The
written press in Belarus includes both privately-held
and state-owned newspapers. The state-owned newspapers make up about 85
percent
of total circulation. The newspaper with the highest circulation is
state-owned, the
Sovetskaya Belarussia –
Belarus segodnya, with a circulation of 500.000. There are
approximately 30
privately-owned political papers operating in Belarus. According to the
Belarusian
Association of Journalists, about half of these non-state-supported
periodicals are excluded from state-backed means of distribution, i.e.
via
kiosks and subscription. Private newspaper
Intex-press,
has a circulation of 7.000 copies.
There is a difference between the circulation and
distribution of state and non-state media in Belarus. This is because
state-run
newspapers have the advantage of administrative support and financing,
an
amount which is increased every year. Non-state media face the challenge
of
strict supervision from local executive bodies. In order to survive and
continue their work, Belarusian journalists are reviving traditions of
underground printing, publishing material without any official
registration.
The official law of Belarus about press and other
mass media
states that the citizens of the Republic of Belarus are guaranteed
freedom of press
and other mass media. Citizens are by law guaranteed freedom of speech
and
information. Yet, the presidential administration largely controls the
content
of media and the appointment of senior editors of state media. The
government
also uses economical means to limit the operation of non-state media.
The
presidential administration routinely pressurises heads of state-
companies to
advertise only in government-loyal newspapers. Other means include
ordering
banks to deny donations from readers into independent newspapers’
accounts and
ensuring that printing presses deny contracts from non-state media.
The European Commission in 2006 funded a
consortium of Polish, Lithuanian, German,
Russian and
Belarusian broadcasters in an aim to increase access to iindependent
news via
radio, TV and the Internet. The two-year project gave rise to the
stations
European Radio for Belarus and Radio Baltic Wave. These stations
broadcast
programs suited to youth. Of the 216 media outlets operating in Belarus,
183
are state-owned. The remaining 53 are non-state media outlets. All
broadcasters
are required not to go outside the boundaries of their operating
licenses.