View source for Media of Kazakhstan

{{Refimprove|date=April 2013}}
The '''media of Kazakhstan''' ({{lang-kk|Қазақстанның республикасы бұқаралық ақпарат құралдары}}, ''Qazaqstannıñ respuwblïkası buqaralıq aqparat quraldarı'') refers to mass media outlets based in The Republic of Kazakhstan. Media of Kazakhstan are a set of public information transfer agencies in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The Constitution of Kazakhstan guarantees freedom of press, but privately owned and opposition media have been subject of censorship. In 2004 the International Federation of Journalists identified a "growing pattern" of intimidation of the media, and in 2012 several opposition media outlets were ordered to be shut down on charges of promoting "extremism".

All media must to register with the Ministry of Culture, Information and Sports, with the exception{{Citation needed|date=April 2013}} of [[websites]].

==Newspapers==
A wide range of publications, mostly{{Citation needed|date=April 2013}} supportive of the [[government]], are available. The authorities operates national language(Kazakh) newspapers and the only regular national Russian(the international language of Turkic peoples) language newspaper. There were{{Citation needed|date=April 2013}} 990 privately owned newspapers and 418 privately owned magazines. Those supportive of the opposition face harassment and [[lawsuits]].

Online news websites include:
*[[Nursultan News]] [http://nur.kz/]
*[[Aikyn]] [http://www.aikyn.kz/] 
*[[Liter (newspaper)]] [http://www.liter.kz]
*[[Kapital (website)]] [http://www.kapital.kz] 
*[[Tengri News (Kazakh news)]] [http://en.tengrinews.kz/]
*[[Young Alash]] [http://www.zhasalash.kz/]
*[[Bussines.kz]] [http://www.almeco.kz]
*[[«Kazakhstan Trust»]]

===Intimidation and government-ordered closures===
''[[Respublika (Kazakh newspaper)|Respublika]]'' is possibly the main opposition publication. A number of its issues were printed as ''[[Golos Respubliki]]''.

Increasingly, owners of [[printing press]]es refused to print the publication after a failed attempt by a government representative to buy a controlling stake in ''Respublika'' in November 2001.<ref name="nytimes.com">[https://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/13/world/the-saturday-profile-bruised-but-still-jabbing-kazakh-heavyweights.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm Wines 2012]</ref> (One owner found a human skull placed on his doorstep.<ref name="nytimes.com"/>)

A mid-March 2002 [[court order]] to stop printing for three months, was evaded by printing under other titles, such as ''Not That Respublika''.<ref name="nytimes.com"/>

On another occasion, a decapitated dog was hung from ''Respublika'' building with a screwdriver sticking into its side and a note reading "there will be no next time"<ref name=WP>{{cite web |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-408047.html |title=Truth-Tellers in a Time of Terror |author=Fred Hiatt |date=25 November 2012 |work=The Washington Post |publisher= {{Subscription required|via=[[HighBeam Research]]}}|accessdate=21 September 2012}}</ref> the dog's head was left outside [[Irina Petrushova]]'s home.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-54298250.html |title=Police make arrests in firebombing attack on Kazakh newspaper office |author=Rozlana Taukina |date=11 July 2012 |publisher=Associated Press {{Subscription required|via=[[HighBeam Research]]}}|accessdate=21 September 2012}}</ref> Three days later, the newspaper's offices were firebombed and burned to the ground.<ref name="CPJprofile">{{cite web|url=http://cpj.org/awards/2002/petrushova.php|title=2002 Awardee: Irina Petrushova|publisher=[[Committee to Protect Journalists]]|accessdate=9 June 2011}}</ref> In July, Petrushova was given an eighteen-month jail sentence on tax charges, but served no time after a judge ruled that the case fell under an amnesty.<ref name=AP>{{cite web |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-54085477.html |title=Editor of independent Kazakh newspaper sentenced to prison, then amnestied, for alleged business violations |date=4 July 2002 |publisher=Associated Press {{Subscription required|via=[[HighBeam Research]]}}|accessdate=21 September 2012}}</ref> (Petrushova eventually left the country for Russia, where she continued to publish via the Internet, living apart from her family for their safety.<ref name=WP /> In recognition of her work, she was awarded a 2002 [[CPJ International Press Freedom Awards|International Press Freedom Award]] by the [[Committee to Protect Journalists]], a US-based NGO.<ref name="CPJprofile"/>)

In May 2005 the Kazakh Information Ministry ordered the paper to be closed, accusing it of inciting ethnic hatred by publishing an interview with a Russian politician who made derogatory remarks about ethnic Kazakhstanis. The paper's deputy editor [[Galina Dyrdina]] claimed the closure was politically motivated, and vowed to appeal.<ref>{{cite web|year=2005<!--December--> |url=http://ec.europa.eu/comm/external_relations/kazakhstan/intro/ |title=Kazakhstan: country profile. Recent developments.|publisher=European commission,  external relations|accessdate=2006-03-21}}</ref> The paper continued to be published under a variety of titles.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eurasianet.org/node/63176 |title=Kazakhstan: The News Weekly That Won’t Be Silenced|date=29 March 2011 |publisher=Eurasianet|deadurl=no |archivedate=21 September 2012 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6As3V3fGo |accessdate=21 September 2012}}</ref>

In November 2012, before the anniversary of the [[2011 Mangystau riots|Mangystau riots]], Kazakh authorities raided and searched Respublika's office and again suspended its publication while a verdict on criminal charges was still pending.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://en.rsf.org/kazakhstan-opposition-newspapers-convicted-04-12-2012,43751.html |title=Opposition newspapers convicted before court rules on case |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=4 December 2012 |work= |publisher=[[Reporters Without Borders]] |accessdate=17 December 2012}}</ref><ref>[[Al Jazeera English]]: {{YouTube|id=3Fyv5oI1LYk|title=Kazakh media fights against new restrictions}}</ref> Respublika was again ordered closed, "along with seven sister titles and 23 news websites, plus another opposition newspaper and a satellite TV station [...] for ‘propagating extremism’, inciting unrest and urging the overthrow of the government."<ref name=Mail>{{cite web |url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2238071/Kazakhstan-dictator-axes-paper-critical-Blairs-8million-job-adviser.html |title=Kazakhstan dictator axes paper critical of Blair's £8million job as adviser |last1=Stewart |first1=Will |date=25 November 2012 |publisher=[[Daily Mail]] |accessdate=17 December 2012}}</ref> [[Reporters Without Borders]] described this as a "pretext" and said it would be the end of pluralism in Kazakhstan.<ref name=Mail/>

====A magazine and two other newspapers====
Other media experienced difficulties during the November 2012 case against media sources in Kazakhstan; ''[[Altyn Tamyr]]'', ''[[Tortinshi Bilik]]'' and ''[[DAT (newspaper)|DAT]]'' (with its website—dat.kz—inaccessible as of December 2012).

====International reaction to assaults on journalists====
In 2012 the [[International Press Institute]] called for the government to investigate an assault on [[Ularbek Baitailaq]]—a contributor to opposition media ''[[DAT (newspaper)|DAT]]'' and ''[[Tortinshi Bilik]]'', and archivist of the  [[Kazakh National Archive]]).<ref name="International Press Institute">{{cite web|url=http://www.freemedia.at/home/singleview/article/kazakh-journalist-hospitalised-after-attack.html|title=Kazakh journalist hospitalised after attack|publisher=International Press Institute|date=9 August 2012|accessdate=28 December 2012}}</ref> The [[Committee to Protect Journalists]] called for investigations into the assault of both [[Maksim Kartashov]] and Baitailaq.<ref name=2journalists>{{cite web|url=http://www.cpj.org/2012/08/two-journalists-brutally-beaten-in-kazakh-capital.php|title=Two journalists brutally beaten in Kazakh capital|publisher=Committee to Protect Journalists|date=14 August 2012|accessdate=28 December 2012}}</ref>

==Television==
{{Redirect-distinguish|Television in Kazakhstan|Kazakhstan (channel)|Kazakh TV}}
[[Kazakhstan (channel)|Kazakhstan]] is the State Television Channel of Kazakhstan. Other country-wide television stations are [[Khabar]] and [[Yel Arna]].

There are 116 private channels, including [[Channel 31 (Kazakhstan)|Channel 31]], [[Kommercheskiy Televizionyy Kanal|KTK]] and [[Perviy Kanal Evraziya]].
  
*[[Kommerceskiyi Televizioniyi Kanal|KTK]]
*[[NTK-TV]]
*[[Stan TV]]

=== Satellite TV in Kazakhstan (with US&EU TV-Channels) ===
*[[NTV Plus]]
*[[Digital-TV]]
*[[Orbita Telecom]]

=== Digital Cable TV (with US&EU TV-Channels) ===
*[[JSC Alma-TV]]
*[[JSC ICON]]
*[[JSC Digital-TV]]

=== IP-TV ===
*[[IDNet]]

==Radio==
The state-owned [[Kazakh Radio]] broadcasts in official and Russian languages. A wide number of private radio stations are also available including [[Europa Plus]], «Russian Radio», Hit FM, [[Radio Azattyq]] and [[Radio Karavan]].

==Media websites==
The country had 5.4 million [[internet]] users in 2011—up<ref name=countryProfile>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1298071.stm#media Kazakhstan country profile]</ref> from 2010. "Twitter, Facebook and YouTube audience share is less than 0.4%",<ref name="countryProfile"/> according to [[BBC]] in 2012.

The [[censorship]] of online publications has become routine and arbitrary.

In 2003 <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.osce.org/fom/13871?download=true|title=Spreading the Word on the Internet|last=|first=|date=|website=|publisher=|access-date=}}</ref> the state telecom firm [[KazakhTelecom]] was ordered to block access to a dozen websites it said were 'extremist'. The pages either supported the opposition or provided neutral news coverage.

In July, 2009, the government passed amendments to laws on{{Citation needed|date=April 2013}} the Internet which some critics claimed unduly restrictive. The law made internet content subject to existing laws on expression, such as criminal libel. It also widened the scope of 'banned media content' to cover political matters, such as coverage of the election campaign.<ref>[http://www.kas.de/medien-asien/en/pages/10123 Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Asia]</ref>

A broadcasting bill implemented in December 2011 was aimed at improving the content of the national media, and to 'protect' it from external influence. According to the government, the bill would “eliminate low quality content that inflicts psychological or emotional damage on views.” <ref>[http://www.kas.de/medien-asien/en/pages/10123/ Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Asia]</ref>

The country had 5.4 million [[internet]] users and 362,000 Facebook users as of December 31, 2011.

==Lawsuits with governmental plaintiffs and defendants from media==
In November 2012, [[Google]], [[Facebook]], [[Twitter]], and [[LiveJournal]] were cited in a [[lawsuit]] filed by Kazakh prosecutors seeking to shut down opposition media outlets. The prosecutors demanded the websites stop publishing material from Kazakh opposition sources.<ref>{{cite news|title=Kazakhstan sues Google, Twitter and Facebook|newspaper=[[Russia Today]]|date=November 23, 2012|url=http://rt.com/politics/kazakhstan-google-twitter-facebook-407}}</ref>

The following month a court in Almaty ruled that a number of opposition media outlets, such as the television channels [[Stan TV]] and K+ and newspapers Vzglyad and [[Respublika (Kazakh newspaper)|Respublika]], had to close due to their "extremist" views. These were the same outlets who reported on the [[2011 Mangystau riots|Mangystau riots]] in 2011.<ref>{{Citation|last=Mukhametrakhimova|first=Saule|title=Kazakstan: Free Speech in Danger|newspaper=[[Institute for War and Peace Reporting]]|date=February 28, 2013|url=http://iwpr.net/report-news/kazakstan-free-speech-danger}}</ref>

===Punishment for defaming a news agency===
Increasingly, [[censorship]] is imposed by means of civil legal action, such as defamation suits. On 13 June 2005 a court in [[Almaty]] ordered former Information Minister [[Altynbek Sarsenbaev]] (the opposition leader assassinated in January 2006) to pay 1 million [[Kazakhstani tenge|tenge]] ($7,500) in damages for 'defaming' Khabar news agency. Sarsenbaev was also ordered to publicly retract comments he made in an interview with the opposition newspaper Respublika. He had alleged that Khabar was part of a monopolistic media holding controlled by Dariga Nazarbayev. The case is believed to be in response to his resignation after the 2004 elections. At the time he stated "The election was not fair, honest, or transparent; the authorities showed that from the beginning they didn't want honest elections.

==Media-related legal code==
Media watchdog groups such as [[ARTICLE 19]] have voiced their concern over the government's moves in the past few years to silence the opposition.<ref name=article19report>{{Citation|title=Kazakhstan: Civil Code Restrictions on Freedom of Expressions|publisher=[[ARTICLE 19]]|date=July 2012|url=http://www.adilsoz.kz/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/12-08-22-LA-kazakhstan-Full-analisis.pdf}}</ref>  Recent changes in media-related laws in Kazakhstan appear to target non-governmental media outlets. Criticism of government employees can lead to lawsuits, and news laws against "extremism" have been used to shut down opposition media sources.

According to opposition source [[Adil Soz]] the Kazakh legal code is stringent on defamation, allowing even for cases where the defamation is true. "One can seek compensation for true statements damaging his/her reputation – for example, a government official who is of accused of abuse of State funds, can claim compensation even if the statement damaging his/her reputation is true". This also means that an [[Internet Service Provider]] could attract liability "by unwittingly providing access to insulting or defamatory information published through the Internet".<ref name=article19report/>

==See also==
*[[Kazpost]]

==External links==
*[http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=9963 Reporters Without Borders report, 2004]
*[http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/181/ IFEX: Monitoring Media Freedom Violations in Kazakhstan]
*[http://www.inform.kz/index.php?lang=eng KAZINFORM: National Information Agency]
*[http://www.kidon.com/media-link/kz.php Newspapers and news sources from Kazakhstan]
*[http://www.kaztrk.kz/ Radio and Television of Kazakhstan]
*[http://www.kaztrk.kz/rus/online/#go Radio and Television of Kazakhstan] live watch online
*[http://www.ktk-tv.kz/kz/ Kommerceskiyi Televizioniyi Kanal] in Kazakhs
*[http://www.ktk-tv.kz/ru/ Kommerceskiyi Televizioniyi Kanal] in Russian
*[http://www.ktk-tv.kz/ru/live/ Kommerceskiyi Televizioniyi Kanal] live watch online
*[http://en.ca-news.org/ Central Asian News Service] News in English
*[http://www.ca-news.org/ Central Asian News Service] News in Russian
*[http://en.tengrinews.kz/ Tengrinews.kz] News in English 24/7

==Notes==
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{{Europe topic|Media of}}
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{{European Broadcasting Union Members}}

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[[Category:European Broadcasting Union members]]
[[Category:Kazakh-language media]]