Kyrgyzstan
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Kyrgyzstan in Media Influence Matrix
When Almazbek Atambaev was president of Kyrgyzstan, journalists didn’t have a whale of a time. The country’s head often harassed media outlets by threatening them with lawsuits and financial audits. Fearing reprisals, many journalists routinely self-censored.
Things are much improved after Sooronbay Jeenbekov won the presidential elections in 2017. Pressures on independent media and journalists from government and politicians have lost intensity. Tax inspections are less frequent.
However, “many media in Kyrgyzstan maintain their fealty to the President’s Office and the Government, closely following the government’s editorial policy and rhetoric,” according to the new report Government, Politics and Regulation: Kyrgyzstan, published by CMDS and Promotank Research Institute, an independent think-tank in Kyrgyzstan.
For this and upcoming reports on Kyrgyzstan, check this space or get in touch with us.
Country Factsheet
Government, Politics and Media Regulation
Funding Journalism
Photo: Hector Martinez, Unsplash
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