works council at your ne
Page 74 and 75: will go to television, this being t
Page 76 and 77: Economic revenue (%) Fig. 61234510,
Page 78 and 79: Good relations with the business co
Page 80 and 81: Further, how can a newspaper, whose
Page 82 and 83: Service for civil society (%) Fig.
Page 84 and 85: The Norwegian medi
Page 86 and 87: Have you ever been put under pressu
Page 88 and 89: Do you feel threatened in your posi
Page 91 and 92: 4. Number of Title
Page 93 and 94: 5. Country Reports5.1 Germany5.1.1
Page 95 and 96: Süddeutsche Zeitung (463,000), Lei
Page 97 and 98: publisher, the Axel Springer Verlag
Page 99 and 100: A three directional strategy is wha
Page 101 and 102: 5.1.2 Survey ResultsBacked by tradi
Page 103 and 104: Cross-ownership has also increased
Page 105 and 106: Economic revenue (%) Fig. 61234515,
Page 107 and 108:
Service for civil society (%) Fig.
Page 109 and 110:
Understandably all German journalis
Page 111 and 112:
Do you feel threatened in your posi
Page 113 and 114:
As also seen in Germany, the data p
Page 115 and 116:
5.2.2 Survey ResultsFinland compete
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Newspaper chains were the logical r
Page 119 and 120:
5.3 United Kingdom5.3.1 Country Rep
Page 121 and 122:
• Daily Mail and General Trust: D
Page 123 and 124:
Is there a works council at your ne
Page 125 and 126:
Economic revenue (%) Fig. 61234510,
Page 127 and 128:
Service for civil society (%) Fig.
Page 129 and 130:
Do you feel free to voice and write
Page 131:
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 146 and 147:
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
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Only in 2003, the daily newspaper L
Page 164 and 165:
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
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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:
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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