De-globalization of Media in Central

and Eastern Europe?

Implications for Journalistic Autonomy
Vclav ttka
Senior Research Fellow
Department of Politics and International Relations
University of Oxford
BETWEEN ADOPTION AND ADAPTATION:
CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVES ON JOURNALISM AND MEDIA CHANGE IN CENTRAL EUROPE

Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, 14 October 2011

 Dominant paradigm of CEE media markets

transformation: globalization / Westernization
Foreign investors / transnational companies started
entering after 1990; the pace + scope of
internationalization depending on:
scheme for privatization + type of legislation
size + prospect for growth of the market
political stability

Many foreign players who were at the forefront of the

invasion lost ground after several years Hersant,
Berlusconi, Maxwell, Kirch

Market domination of foreign-owned

media companies around 2000
TV &
newspapers
Hungary
Czech Republic
Estonia
Bulgaria
Slovakia

TV

newspapers

Latvia
Lithuania
Romania
Slovenia

Poland

Coming of foreign investors: hopes ...

Western media corporations believed:
to secure greater autonomy of the local media;
to set up Western-style practices and democratic
media culture;
to provide with resources and know-how
In many countries in East-Central Europe it was argued
that without foreign investment into the media it
would have been impossible to improve newsprint and
printing quality, modernise editorial offices and most
importantly, to establish and equip radio and
television stations
(Splichal, 2001: 46).

... and concerns

/.../ aggressive commercial policies are being pursued at the
expense of journalistic standards, threatening pluralism and
undermining journalists professional and social rights (EFJ,
2003: 4).
/.../ the steady encroachment of transnational media into CEE
countries /.../ raises the crucial question of whether media systems
in these CEE countries can become representative of public
interests and civil concerns when key decisions about investment
and even editorial attitudes towards political issues may be decided
elsewhere. (EFJ 2003: 62)

The only thing that foreign investors are interested in is

profit.
Foreign investors have the colonisers mentality. They dont
care about quality and mission.
(quotes from interviews with CEE journalists, 2010)

From transnationals to locals:

de-globalization of CEE media markets?
2006, Orkla Media (-> Mecom) sold its stakes in Lithuanian press (->
Hermis Capital)
2007-2008, Handelsblatt Verlag left Bulgaria (-> Economedia / Ivo
Prokopiev), Czech Republic and Slovakia (-> Economia / Zdenk Bakala)
2009, Bonnier left Latvia, having sold Diena Group (-> Rowland Family ->
Viesturs Koziols), and in 2010 they left Croatia
2009, Northcliffe International left Slovakia, having sold Pravda (-> J&T)
2009-2010, News Corporation pulled out of free-TV business in Poland (TV
Puls), Latvia (LNT + TV5 -> Andrejs Ekis), Bulgaria (bNT -> CME) and Serbia
2010, Ringier sold its shares in two newspapers in Romania (-> Bobby
Paunescu)
2010, WAZ left Romania (Medien Holding -> Dan Adamescu), Bulgaria
(Newspaper Group Bulgaria - > BG Privatinvest - > Ognyan Donev and
Lyubomir Pavlov) and Serbia
2011 Mecom left Poland (Presspublica [Rzeczpospolita] -> Grzegorz
Hajdarowicz)
2011 MTG Metro left Hungary (Metropol -> Lajos Simicska)

Print media (national + regional)

WAZ
Verlagsgruppe Passau
Rheinische Post
Axel Springer
Verlagsgruppe Handelsblatt
Ringier
Metro International
Bonnier
Schibsted
Mecom (formerly Orkla)
Northcliffe International
Styria Verlag
Television (national)
MTG
CME
News Corp.
RTL (Bertelsmann)
ProSiebenSat1/ SBS
Schibsted

GER
GER
GER
GER
GER
SWI
SWE
SWE
NOR
GBR
UK
AUT

SWE
USA c
USA
GER
GER
NOR

Slovenia

Slovakia

Romania

Poland

Lithuania

Latvia

Hungary

Estonia

Czech Rep.

Bulgaria

Home base

Transnational ownership in
CEE news markets
( left since 2006)

Market position of foreign-owned media in

Central and Eastern Europe (2010/2011)
Nr of foreignowned daily
newspapers in
TOP 5 (2011)

Bulgaria
Czech Rep.
Estonia
Hungary
Latvia
Lithuania
Poland
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia

0
4
1.5*
4
0
0
1
1
2
1.5*

% of circulation
of foreignowned
newspapers in
TOP 5 (2010)
0
85%
66%
82%
0
0
36%
31%
56%
17%

Nr of foreignowned national
TV stations in
TOP 3 (2010)

3
1.5*
3
3
1
1
0
1
1
3

* 0.5 counted when the foreign ownership share is 50%

Country Name

Bulgaria Sasho Donchev

Main company
(majority owner /
CEO)
Overgas

Main area(s) of business

Media ownership (main outlets)

gas distribution

Sega

New World Resources Coal mining, coking plants, energy Hospodarske noviny; Ekonom;
production
Respekt; several B2B magazines
PPF Group
Private equities,
Euro
real estate, insurance, banking
Real estate, development
Tden; Instinkt
Sebastian Pawlowski Copa Group

Czech
Zdenk Bakala
Republic
Petr Kellner

Hungary Gbor Szles

Videoton; Ikarus

Latvia

Ventspils Group

Aivars Lembergs

Magyar Hrlap; Echo TV

Neatkariga Rita Avize

real estate development

Diena
chemical industry, hotel
Lieuvos zinios; Baltijos TV; RC2
management, finances
MG Baltic
Investments; beverage industry, LNK (national TV);Alfa.lt; UPG
Darius Mockus
retail of clothing, real estate
Baltic
Pension funds; insurance; banking; TV Polsat (national free TV + 12
Zygmunt Solorz-ak PTE Polsat; Polisa
Invest Bank; Polkomtel energy; telecommuni-cations
other channels); Cyfrowy Polsat

Viesturs Koziols
Lithuania Bronislovas Lubys

Poland

TV sets + electronics production

Bus production
Oil production + distribution

Tritan
Achema Group

trade, media, energy, industry and

services
Rompetrol Group (until petrochemical industry, refineries;
Dan Patriciu
2007)
real estate, banking
Realitatea-Caavencu Real estates, media, insurance,
Sorin Vntu
Trust
banking
Banking, real estate, corporate
Slovakia Patrik Tk & Ivan J&T Group
investments, services
Jakabovi
Romania Dan Voiculescu

GRIVCO group

Antena TV; Jurnalul Naional;

Gazeta sporturilol
Adevrul ; Click!
Realitatea TV
TV JOJ ; JOJ Plus; Pravda

Examples of instrumentalization
Classical business PR
You need to have a product which appears to be the most credible one,
and only through this product you can once in a while leak information
which is useful for your business. (editor of a commercial TV, Czech
Republic)

Cover-up of corruption scandals / criminal charges against the owners

Lembergs (Latvia); Voiculescu, Patriciu, Vantu (Romania)

Promoting/suppressing political/business allies/competitors

TA3 (news TV, Slovakia): circulating list of people/companies who
can/cannot be interviewed
TV JOJ (owned by J&T, Slovakia) suspended a journalist preparing a critical
report about financing of the party SMER
Euro (business weekly, owned by Petr Kellner): departure of staff members
after Kellners attempts to promote his political allies

Attacking political opponents / protection of political allies

Antena TV (Voiculescu); Realitatea TV (Vantu) attacking incumbent
president Basescu during 2008 elections

Practical & systemic consequences

If not direct editorial interferences, then selfcensorship: scissors in the heads
(Axel Schindler, CEO of WAZ, Bulgaria)

Most of the time, the interests of the owners are not

specifically conveyed to the journalists; there is no
formal policy in these papers saying we cannot attack
these and those people, and so on. So you are in a
position that you dont know exactly who the good
and bad guys are, and you start to do something very
vague not to criticise anybody, because you could be
wrong...
(Alexej Lazarov, editor of Capital, Bulgaria)

Practical & systemic consequences

Coupling of business + media + political power
contradicts the notion of systemic differentiation of
media, which should be becoming
structurally free of directly inhibiting economic, political,
solidary, and cultural entanglements
(J. Alexander 1981, quoted in Jakubowicz, 2001: 73).

Traditional business model of journalism (sales +

advertising) complemented / supplemented by
journalism funded by subsidies from other-than-media
operations
Local media moguls pushing political careers: towards
Italianisation (Splichal, 1994) / Mediterreanisation
(Jakubowicz, 2008) of CEE media systems?

Thank you!
vaclav.stetka@politics.ox.ac.uk

http://mde.politics.ox.ac.uk