Mass Media in Belarus
A variety of print media and electronic media
of different forms of ownership is operating in Belarus. Foreign media are
widely represented in the national media space, too.
Print mass media in
Belarus
As of 1 January 2015, 713 newspapers and 808
magazines were published in Belarus. More than two thirds of them are private.
Printed press is available mainly in the
Belarusian and Russian languages, though there are some newspapers in English,
Polish, Ukrainian and German.
The most influential newspapers include Belarus
Segodnya and the Respublika. Local editions of major Russian newspapers
Komsomolskaya Pravda and Argumenty i Fakty are very popular in Belarus, too.
All in all, more than 4,000 print media outlets
are distributed throughout the country, including those from Russia, Ukraine,
Kazakhstan, the USA, the UK, Germany, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Poland,
Lithuania, Latvia.
News Agencies of
Belarus
Nine national news agencies, including seven
private ones, operate in Belarus.
The BelTA News Agency is the country’s biggest
news agency, having the correspondent network in all the regions of the
country.
Besides the local news agencies, Russia’s
ITAR-TASS and Prime-TASS news agencies have their offices in Minsk. The
correspondents of the leading world agencies Reuters and Associated Press also
work in Minsk.
E-media in Belarus
As of 1 January 2015, there were 172 radio
broadcast stations and 94 television broadcast stations in Belarus. 27 radio
stations and 60 TV broadcast stations were private.
The majority of public radio stations is run by
the local authorities.
There are 30 FM radio stations in Belarus,
including Radius FM, Radio Unistar (Belarusian-German media project), Europe
plus and others.
The target audience of the Belarus radio
station is foreigners interested in local events. The radio station airs
programs not only in Belarusian and Russian, but also in English, German,
Polish, French, Spanish and Chinese.
There are 5 national TV broadcasters in
Belarus: Belarus 1 TV Channel, Belarus 2 TV Channel, ONT TV Channel, CTV and
international satellite channel Belarus TV.
The broadcasting of International satellite
channel Belarus-TV was launched in 2005. The programs of the channel are
transmitted via Express-AM22 and Galaxy 19 satellites.
Today the broadcasting covers more than 60
countries. The channel is available to viewers from Europe, Middle East,
Central Asia, Africa and North America. The programs are aired 24/7 in Russian
and Belarusian languages. The channel also provides online broadcasting on the
Internet.
Over 100 international channels, including
Euronews, BBC, Eurosport are broadcasted via cable TV.
Today Belarus is switching from an analog to a
digital broadcast television. The process is due to finish by 2015.
Digital TV is available to 94%of the country’s
population.
Mass Media Legislation
in Belarus
The Constitution of the Republic of Belarus and
the Law "On Mass Media", updated in 2008, constitutes the legal basis
of the media activity in Belarus.
The Constitution of the Republic of Belarus
guarantees the freedom of thought, belief and expression, prohibits the
monopolization of the media and censorship.
The Law "On Mass Media" formalizes the
basic principles of mass media’s activity: accuracy, equality, respect for
human rights and freedoms, diversity of views; protection of morals; observance
of the norms of journalist’s professional ethics.
The law is the basis for introducing the elements
of self-regulation in the media field in Belarus. To this end, the Public
Coordination Council on the Media was set up.
It consists of representatives of mass media, journalism organizations
and experts.
Plan of your topic:
1. Introduction. Role of mass media in modern life. Types of mass media.
2. Mass Media in Belarus. All the types + examples+ main facts about Mass
Media Legislation in Belarus.
3. Conclusions. Mass media in your life. Press or the Net (why). Do you
watch TV? (Why? Why not?)
