SATELLITE & CABLE: Mongolia prepares for the future with newly liberalised media environment

<p>With a liberal media environment that welcomes direct foreign </p><p>investment and a number of new newspapers, radio and TV stations, </p><p>Mongolia is building a modern media infrastructure. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>With the advent of democracy in Mongolia 10 years ago has come the </p><p>concept of freedom of the press; however the population of 2.5 million </p><p>people has not yet managed to create a vibrant advertising market to </p><p>fund media. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Without financial independence, politics and business interests are </p><p>funding media developments. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Recent elections in July this year again showed that there were few </p><p>ethics involved, according to one observer, and that there seems to be </p><p>constant confusion between Party advertising and campaign news </p><p>coverage. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Besides numerous newspapers and radio stations, there are four TV </p><p>stations in Ulan Bator. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Several cable networks also supply a total of just 25,000 homes with </p><p>relays of foreign satellite channels, including Star TV, MTV and the </p><p>National Geographic Channel. State-owned Mongolian Television was </p><p>founded in 1967 and has three channels. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The first and only national channel broadcasts 7.5 hours in the </p><p>Mongolian language every day, reaching 80 per cent of the 500,000 TV </p><p>households. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The other two channels broadcast Russian, American, French and Japanese </p><p>programming fare without translation. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Mongolian Television is the leading channel in Mongolia, according to a </p><p>1998 survey by the Press Institute of Mongolia, with an audience share </p><p>of 63 per cent. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Ranked in second and third are Ulan Bator TV (UBTV) and Channel 25, </p><p>receiving 36 per cent and 29 per cent of audience market share </p><p>respectively in 1998. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>UBTV is run by the municipality of Ulan Bator, while Channel 25 is a </p><p>private broadcaster owned by the Mongol News Group, which also owns two </p><p>newspapers, Unooder and the UB Post, as well as JAAG Radio. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Mongol News Group is owned by Mongolia's own media mogul, Mr Baldorj, </p><p>who is also a member of the newly-elected Mongolian People's </p><p>Revolutionary Party. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>But vested interest groups in Mongolian broadcasting are not limited to </p><p>politics and business. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Eagle TV was created five years ago as a JV between missionaries from </p><p>South Dakota and the founder of the Mongolian Social Democratic </p><p>Party. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>According to Mr Paul Swatzendruber, general director of Eagle TV, the </p><p>missonaries provided US$1.5 million in funding for the TV </p><p>station, and in return are entitled to broadcast four hours of religious </p><p>programming every day. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, Eagle TV has not only a Christian agenda, but has invested in </p><p>producing unbiased news: "We were the first in the country to train </p><p>people to produce unbiased news," said Mr Swatzendruber. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>At the same time, there have also been successful efforts to develop a </p><p>truly independent media in Mongolia. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>These efforts were given a boost in 1998 with the enactment of the Law </p><p>on Freedom of Media. This states that public media should be free and </p><p>independent of the state; its organisations and officials and should be </p><p>forbidden to control or censor public information. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Two state newspapers have been privatised and sold to the staff," said </p><p>Mr Enkhbat, director of the Press Institute of Mongolia. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"But we are still working towards an independent broadcast industry. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Ideally, we would create an independent TV station with public funds </p><p>like the BBC." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>For now, advertisers are taking a back seat and benefiting from the </p><p>situation. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"It is definitely an advertisers' market. More media is being </p><p>established and is bringing the price down even more, while we also get </p><p>free advertising for our products," said Mr David Reiner from Mongolia </p><p>Star Melchers, which represents Johnson & Johnson and Mercedes Benz in </p><p>Mongolia. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, international aid organisations have big plans for Mongolia, </p><p>intending to connect the country to the information super highway, seen </p><p>as the most effective catalyst for the sluggish economy. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>For this reason, the Gobi Desert is now being fully integrated into the </p><p>24-hour global marketplace. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Radio station Gobi Wave now broadcasts up-to-the-minute market movements </p><p>for cashmere, goatskins and foreign exchange market and the Gobi's first </p><p>Internet cafe has also opened for students to liaise with Mongolian </p><p>students abroad on a dedicated website. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Source: CMM Intelligence. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>