Turkmenistan's First Private Paper Disappoints

A private newspaper that appeared in Turkmenistan last month is the first non-government media outlet ever allowed in this Central Asian state. Observers say, however, that the new paper differs little from the heavily censored and controlled state media.

The first issue of Rysgal (Wellbeing) appeared on September 17, following a government announcement in July that private media were to be allowed for the first time.

Turkmenistan is the only post-Soviet state now to have allowed private media to develop in the years since independence in 1991. The state-run press and broadcasters carry a monotonous fare of uplifting reports on national achievements and the president’s latest activities.

The United States-based media watchdog Freedom House placed Turkmenistan 194th out of 196 in its 2010 ranking for press freedom.

Rysgal is published by the Turkmenistan’s Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, which makes it non-government, at least technically.

A staff member at the industrialists’ union insisted, "Our newspaper is more liberal. For example, we don’t just copy material issued by the government news agency, as other media do."

"There’s a lot of useful information here," she added, noting that the newspaper carried advice for businesses starting up and seeking investment as well as other pieces including cooking pages.

Local media-watchers say Rysgal is not really any more interesting than the existing newspapers. Like others, it features a large front-page portrait of President Gurbanguly Berdymuhammedov. The only difference is that it is printed on glossier paper.

"It is certainly less official than the Turkmenistan and Neytralny Turkmenistan newspapers,” a media expert in Ashgabat said. "But there aren’t fundamental differences. It has the same portrait on its front page, the same show of obeisance to the head of state, and the same pre-checking of content by the censors."

A local journalist was even more dismissive, saying Rysgal was “like a student newspaper – no original material, no analytical articles, and no views from the entrepreneurs who are the target readerships".

The journalist said he had not really expected anything better since there is no freedom of speech in Turkmenistan, no legal framework for private media to operate in, and everything depends on what the president decides.

"Berdymuhammedov might give orders to set up a range of newspapers or a commercial TV channel, or else he might close this private newspaper down," he said.

This article was produced as part of IWPR’s News Briefing Central Asia output, funded by the National Endowment for Democracy.