Mass media in Turkmenistan

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The mass media in Turkmenistan are among the world's most tightly controlled. The press is controlled by the government, which funds nearly all newspapers, criticism of the president is forbidden, and state licensing policy effectively eliminates all outlets not reflecting official views. To avoid reprisal, domestic and foreign journalists engage in self-censorship.

The only domestic news agency is the State News Agency of Turkmenistan. The Anadolu Agency of Turkey maintains an office in Ashgabat, and TRT has a representative there. Agence France Press, Associated Press, Reuters, and ITAR-TASS receive reports from stringers. 57 correspondents of foreign media, accredited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan.[1]

Broadcasting is under the full control of the Turkmenistan Television Broadcasting Center, which operates seven national television channels. Little recent information on radio stations is available.[2]

Reporters Without Borders' 2022 Press Freedom Index ranked Turkmenistan 177th out of 180 countries surveyed, ahead of Iran, Eritrea, and North Korea.[3] It has consistently ranked at or near the bottom of most measures of press freedom since the breakup of the Soviet Union.

Newspapers and magazines

Twenty-two newspapers (2 privately owned) and 14 magazines (none privately owned) are published in Turkmenistan. Content of the state-owned newspapers differs little to not at all, consisting of republishing of copy from the state-owned news agency. They are very expensive by Turkmen standards, with the most expensive newspaper costing $0.50. A one-year subscription equals one month minimum wage.[4] Some domestic online newspapers have been founded, notably Turkmenportal and Orient.[5][6] Russian magazines and Uzbek newspapers are sold in some kiosks.

National newspapers

Electronic copies of most state-published newspapers may be downloaded from the website of the State Printing Office.

Regional newspapers

  • Ashgabat
  • Maru-Şahu-JahanMary Velayat, published since 1931, in Turkmen, three times per week.
  • Ahal Durmuşy (Ahal Life) – Ahal Velayat, published in Turkmen three times in a week.
  • Daşoguz Habarlary (Dashoguz News) – Dashoguz Velayat, published in Turkmen three times in a week.
  • Türkmen Gündogary (Turkmen Orient) – Lebap Velayat, published in Turkmen three times in a week.
  • BalkanBalkan Velayat, published in Turkmen three times in a week.

Online newspapers

Magazines

Television

In Turkmenistan, satellite TV from Russia, Turkey and Uzbekistan is popular. Viewers subscribe to Cable TV and IPTV, which are generally available for a monthly fee of 10 manat per month.[10]

Turkmenistan broadcasts 8 public television channels (7 of them on the territory of the whole country, and 1 only in Ashgabat). All broadcast in the Turkmen language with the exception of the Turkmenistan news channel, which broadcasts in 7 languages. They do not differ from each other in news content. These sources of information are an ideological mouthpiece of the ruling regime in the country. Any opinion or idea that differs from that of the President of Turkmenistan cannot be broadcast, nor can criticism of the country (except if the criticism is made by the president himself). The chennels also present informative and entertaining domestic programs and movies, as well as sports events in which Turkmen athletes participate. Sometimes Altyn Asyr broadcasts popular movies dubbed in Turkmen in the evenings. Turkmenistan Sport regularly broadcasts Formula 1,[11] football matches of Serie A, La Liga,[12] Bundesliga and other sports thanks to an agreement with the Irish company Setanta Sports.[13] Only state companies and institutions advertise on Turkmen television.

TV channels

  • Altyn Asyr (formerly TMT-1; English: Golden Age) – The main channel of the country.[14]
  • Yaşlyk (formerly TMT-2; English: Youth) – Channel catering to the youth of Turkmenistan.[14]
  • Miras (formerly TMT-3; English: Heritage) – TV channel about the culture and heritage of the Turkmen people[14]
  • Türkmenistan (formerly TMT-4) – international channel broadcast in seven different languages.[15]
  • Türkmen Owazy (English: Turkmen Voice) – Turkmen music channel.[16]
  • Aşgabat – TV channel broadcasting programs about Ashgabat.[17]
  • Türkmenistan Sport – sports channel.[18]
  • Arkadag — TV channel broadcasting programs about the city of Arkadag.

IPTV

  • AŞTU (Aşgabat şäher telefon ulgamy, English: Ashgabat City Telephone System) – the company announced that it had 104,062 subscribers in 2018.[19] Viewers have access to 136 local and foreign TV channels, including those in HD quality.[20]

Satellite television

Private company Alem TV [21]offers 125 [22]international pay-per-view satellite TV channels for Android smart TVs.[23]

Cable television

The state-owned enterprise Turkmen Telekom operates cable TV activities in the country. The service is not a brand.

Radio

There are four radio stations in Turkmenistan:

TR1 broadcasts on longwave, medium wave, OIRT FM, and CCIR FM; TR2 and TR3 broadcast on medium wave and OIRT & CCIR FM; and TR4 broadcasts on CCIR FM. All four stations also broadcast on DAB+ in Ashgabat and can be heard online globally via Radio Garden.[24][25][26] There are no local or regional radio stations in the country.

See also

References

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ Turkmenistan country profile. Library of Congress Federal Research Division (February 2007). Archived 9 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. ^ World Press Freedom Index 2022, Reporters Without Borders.
  4. ^ "Merkezi Aziýanyň we Türkmenistanyň neşirleri". Azatlyk Radiosy.
  5. ^ Orient website
  6. ^ Turkmenportal News website
  7. ^ "Hususy gazet çap edilip başlandy". Azatlyk Radiosy.
  8. ^ "Turkish News – Latest News from Turkey". Hürriyet Daily News.
  9. ^ Вышел четвёртый номер международного журнала «Туркменистан спорт»
  10. ^ "IPTV | AŞTU – Aşgabat şäher telefon ulgamy".
  11. ^ Трансляция Гран-при Бразилии на телеканале «Türkmenistan Sport»
  12. ^ "Телеканал «Türkmenistan Sport» покажет «Каталонское дерби» в прямом эфире | Спорт".
  13. ^ «Turkmenistan Sport» договорился о трансляции международных версий телеканалов «Setanta Sports»
  14. ^ a b c "На туркменском телевидении появится шестой канал – Интернет-газета Turkmenistan.Ru". www.turkmenistan.ru.
  15. ^ "НОВЫЙ СПУТНИКОВЫЙ КАНАЛ ТУРКМЕНСКОГО ТЕЛЕВИДЕНИЯ БУДЕТ ВЕЩАТЬ НА СЕМИ ЯЗЫКАХ – Интернет-газета Turkmenistan.Ru". www.turkmenistan.ru.
  16. ^ "Российский спутник "Ямал-201" начал трансляцию программ нового телеканала "Туркмен овазы" – Интернет-газета Turkmenistan.Ru". www.turkmenistan.ru.
  17. ^ "Золотой век". www.turkmenistan.gov.tm.
  18. ^ "С 1 января в Туркменистане начнет круглосуточное вещание телеканал "Спорт" – Интернет-газета Turkmenistan.Ru". www.turkmenistan.ru.
  19. ^ "О нас". AŞTU.
  20. ^ [2]
  21. ^ [3]
  22. ^ [4]
  23. ^ [5]
  24. ^ "Радио | Интернет Провайдер Туркменистана". Archived from the original on 2016-01-19. Retrieved 2016-01-02.
  25. ^ "Aşgabatda radiostantsiýalar, Türkmenistan / Radio stations in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan — World Radio Map". Worldradiomap.com. 1927-12-20. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  26. ^ "Stations in Ashgabat". Radio Garden. Retrieved 2022-05-12.

External links