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Licenses

New Reports Detail Little Progress in Fight Against Soft Censorship

Posted on October 29, 2015 Leave a Comment

Soft censorship continues to be a major threat to press freedom and the governments of Hungary, Mexico and Serbia appear unwilling to follow recommendations that would guarantee a non-discriminatory allocation of public funds and government advertising across the media.updates-and-logo-w

This is the common conclusion of three new reports examining soft censorship practices in Hungary, Mexico and Serbia launched today by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) and the Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) in Washington D.C.

Official soft censorship, or indirect censorship, is defined as “an array of official actions intended to influence media output, short of legal or extra-legal bans, direct censorship of specific content, or physical attacks on media outlets or media practitioners.”

Published with the support of the Open Society Foundations and research partners Mertek Media Monitor (Hungary), BIRN Serbia, and Fundar (Mexico), the three new reports provide an updated analysis of the situation as uncovered in detailed country studies conducted in 2013.

By using financial power to pressure media outlets, punish critical reporting and reward favourable coverage, biased government intervention in media sectors across the three countries not only distorts the market, but also makes it difficult for media to exercise their essential watchdog role.

“Articles of Asphyxiation: Soft Censorship in Hungary 2015 Update” shows that pressures on free and independent media
in Hungary are accelerating and that the Fidesz government is enacting new and ever-broader laws and regulations that aim to control media output. The introduction of an advertising tax and other recently passed laws, together with the unfair and opaque allocation of government advertising show that intervention in the media market aggressively increased throughout 2014 and the first half of 2015.

“Media Reform Stalled in the Slow Lane: Soft Censorship in Serbia 2015 Update” highlights small improvements to the media-related legal framework in Serbia, such as thenew Law on Public Information and Media which regulates financial relations between the state and media outlets. However, as reiterated by the new report, efforts to reform legislation alone will not suffice if the Serbian government does not fully respect these regulations.Biased subsidies to media outlets, selective government advertising contracts, and manipulation regarding licensing continue to persist in the country.

“Breaking Promises, Blocking Reform: Soft Censorship in Mexico 2015 Update” (also available in Spanish) concludes that despite presidential promises, soft censorship – most conspicuously in the form of the partisan allocation of government advertising – remains a powerful impediment to a free, independent and pluralistic media in Mexico. Despite President Enrique Peña Nieto’s 2012 pledge to create a body to oversee government advertising, regulation of the sector remains weak. Lawmakers have failed to meet deadlines to establish a legal framework, while new legislation proposed by members of the Mexican Congress to regulate government advertising has not progressed. While positive developments such as a General Law on Transparency and Access to Public Government Information promises broad access to government advertising data, compliance has so far proven extremely weak.

Through more detailed research into soft censorship practices globally, WAN-IFRA and CIMA are drawing attention to the kinds of widespread and deleterious problems facing independent media that rarely generate the same level of international outrage as direct attacks on the press. The findings and recommendations of the soft censorship research series aim to contribute to the implementation of fair and transparent rules that are necessary for the development of independent media sectors around the world.

Country reports detailing soft censorship practices in Bulgaria, Macedonia and Montenegro are currently being finalised and will be published later in 2015.

Posted in: Advertising, Audits, Bribery, Cases, Europe, Mexico, Other Administrative Pressures, Paid News, Reports, Subsidies, Taxes | Tagged: Advertising, Audits, Bribery, Europe, General, Licenses, Other administrative pressures, Paid "News", Subsidies, Taxes, The Americas

The transition to digital bradcasting punishes critical media in Venezuela

Posted on August 26, 2015 Leave a Comment

In February 2013, CONATEL initiated the transition to digital broadcastingIn February 2013, CONATEL initiated the transition to digital broadcasting in urban areas. Although the decree announcing the switch promoted pluralism in the diffusion of ideas and emphasized more efficient use of the broadcast spectrum, 8 of the 11 stations selected for digital transmission are state run. Only two private channels, Venevisión and Televen, were selected for digital transmission, and each focuses more on entertainment than on news programming. Globovisión, long the most vocal opposition-oriented station, was excluded from the transition.

Source: Freedom of the Press 2015 – Venezuela https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2015/venezuela#.VY0cvkv_9EQ 

Posted in: Cases, Licenses, Licenses, taxes, imports and audits, The Americas | Tagged: Licenses, Other administrative pressures, The Americas

Russia silences independent broadcaster

Posted on May 6, 2015 Leave a Comment

Broadcasting licenses of the award-winning channel TV-2 in Tomsk were withdrawn by the Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Network (RTRS) and the federal oversight body for telecommunications, as Freedom House reported in February 2015.

Its broadcasts were suspended for a month in spring 2014 due to technical difficulties of a local division of RTRS, the state monopoly that owns terrestrial air broadcasting facilities across the country; in November 2014, RTRS announced it would not renew TV-2’s contract after its expiration in December. Also, Roskomnadzor, the federal telecommunications agency, reversed its decision to renew its cable broadcasting license until 2025.

“The government’s haste and secrecy in silencing Tomsk’s only independent TV station shows that this broadcaster has become inconvenient to the state,” said Karin Deutsch Karlekar, director of the Freedom of the Press project at Freedom House. “TV-2 has become known in Tomsk, Russia, and abroad as a regional media outlet providing objective coverage of social, political and economic issues rarely covered by state-owned broadcasters. To lose such a champion is a serious blow to the dwindling freedom of speech in Russia.”

Russia is rated Not Free in Freedom in the World 2015, Not Free in Freedom of the Press 2014, Partly Free in Freedom on the Net 2014, and received a democracy score of 6.29 on a scale of 1-7, with 7 being the worst possible score, in Nations in Transit 2014. 

 

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Posted in: Cases, Europe, Licenses, Licenses, taxes, imports and audits | Tagged: Asia, Europe, Licenses, Other administrative pressures

Jordan only allows ‘licensed’ news sites

Posted on April 13, 2015 Leave a Comment

News sites continue to be subject to closure in Jordan unless they accede to the licensing demands, as IPI denounces in an interview with the editor of the news site 7iber.com, Lina Ejellat. She, as other editors, explains in an interview that the law has had a significant effect on Jordan’s media landscape.

According to her: “Ever since the [licensing] law was debated in Parliament, we took a very strong position against the idea of requiring online media to get a government license. We believe that not even print media should be required to get a government license with the kind of conditions that come with that license, because we think that the idea of getting permission to start a media platform is something that is a form of censorship”.

Now nearly two years have passed since Jordanian authorities blocked over 200 websites for failing to obtain a license in accordance with a then-recent amendment to the country’s Press and Publications Law. The amendment requires online news sites to be licensed to operate as such and to have an editor affiliated with the Jordan Press Association, a professional syndicate founded in 1953 with the majority of its members working for state media. Notably, all editors of newly licensed sites are considered legally accountable not only for the journalistic content, but also for reader comments.

7iber and other news sites have tried relentlessly to circumvent the ban by switching domains, but after being blocked repeatedly and risking fines, they have found no other solution than applying for a license.

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Posted in: Asia, Licenses, taxes, imports and audits | Tagged: Asia, Licenses, Other administrative pressures

Biased awarding of licenses continues in Ukraine

Posted on April 13, 2015 Leave a Comment

The National Television and Radio Broadcasting Council (Natsrada) remains unreformed and regularly applies regulations in a secretive and highly partisan manner, according to Freedom House.

The council used the transition from analogue to digital television broadcasting in 2011 to deny licenses to editorially independent stations such as TVi, TRC Chernomorskaya, and Rivne 1, while awarding digital licenses to pro-government stations or new outlets that were registered abroad to unknown owners.

Allegations of bias in the awarding of licenses continued in 2013. In November, the national channel 112 Ukraina—believed to be connected to first deputy prime minister Serhiy Arbuzov—was created after Natsrada allowed five companies licensed in 2011 to merge. The channel was rapidly integrated into cable, satellite, and Internet platforms, a process that would normally take years.

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Posted in: Europe, Licenses, taxes, imports and audits | Tagged: Europe, Licenses, Other administrative pressures

Mexican broadcast spectrum used to censor

Posted on March 31, 2015

THE AMERICAS — MEXICO — LICENCES, AUDITS & IMPORTS

In Mexico, allocation of the broadcast spectrum is a distinct soft censorship mechanism, used particularly to restrict community broadcasting.

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Posted in: Cases, Licenses, taxes, imports and audits, The Americas | Tagged: Licenses, Other administrative pressures, The Americas

Broadcasting licences dependent on relationships in Hungary

Posted on March 31, 2015

EUROPE — HUNGARY — LICENCES, AUDITS & IMPORTS

Revocation and granting of broadcast licenses in Hungary has appeared to be directly related to owners’ links with the parties in power.

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Posted in: Cases, Europe, Licenses, taxes, imports and audits | Tagged: Europe, Licenses, Other administrative pressures

"Official 'soft censorship' describes an array of official actions intended to influence media output, short of legal or extra-legal bans, direct censorship of specific content, or physical attacks on media outlets or media practitioners."

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