Russian Presidential Rights Council Calls for Denationalization of TV Channels

(Interfax – Moscow, 13 March 2013) The Presidential Council for Human Rights has called for a reform to denationalize federal TV channels in the next few years because it believes that the level of the authorities’ influence on their information policy is blocking the formation of an appropriate picture of modern Russian society.

“The Council considers it necessary to recommend that the concentration of electronic mass media in the hands of the state and municipal authorities should be limited by legislation. A concept of a gradual denationalization of the mass media should be developed, providing at least 5-7 years to implement this task, starting with the denationalization of the ‘big three’ (Channel One, Rossiya 1 and NTV),” reads a statement on the official website of the Human Rights Council.

This proposal is included in the recommendations of the Council’s Standing Committee for freedom of information and rights of journalists, adopted at the end of a special meeting of the Presidential Council. In an absentee voting, 42 members of the council voted for this document, one voted against and one abstained, while another 18 members did not vote.

“Develop and legislatively define a mechanism for transparent tenders for government grants in order to have fair coverage of specific significant issues and events of public interest,” read the recommendations of the website of the council.

Members of the Human Rights Council state that the federal TV channels remain the most influential mass media in the country, although the level of trust in them is gradually declining. “This is due to the fact that national television is dominated solely by the view of the political majority in the authorities, while the positions of some socially significant population groups are represented clearly inadequately,” the statement on the council’s website reads.

“The state’s continuing domination of the national television market is blocking the formation of an appropriate picture of the diversity of modern Russian society,” the document reads.

The council recommends that the heads of state-controlled TV channels be invited to take part in the development of transparent mechanisms for creating and functioning of public boards of trustees under the presidential decree “On Information Stability and Requirements for TV and Radio Broadcasting”.

“Develop and legislatively define a mechanism of redistribution of advertising revenue, derived as a bonus of using public assets, among different TV channels as well as individual programmes (editorial offices) in order to support pluralism on television,” the recommendations of the Human Rights Council read.

Members of the council propose to legislatively define mechanisms of state-public financial support for current affairs discussion programmes on federal TV channels.

Among other things, the Presidential Council recommends that the relevant ministries and departments should pay attention to the need to create equal conditions for the mass media’s access to (broadcasting) frequencies, ensure transparency of procedures for obtaining and renewing licenses for television and radio broadcasting, and legislatively define the principle of the communications operators’ non-interference in the policy of the mass media.