From hungary-online-owner Thu Apr 20 04:29:12 1995 Received: from localhost (daemon@localhost) (fnord) by nando.yak.net (8.6.5/8.6.5) id EAA03274 for hungary-online-out31415; Thu, 20 Apr 1995 04:29:12 -0700 Received: from localhost (daemon@localhost) (fnord) by nando.yak.net (8.6.5/8.6.5) id EAA03263; Thu, 20 Apr 1995 04:28:58 -0700 Received: from jhorv@mars.iif.hu () via =-=-=-=-=-= for hol@hungary.yak.net (3261) Received: from mars.iif.hu (mars.iif.hu [192.84.225.92]) (fnord) by nando (8.6.5/8.6.5) with SMTP id EAA03258 for ; Thu, 20 Apr 1995 04:28:07 -0700 Received: by mars.iif.hu (5.67a8+/ULTRIX-1.01) id AA00131; Thu, 20 Apr 1995 13:26:45 +0200 Date: Thu, 20 Apr 1995 13:26:43 +0200 (MET DST) From: John Horvath To: Hungary On-line Subject: (HOL) Media in Eastern Europe Message-Id: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII X-Charset: US X-Char-Esc: 0 Sender: owner-Hungary-Online@hungary.yak.net Precedence: bulk Reply-To: Hungary-Online@hungary.yak.net Steve -- I thought this might be of some interest to you. John :) The Changing Face of the Mass Media in Eastern Europe by John Horvath The historian Arnold Tonybee once concluded that before the death of a civilization there is a "flowering" period in art and culture. Applying this observation to the mass media, it would seem that eastern Europe provides a microcosm of Tonybee's view of world history. After a flowering period of only a few years, eastern European mass media is already in an advanced state of decay. Although eastern Europe is not a homogenous entity, as events in the Balkans and elsewhere sadly prove, all nations within the former East Bloc have some media concerns in common. Virtually every media establishment has a special section or department engaged in "commercial activities". These commercial activities mainly consist of looking for western sponsors, investors, and advertisers. The media played a fundamental role in the collapse of the communist regimes of eastern Europe. Reports of mass demonstrations in Leipzig, East Germany, scenes of the police clashing with students on the streets of Prague, and the pictures of protest in Bucharest coupled with the subsequent paralysis of Ceausescu during a political rally all helped to speed and intensify the feeling of change. What is ironic is that this same media is now suffering because of cutbacks in state subsidies due to these changes it helped bring about. Death by its Own Hand Although quality of journalism differs from country to country, with a fairly liberal press in the Czech Republic to an ultra-conservative, at times xenophobic, press in Romania, newspapers throughout eastern Europe are still, for the most part, in the form of an advocacy press, representing the interests of a political party or faction. Independent broadcasting is still not well developed and is mostly under government control. As a result, it can't be said that there exists a free and independent media anywhere in eastern Europe. While it can also be argued that a truly free and independent media does not even exist in the west, eastern Europe is nevertheless further away from this ideal than need be. What was common throughout the region as the edifice of communist power was breached five years ago was the mushrooming of the print media. Newsstands throughout eastern Europe became choked with a myriad of publications, ranging from political analysis to alternative lifestyles and playboy. (Pornography was the fastest expanding since it was shunned by the previous regime.) In Poland alone over 600 newspapers were established after Solidarity came to power in 1989. Many of these newly established publications were either samzidat (underground) publications coming into the open or publications that resurfaced after having been closed down and banned after the communist assumption of power in the region. Subsequently, with the introduction of varying degrees of market reforms and privatization, western media interests, such as media magnates Robert Maxwell and Rupert Murdoch, quickly moved in; in many cases, into areas where it was still not clear who owned what. It was at this point that some countries became concerned and wary about the issue of foreign ownership. It was not long, however, before a sharp decline matching the initial wave of enthusiasm set in. The main reason for the decline was economic. As Yadviga Yuferova, the former editor-in-chief of Komsomolskaya Pravda, noted: "We used to have one profession -- journalism. Now we have to be managers and economists." Many long-established publications, along with the newly created ones, quickly went out of business. Komsomolskaya Pravda, which in 1990 made the Guinness Book of World Records for having the largest circulation in the world -- almost 23 million -- saw its circulation drop rapidly, losing almost half of its subscribers in only two years In countries where civil strife is rampant, such as in the former Yugoslavia and Russia, inflation is the major problem. Paper and distribution costs suffer from triple and quadruple digit percentage increases. When Pravda began to experience difficulties at the beginning of the decade, the paper had to resort to printing the words "negotiated price" in place of a figure. In some countries, such as the Ukraine, control over the supply of paper is used as an indirect form of censroship. As the situation deteriorated, so too did western support. Western media interests gradually pulled out of many media ventures, citing rash investment decisions and, to a small extent, government regulation. In addition to this, falling living standards have reduced the purchasing power of the average person. Consequently, competition is fierce as the media market continues its gradual decline. Fading to Black This predicament is not only shared by the news media but the entertainment media as well. The situation is, however, a lot better hidden than with the news media. Although many post Cold War films from eastern Europe have been praised by western critics, such as the Russian film Little Vera and the Hungarian film We Never Die, financial constraints, falling attendance, and a search for identity caused by the political transition of the late eighties have all contributed to a general decline in the film industry throughout eastern Europe. As with other sectors of the economy, the film industry was heavily subsidized by the former communist governments. Control of the purse strings ultimately meant control of the films produced, which more or less -- but not always -- had to toe the party line. As with the news media, with the collapse of communism and the subsequent end of state subsidies film makers have had to seek for a wider audience, including foreign viewers. Also, western fund-raising techniques were quickly introduced of which almost no one had any prior experience. Consequently, some of eastern Europe's leading film makers have responded to the growing economic pressures by temporarily retiring from the film industry. Others have involved themselves in more profitable activities, such as making TV commercials. Another major escape is the multi-national film which, in the words of a media analyst, often leads to the "Euro-pudding". Besides the financial plight of film makers, film audiences are on the decline. In Budapest, for instance, attendance has fallen from a yearly average of 17 million viewers before the sociopolitical changes of 1989 to just over five million at present. In conjunction with this, ticket prices have risen over 500% during the same period. The increase in ticket prices has not merely been used to cover the inflationary costs of making a new film, but also to overhaul many of the theaters that are in a bad state of repair. Like many things, anything owned or run by the former regime became run-down and neglected, and movie theaters were no exception. Most theaters have only one screen, uncomfortable wooden chairs, and poor quality sound and projection. Yet falling attendance can't be blamed only on increasing prices and falling real wages. Alternative forms of entertainment also have contributed significantly to the dwindling number of movie-goers. Cable TV, satellite dishes, and VCR's, all which have inundated the region after the fall of communism, provides a source of cheap western entertainment. In Russia, the growth of the home video market has led to a "crisis situation" concerning pirate videos. Caught at the crossroads between the past and future, the film industry in eastern Europe is now undergoing an identity crisis. Under communism, film was not merely a form entertainment but a mirror of real life under socialism. It tended to be more interesting socially and politically, and often parodied the myriad of polemics that people daily struggled with. Moreover, film makers previously strove to create films considered "art" in the classical European sense. Nowadays, the most popular types of films are action-packed thrillers, especially those with a liberal helping of violence. Rambo-type movies are still the craze, especially throughout Russia; and when violence is not enough, pornography is added as variety. For serious movie-goers and art critics, this sad state of affairs already heralds the decline of civilization as American film, which is regarded by some as mere "commercialism", has overwhelmed true art and culture in favor of pleasing the audience. Reading Between the Lines Still, the main argument used in favor of the present state of both the news and entertainment media is the assumption that under the previous regimes eastern European media was nothing more than a perpetuator of lies, a weapon of the Cold War used indiscriminately by the communists. Yet many westerners who lived in eastern Europe during the Cold War years were usually surprised to find that those on the "other side" of the Iron Curtain were at time better informed than those in the west. During the sixties and seventies, when most of the communist regimes of eastern Europe had undertaken programs to "liberalize" their regimes, the way in which the media -- and intellectuals in particular -- were treated changed. Although they could never be fully independent, the media was given, nonetheless, a quasi-independent status, in where little was expected of them in return for a limited amount of freedom to pursue their interests and concerns through themes related to national and sociological issues. While the media still served as a form of social control for the government, it also served as an outlet that enabled the intelligentsia to criticize the government in a tacit sort of way. By allowing the intelligentsia and media together to deal with their favorite subjects (such as suicide in Hungary and alcoholism in Russia) semi-independently, the communist governments throughout eastern Europe were able to elicit their passive support. As for those on the receiving end, people eventually perfected the art of "reading between the lines", a skill that is still absent in the west since everybody is under the illusion of a "free press". Because people were aware of inconsistencies and inaccurate information they received from the media, accentuated by their increasing contacts with foreigners, people tended to be more skeptical and were less likely to take what they read, saw, or heard at face value. Knowing that their governments not always told the truth, or at least hid it from view, it can be said that many people within eastern Europe were more free than in the west since they knew they were not "free" and were subsequently not under any illusions of a "free media". In the end, the concept of freedom -- that is, the "freedom" of the market -- is what poses as the biggest threat to personal liberty in eastern Europe. As Yuferova aptly put it, complaining about the financial constraints levied on the media: "how can there be any freedom if there is no newspaper?" ############# # This message to Hungary-Online@hungary.yak.net # was from John Horvath # # To unsubscribe, # send "unsubscribe" to # An announcement-only subscription (less volume) is available # at # Send mail to for more information, # or to if you need human assistance. #############