Media Journalism Mongolia

Free Journalism in Mongolia

Thursday, 05 January 2006 03:07 Mongoliana

At present there is no state control or censorship of the newspaper and periodical press in Mongolia. A 1998 Law of Freedom of the Media contains many important provisions, including a requirement that "the state shall not impose control over the contents of public information". Following the adoption of the law the government of Mongolia liberalized a few of newspapers controlled by the State. Since 1990 Mongolia has experiencing great upheavals in the economic, political and cultural spheres. Progress in social freedom has come by the great contribution of mass media organs. Mass media has a special role to play, not only by acting as the guardian of the truth, but also by leading the discussion on the main items of the national agenda. Recent years have witnessed an increase in the range of topics taken up in the press and the subjects dealt with are diverse.

The democratic revolution that swept Mongolia in 1990 led to a considerable growth in the press and opened new prospect for press freedom and the journalists' role in society. At the same time a new phenomenon in Mongolia was the appearance of free, independent and pluralistic newspapers and the emergence of new-minded journalists with new political and civil perceptions. 2200 full time employees work in the Mongolian media sector. At present there are 12 educational organizations in Mongolia, including the Mongolian National University, Humanitarian University, State Pedagogical University, Institute of Radio and Television, as well as the private Otgontenger University, Bers institute etc., which play an important role in the training of journalists for higher education and Bachelor degrees. "Free press", "Freelance journalists", "Investigative journalists", "Fourth estate" and "Watch-dog" .., quite new terms, new notions for Mongolian people, are rapidly becoming part and parcel of daily life in the news room.

Various associations, public organizations, government institutions, parties, companies, etc. have their own press services, which keep links and contact with the mass media. These relations are exercised by means of press conferences, press releases, mailings and briefings for journalists. Government agencies in Mongolia are required to provide journalists with information within the framework of the legislation, according to the principles on conduct of journalists every "journalist shall use only fair methods to obtain news, photographs and documents". During the communist regime there was only one journalist organization, the Mongolian Journalists Union. It was established in 1951 and had over 900 members. The national renaissance brought by 1990's democratic revolution paved the way for the emergence of new organizations and democratic institutions. In 1991, the Mongolian Free Democratic Journalists Association (MFDJA) was established and is credited as being the foundation of free and independent press in Mongolia.

Its main aims were:

To establish a national free press;
To advocate for journalist's professional independence;
To protect and support working journalists (with freelance journalists as a priority);
To secure editorial independence and abolish all forms of censorship

MFDJA declared for the first time in Mongolia that either direct or indirect censorship is unacceptable, thus leading to free and independent journalism in Mongolia. Since 1993, MFDJA's initiative the World Press Freedom Day, has being celebrated throughout the country. On this day, journalists express their unity and professional solidarity, share their views on press freedom and discuss the mass media situation in Mongolia. World Press Freedom day is a time for all who believe in democracy and the rule of law to renew their commitment to supporting independent journalists and the crucial role they play in the development of civil society. The main message carried by organizations for press freedom is that it helps generate awareness among citizens that the free and pluralistic media is an inseparable part of human rights and democracy.

In 1992-2000, a project "Free and Independent press in Mongolia" was extended by the Development assistance Agency of Denmark DANIDA, which established the Mongolian Press Institute and "Free press" printing house. After an 11-year separation, Mongolia's journalists united to form a new organization. On April 2,2002, the MJU and MFDJA merged to form the Confederation of Mongolian Journalists. Today, Mongols cannot imagine their lives without the free press. The people of Mongolia have a broad variety of different and competing media. As described in the annual survey of Freedom House (New York), Mongolia moves towards diverse private print and broadcast news services. According to the International Journalists' Community, there are three categories of free press development: free, not free and partly free. Mongolia is listed in the category of Free.

News Agency in Mongolia

Thursday, 05 January 2006 03:06 Mongoliana

The Mongolian mass media obtain their material and sources from domestic and foreign news agencies, internet, correspondents at home and abroad and from direct research. This is a principal function exercised by the Mongolian News Agency (MONTSAME). MONTSAME's role is to "efficiently supply domestic and foreign news to mass media in the country, and inform the world of Mongolia's diverse heritage and contemporary culture". The principles of transparency, objectivity, efficiency and pluralism are the basic standards which MONTSAME news agency sets for all information. Domestic clients receive a comprehensive selection of domestic and translated foreign news items, which cover politics, economics, social affairs, culture, sciences and sport.

MONTSAME clients include government agencies, public and private companies and foreign organizations as well as Mongolian newspapers and broadcasting industries. The agency has its reporters in all 21 aimags and resident correspondents in Moscow, Beijing, Berlin, Washington, Astana, Praha, Seoul and Hanoi. MONTSAME's photo news desk provides photo graphic services -running a special archive and reference information service. The Agency is in the process of "going digital" and issues its photographs to other agencies/newspapers via email with greater speed. Ten years have passed since MONTSAME published the first issue of its weekly 'Human Bichig' newspaper, which is written entirely in the traditional Mongolian script.

Human Bichig is the contribution to preserving Mongolia's intellectual heritage, traditional script. MONTSAME has published the English language "Mongol Messenger" since 1991, the Russian language "Novosti Mongolia" since 1993, the Chinese language "Mengu Syao Shibao" since 1998 and the Japanese language "Mongory Tsushin" since 2003. "MONTSAME News" (Evening urgent news) daily magazine is published since May, 2001, which covers national and international current news. These publications are printed in modern printing houses and serve as a core information source for both domestic and overseas subscribers. Foreign news bulletins are issued daily in English and Russian and provide our subscribers with a comprehensive review of up-to-date news gathered from Mongolian daily newspapers.

Embassies, press offices and foreign organizations operating in Ulaanbaatar subscribe to the bulletins in return for subscription fees. MONTSAME constantly adapts and repositions itself to face its challenging role in the information and communications age. It is the first news agency in Mongolia to ever issue a series of nine "Golden rules", which define MONTSAME's purpose, and guides its employees in improving their standards and raising the competitiveness of the agency. MONTSAME has a cooperation agreement with such news agencies as ITAR-TASS, RIA Novosti (Russia) REUTERS (Great Britain), XINHUA (China), VIA (Vietnam), PT1 (India), YONHAP (Korea), PRENSA LATINA (Cuba) and PPA (Poland) and receives news from the agencies via satellite and computer, supplying its clients with translated daily domestic and foreign news. The agency went online in October 1997.

The Internet opened up new opportunities for MONTSAME in disseminating its news directly to the public. The MONTSAME news agency is a member of the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA), a regional organization with 32 members agencies. OANA serves as an effective Asia and Pacific information network and MONTSAME receives and supplies daily news to the network. A number of other private news agencies in Mongolia such as "Gamma", and "Business news bureau" specialize in the photo service and commercial advertisements began to operate in the mass media market.

Television in Mongolia

Thursday, 05 January 2006 03:05 Mongoliana

Television is a comparatively young media in the country, which began broadcasting its first program 33 years ago. Television viewers appear to have a strong loyalty to the Mongolian National TV, which for many years, has been the only visual information and entertainment medium in Mongolia. UB TV was founded on the basis of the Mongolian TV film studio. As for the private TV channels, they need to improve their programming to win the audiences of the state owned TV. "Channel-25" appears to have made some gains in this area with its widely watched "l:l"-social, political talk show and "hard talk". "Channel-5" focuses primarily on sports and entertainment but also offers political programs. These three TV stations, as well as UBS TV, broadcast to the Ulaanbaatar area. In addition, 24 local TV channels operate in urban areas like Darkhan and Erdenet and various aimags.

While there are private broadcast outlets in Mongolia, none have the range of Mongolian National Television and Radio, which broadcast across Mongolia's vast and remote regions. The year of 2003 was an extraordinary year for televisions operated in Ulaanbaatar. 2 televisions (TVS and TV9) were established newly and one television (Eagle TV) stopped its operation. As TVS began to broadcast through the Internet, the first Internet television of Mongolia was formed. As of ownerships and affiliations of televisions, state owned televisions increased by land private-owned by 3. Total weekly broadcasting hours of MNTV and other televisions broadcasting in Ulaanbaatar increased by 54 percent. Cable TV was first introduced in Mongolia by Sansar CATV Co.,Ltd, Ikh Mongol, Khiimor CATV in 1995.

They became popular especially among those who enjoy no good TV reception due to geographical location. Presently, 17 private cable TV stations operate in Ulaanbaatar and other cities. Mongolian National television owned by the Mongolian Government now broadcasts to Ulaanbaatar in the Mongolian language for a daily average of up to 15 hours. To the rural areas, MNTV broadcasts use different VHP channels, receiving the signal from the satellite or radio relay network signals. In 1981, Mongolian National TV switched to color in the SECAM system, and has been broadcasting in the PAL system since 1999. However, most of its studios still run on the SECAM system.

In 1991, MNTV began broadcasting via the Asiasat satellite and in 1997 switched to the Intelsat. Today some 80 per cent of the Mongolian population watches MNTV. Most equipment in MNTV is Russian or Japanese made, which was installed 1985-1988. MNTV began developing co-operation with foreign partner organizations in 1973 after joining the international organization OIRT. In 1991, MNTV was accepted as a associate member of the ABU (Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union) and became a full ABU member in January 1997. Broadcasting locally produced material, MNTV has TV program exchanges with the Russian public TV system, Japan's NHK, the American CNN, and Germany's ZDF and DW. MNTV has an extensive training exchange programme, notably with NHK.

Radio in Mongolia

Thursday, 05 January 2006 03:03 Mongoliana

Mongols take radio as a companion to start the day and intermittently return to this friend during the course of the day. Listeners expect this companion to both inform and entertain them. A great wave of changes took place in the 1990s with the establishment of a number of private radio studios. At present, 26 FM radio stations broadcast nationwide. They attract more listeners usually by offering a broad range of music and advertisements. Despite the increasing popularity of television, radio still has an expanding audience in Mongolia. Presently 90 per cent of Mongolian people have access to listen to radio. Mongolian Central Radio is responsible for radio services throughout Mongolia. Given the country's scarce population and huge territory, its broadcasting is the main means of mass information.

It was the only radio station in the country until the 1990s. Its weekly broadcasting program is 6695 minutes, 19 per cent of which is devoted to the news and information, 6 per cent to education /youth and children, 1.5 per cent to sports, 19 per cent to music, 5 per cent to documentaries, drama, 15 per cent to socio-political and economic life, 4 per cent to art /culture/, 3.5 per cent to entertainment and 23 per cent advertisements. Today Mongolian radio broadcasts eight hours a day in English, Japanese, Chinese and Russian to audiences in Asia, Europe, Far East and the Pacific region. Mongolian Radio maintains links with radio networks in over a dozen countries. It exchanges personnel as well as music and feature programmes with the London Radio Service, Radio France International, Voice of Russia, China Radio International, Radio Canada International and Korean Broadcasting Systems etc,.

Newspaper and Magazines in Mongolia

Thursday, 05 January 2006 03:02 Mongoliana

As of March 2003 there are a total of 170 newspapers, including 6 daily, 28 weekly, 6 biweekly, 37 monthly, 54 bimonthly, 33 others and 60 magazines, in particular 1 daily, 2 weekly, 1 biweekly, 30 monthly, 8 bimonthly, and 18 others across the country. At the end of 2003 all aimags except Bulgan had a provincial newspaper. There are several issues to be noted in the sector of magazines in 2003. First of all, the number of magazines increased from 48 in 2002 to 60 in 2003. For the magazines sales, the number of sold copies tends to grow each year and increased by 53 percent in 2003. Among 170 newspapers, 14 are published in foreign-languages.

They are a looking glass through which foreigners watch Mongolia. Over the last decade, Mongolian newspapers found their greatest challenge in upholding the national spirit of Mongolian people and opening their eyes to the rapidly changing world. A majority of the population are receiving useful information for their lives from newspapers. Approximately 60 per cent of people rely on newspapers for useful information, 30 per cent receive necessary information from radio, and 20 per cent watch TV as the source of useful information. The Internet plays an increasingly vital role in the distribution and dissemination of information.

Numbers of newspapers with electronic versions reached 46 in 2003 against to 33 in 2002. More and more readers are turning to special-interest publications focusing on a single subject such as sport ("Bukh", "Tavan tsagrig"), and medicine ("Anagaakh Ukhaan"). Among the daily newspapers "Zuunii medee" ("Century news"), "Unuudur" ("Today"), "Udriin sonin" ("Daily news") and "Unen" ("Truth") lead by the number of subscribers. The annual circulation of 5 daily newspapers represents more than 47 per cent of newspaper sales on the Mongolian media market.

The weekly periodicals such as "TV&R", and "Urgent ads" with the highest sales carry full details of the forthcoming week's television and radio programs, as well as all kinds of classifieds. Now there are 21 local newspapers. They mainly include stories of regional and local interest. Mongolian newspapers have made significant investments in modern press facilities and equipment in resent years. Now there are 17 newspapers and magazines, which have their own printing houses and press. Most national dailies operate computerized typesetting and editing systems.

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