Post-Soviet Media Law & Policy Newsletter

Media Tax Concessions Law

• Duma to fight veto of media law. 
• Paper discusses future of media tax concessions law. 
• Duma set to overrule veto on media tax law. 
• Federation Council vetoes media tax concessions. 
• Duma grants tax benefits to the media.

Proposed Amendments to Mass Media Law 



• Protest against plans to increase media curbs. 
• Draft law seen likely to destroy Russia’s media. 
• Duma speaker denies plans for TV censorship.

News on ORT 

• New ORT head rejects merger or nationalization. 
• Paper views effects on ORT of advertising crisis. 
• Berezovskiy comments on ORT “nationalization.” 
• Duma’s plans for the “deprivatization” of ORT.

VGTRK Supervisory Council

• VGTRK watchdog creates “illusion of control.” 
• VGTRK supervisory council holds first session. 
• Russia TV’s plans for supervisory council viewed. 
• Communists moderate call for VGTRK changes.

Other Media News

• Communists call for state “media propaganda centre.” 
• Government objects to tough media controls. 
• Yeltsin concerned by delays to media bills. 
• Yeltsin signs law to extend state support for media. 
• Security official reportedly to oversee media.

• Confrontation between parliament and TV, newspaper.

• Broadcasting law imposes Latvian language content.

• TV chief criticizes media coverage of events in republic. 
• Independents to cooperate with state broadcasters.

• Restrictions on Russian Public TV relays.

• Reorganization of state broadcasting.

• OSCE welcomes new media law. 
• Parliament passes radio/TV law. 
• New law bans politicians from influencing media.

• MPs support president’s media act veto. 
• Reaction to premier’s veto of media law. 
• President vetoes new media law. 

New media law sets TV advertising limits.

• Radio chief rejects MPs’ “crude” interference. 
• Hungarian TV bars communists’ election broadcasts. 
• Communists say Hungarian TV broke election law. 
• Liberals accuse government of media “control.”

Treasury minister set to dissolve TVP supervisory council. 

Newspaper leak on TVP’s “silent privatization.” 

Parliament official decries public TV failings.

Law to boost public character of Slovak TV/Radio. 

STV accuses radio-TV council of “unfair” sanctions. 

Opposition objects to government control of STV.

Croatia 

New Law on HRT 

Forum 21 criticizes HRT law. 

Independent TV channel to be licensed. 

OSCE critical of Croatian law on HRT. 

MPs adopt HRT law, opposition walk-out. 

Disagreements over HRT bill persist. 

Commercial TVs complain of unfair competition.

New Serbian Information Law 

Minister says media law “bans censorship.” 

Constitutional Court asked to rule on media law. 

Getting around Serbia’s media ban. 

Independent media to demand revoking of law. 

Information minister defends new media law. 

Implications of Serbian media law. 

Independent media mull response to new curbs. 

Media law covers papers printed in Montenegro. 

Domestic reaction to new Serbian media law. 

New Serbian media law bans foreign relays. 

New law proposes “draconian” media curbs. 

Serb emergency decree on media. 

Serbian radio stations comply with relay ban. 

Independent media condemn relay ban as “censorship.”

Montenegro’s Reaction to New Serbian Media Law 

Montenegro rules on foreign media activity. 

Montenegrin PM condemns Serbia’s media crackdown. 

Montenegro not to ban foreign relays.

Other Media News 

Five private radios closed in Serbia since February. 

Official warns Kosovo Albanian media. 

Seselj cited on curbs on Albanian-language media. 

Serbia to tax satellite TV, internet users. 

Serbian independent stations fear crackdown.

• On Public and Private Radio and Television in the Republic of Albania 
• Note on the Albanian Private Media Law

• Analysis of the Azerbaijani “Law on Mass Media” 
• Local Media Legislation in Russian Provinces:  An Old and Winding Road 

MTV in Hungary