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Media Landscape - Slovakia

INTRODUCTION

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Slovakia is a small nation with 5.4 million inhabitants. There are two important minorities: about half a million of Hungarians and about 350,000 Roma. This makes any generalizations about national media output and consumption based on per capita statistics potentially slightly misleading. On the one hand, obviously, many ethnic Hungarians do watch broadcasting or read media in Slovak language, in addition to broadcasting or media for minorities in their language in Slovakia, but almost all of them also watch broadcasting from Hungary in their language.

On the other hand, although there are some media for Roma in Roma language also in Slovakia, but the dominant source of information and entertainment for Roma seems to be television broadcasting in Slovak language or in Hungarian language. There is some limited broadcasting in Roma in both public radio and television broadcasting too.

Almost all ethnic Slovaks are bilingual in Slovak and Czech languages. This makes the penetration of Czech programmes easier, especially in television broadcasting. Although programmes for children must be translated from Czech language into Slovak language, it is quite common to broadcast foreign programmes with Czech dubbing in Slovak electronic media.

Historically, public radio broadcasting has always had the highest quality of cultural programmes, while Slovak Television broadcasts, as well as broadcasts of the most important private television Markíza had been heavily influenced by politics in the late 1990s.


1. WRITTEN PRESS

The most popular daily newspaper is tabloid Nový Čas (Ringier, circulation 190,000 in 2006). The most popular opinion- making daily newspaper is Sme. There were nine national or multiregional independent daily newspapers in Slovakia in 2006 (a network of daily regional newspapers is considered to be statistically only one daily), and two city evening newspapers. The story of publishing of evening newspapers shows a negative trend, while the number of published daily newspapers has stabilized in the last few years.

While there is trend of decline in circulation and readership of daily newspapers, there is increase in circulation and readership of weeklies, newspapers and magazines. There were 1, 424 newspapers and magazines published in 2005 in contrast to 886 newspapers and magazines published in 2004 and 1,100 journals and magazines published in 2003.

In the market of magazines and journals, the two most successful important publishers are the Swiss Ringier with a 60% market share and the Slovak publisher Spoločnos? 7 Plus. Some specialized magazines and journals are published by Dow-Jones/Handelsblatt.

The most popular weekly magazine is Plus 7 dní, followed by Báječná žena and Markíza.


2. AUDIOVISUAL MEDIA

Three quarters of Slovaks watch television broadcast every day and in general more than half of Slovaks consider TV as the most trustworthy source of information, followed by radio (19 %), newspapers (15 %) and internet (12 %). The most trusted medium (as an institution) has always been the public Slovak Radio in the last 15 years. In the period between December 2001 and April 2005 the level of public trust in the public radio was between 74 and 78 %.

The most popular radio station is private travell radio Expres, followed by public radio Rádio Slovensko and private Fun rádio. The most popular TV station is Markíza, followed by first public channel Jednotka STV and private JOJ.

Radio

There are 23 radio stations in Slovakia in 2006, in addition to four domestic public radio stations. This is almost a fixed number in the last few years, although, obviously, some radio stations were established some vanished or changed their names. Out of these 23 private radio stations, seven are multiregional radio stations: Rádio Okey, Rádio Express, Viva, Fund Radio, Rádio Lumen and Rádio 7.

More than 85 per cent of the population aged above 14 years listens to radio broadcasts according to long-term research. Thus, it is the second most popular medium after television broadcast in Slovakia. The Slovak Radio (SRo) has the following channels: Rádio Slovensko, which broadcasts news and current affairs for listeners aged 25-49 years.

Rádio Regina represents three regional studios with regional information. Rádio Regina is a family radio with a high ratio of folk music. Rádio Devín broadcasts arts and culture and mainly classical music. Rádio FM broadcasts youth programmes, as well as popular and alternative music. Rádio FM broadcasts for young people aged 14 to 25 years. Rádio Patria broadcasts for national minorities.

Radio Slovakia International is an international broadcast in foreign languages, including broadcast in Slovak language for the Slovaks living abroad. It has limited its foreign broadcast significantly in summer 2006. Radio INET is broadcasting via Internet.

Television

There is the public television Slovenská televízia (Slovak Television, STV) with two channels, (1) Jednotka and (2) Dvojka. Then there are the national private terrestrial/satellite digital/cable television stations Markíza (CME Media Enterprises B.V., A.R.J. and Media Invest) and terresttrial/cable Joj (J&T Bank) and satellite/cable/terrestrial news television TA3 (J&T Finance Group).

Some specialized national or multiregional television stations are also on the market. There is one national TV station NAUTIK TV, which broadcasts only via satellite. Its program is focused at everything related to water. The teleshopping TVA television channel broadcasts in major cities.

TV MUSIC BOX/NAŠA broadcasts only music programmes digitally via satellite and then through KDS technology. Moooby TV broadcasts music and entertainment and ETV – medicus broadcast educational programmes via satellite.

In addition to these multiregional stations, there are over one-hundred local/city television stations, info channels and teleshopping channels. The most popular channel in 2006 was Markíza (between 31 -36 % market share with a positive trend), Jednotka (18-21 % with a negative trend), Joj (15-17 %, stable), Dvojka (5-6 %) and TA3 (1.3-2%). Czech television stations attracted about 8-9 % and the another TV stations about 14-15 % of viewers.


3. ONLINE MEDIA

All daily newspapers have their own websites. There is an increasing trend towards pay-per-read services in case of commentaries and longer articles of journals. Most media websites offer limited versions of their regular content, but some, particularly with very low circulation like Slovo, publish online full texts of all articles.

The daily Sme was the first daily that established its own site for bloggers in 2004/2005. Some articles from this site are being published in this daily.

There are several specialised news portals in Slovakia: bleskovky.sk (produced by Nový čas. This is the most popular news portal in Slovakia), webnoviny.sk (produced by SITA news agency) and the more recent and professional news portal aktualne.sk.

Almost two thirds of citizens do not use internet at all, and about half of the population does not see any reason why to use Internet.

Less than one quarter of all citizens have access to internet at home, but more than one third of those who do not have access to internet at home do have access to internet at work.


4. NEWS AGENCIES

There are two major domestic news agencies: the private Slovak Information and Press Agency (SITA) and state supported Press Agency of the Slovak Republic (TASR).

In addition to these two universal news agencies, there is the specialised Roma News Agency RPA.


5. MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS

The major professional organization for journalists is the Slovak Syndicate of Journalists with 2,100 members. This is a politically independent organization. There is also more politically oriented organization, the Slovak Association of Journalists with about 500 or less members.

The main regulatory bodies for electronic media are Council for Broadcasting and Retransmission, Council of Slovak Television as well as Radio Council. The Press Council deals with ethical issues in the print media.


6. MEDIA POLICIES

There is freedom of expression in the media in Slovakia. However, it is relatively easy for some public figures to sue successfully the media even in the case of cartoons. Also, there is a strict law and quite tough policy that does not allow raising questions about holocaust or racist remarks.

Completely new laws have been passed on public television and public radio by the parliament in 2003 and 2004 respectively.

A number of specialised/minority periodicals are being sponsored by various state bodies.

There is slow process of preparation for digitalisation of radio and television broadcasting. The basic policy rules of digital broadcasting have been issued in early 2006 by the Ministry of Culture.


7. ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEMS

There are various state and non-governmental bodies which monitor ethical and professional behaviour of the media and journalists. The quality of media monitoring and accountability has improved in the last years. The professional and ethical behaviour of electronic media is being supervised primarily by the Council for Broadcasting and Retrasmission, and less so by the Council of Slovak Television and the Radio Council.

There is also ABC Audit Office which regularly publishes verified data about printed and sold publications. However, it covers only those publications and publishers which voluntarily agreed to join this system. There is voluntary non-state Ethical Commision which deals with unethical behaviour of advertisers or with controversial ads.

An Ethics Code has been approved by the Slovak Syndicate of Journalists in 1990. Yet its real implementation began in 2002, when the Press Council of the Slovak Republic was established. The Press Council resumed its activities in autumn 2005 after somehow low activity in 2004 and in the first half of 2005. The Press Council is little known among wider public and not very known even among quite many journalists.


8. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS AND FUTURE TRENDS

Indirect political influence in television and radio councils remains present because even so-called independent candidates elected in the Radio Council in early 2006 as well as in the Council of Slovak Television in September 2006 were in fact mostly close to political parties. However, there is some positive trend because majority of new members have some experience with the media.

There is draft of a new press law which would subsitute almost five times changed and forty year old press law. This draf law has been criticised mainly because of its length. The new draft of Press Law was seen as too detailed from the point of Union of Publishers and there were some controversial aims like voluntary registration of journalists at Ministry of Culture which was not welcome by the Slovak Syndicate of Journalists.

However, although the latter objection was cleared in the process of negotations, early parliamentary elections stopped in June 2006 any further legislation process until the autumn of 2006. There were some progressive features in this new draft Press Law like definition of who is actually journalist. This definition would guarantee some rights to journalists regardless of their other status, like membership in professional journalistic organisations.

The Government Platform has promised to create a new legislative, financial and organizational framework for public service media.

The Government Platform has promised to pass a new law on the TASR agency as well as a new press law. The Government Platform mentions also legislation and proper financial conditions for digital broadcasting. There is also political aim to give some support for audiovisual works and European co-production as well as more use of Slovak dabing.

Among very specific goals of the government is the idea to prepare conception of media education.

There is already a draft law on public broadcast and protection of audiovisual and multi media works. There is new draft law which would link lincence fees for public radio and television services to consumption of electricity. Untill now licence fees are linked to ownership of TV and radio sets.


9. REFERENCES


10. AUTHOR

Andrej Školkay is a media analysts based in Slovakia. Contact:


11. MEDIA RESOURCES

Newspapers

Weeklies

Audio/Visual Media

Media Institutions

Blogs/Civil Media

Excerpt from EUROPEAN MEDIA GOVERNANCE: THE NATIONAL AND REGIONAL DIMENSIONS, published by Intellect (http://www.intellectbooks.com).

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