Failure of state policy for media support

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- The State Fund for Media Support and Development has stopped financing about 20 newspapers. From now on, the Fund will finance about 10 newspapers. Why did the Foundation suddenly make such a decision? Are they no longer necessary? Maybe this is the beginning of a new trend. How do you evaluate this step?

- I would call it not "step", but throwing. The country has begun to implement changes in the management system. It is too early to call them reforms, but the process has been launched. The Foundation is trying not to fall under this wheel, so it makes illogical decisions in a hurry. On December 14, the Supervisory Board of the Fund announced, "based on the requirements of the new period, financial assistance to the media will be allocated not for a period of six months, but for a period of three months. "Look at this "demand of the new period"! At the beginning of January, the Fund allocated 612,500 manat to 32 newspapers to "overwinter"; and only three weeks later, they gathered again, realizing that the question is more complicated than it seems at first glance. It turned out that in order to comply with the "time requirement" it was not enough to shorten the financing period, so it is also necessary to reduce the number of newspapers to which the money is distributed! Meanwhile, half a million funds were thrown into the air.

Although there is a logic in every absence of logic. A sharp decrease in the number of patients connected to the "oxygen bed" can help those who remain to get up faster. That is, instead of giving oxygen to 32nd newspapers, it is possible to turn the remaining 5-10 newspapers into the leading media of the society. However, one should not on this, because all the activities of the Foundation are based on false criteria. What is the main criterion? So far, assistance has been provided to newspapers, whose circulation is 2500 copies, and distribution of 1000 copies. Now now the money will go to those who have a circulation of 5,000, and a subscription of at least 2,000 copies. In Azerbaijan, the distribution system of newspapers has been destroyed, and the subscription system is based on complete fraud: the subscription plan is created in the offices of officials, then instructions are given to which departments and how much money to subscribe. Only figures change, but the principles remain the same. Now around the public pie there will sit not 32 newspapers, but only 10. Although in total, Azerbaijani journalism will not feel the absence of these 22 newspapers or the remaining 10. Readers will be concerned only in the sense of forcibly deducting subscription fees from their salaries. "Maybe this is the beginning of a new trend," you ask. I can say with confidence that those who made this decision have no idea about serious trends in the international press. All the existing failures and the decision on "changes" are justified by the Foundation "at the present time all over the world ... the print media faced problems for objective reasons - a decrease in circulation and income. It seems that information about the "newspaper crisis" reached our Supervisory Board too late. About 10 years (almost since the foundation of the Fund), reverse processes have been taking place in the world.

According to the World Association of Newspapers, in 2010-2015 print editions increased by 21.6%, even in countries such as the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, where Internet media is highly developed, since 2016, the circulation of newspapers has grown at least by 2-3% a year. It turns out that the world is not going in the direction in which the State Fund for Media Development goes.

- For years, the government is official, and oligarchs unofficially allocate media money. The government even gives journalists an apartment and uses it as public relations. At the same time, experts for years have sounded the alarm about the plight of the media. In this case, where did the allocated media go and for what purposes were they used?

-You are right: professionals have repeatedly warned that by taming these newspapers, you are condemning the Azerbaijani media with a 140-year tradition to death. Experts ring out that the state funds allocated for such important state goals as "media support" are not wasted, do not pay individual editors for "loyalty", as this will lead to an abyss. Each time, against those who say it, they set these same editors and "on-duty" deputies. What happened? How did it happen that the newspapers, on which tens of millions of manats were spent in 10 years, collapsed in one day? Money and publications with a glorious history have gone. Was that the purpose of state media care? Is this an indicator of the prosperity and development of our press, its strength? We repeat again: in this situation, other newspapers face the same fate.

There is not a slightest hint that something can change in the activities of the Fund. The evidence are the decisions of the last meeting of the Supervisory Board. After 22 newspapers have been deprived of mother's milk, the Foundation continues to work, as if nothing had happened. For the remaining 10 newspapers for the next quarter was announced a competition based on the same principles. On the 10th anniversary of the creation of the Fund, as well as the Novruz Bayram, the competition for journalistic articles has been started according to the old rules. No one asks them what has been done and created by the organization celebrating its anniversary, which for 10 years has not allocated folk remedies for 50 million (besides construction). It can be said that the state funds provided assistance to newspapers, held personal competitions, attended meetings with executive authorities, made collective trips abroad, held festive celebrations; and we will continue.

-Among the newspapers, which were refused the financial support are "Sharg", "Adalat", "Bizim Yol", which the society knew. Among those who will continue financial assistance, there are those whose rating is very low, and the body of the ruling party "Yeni Azerbaijan". In your opinion, by what criteria are finances issued to these newspapers. Why the official body of the ruling party, which has 700 thousand members, receives assistance from the state budget, which is being formed at the expense of taxpayers?

-Because this is a media policy. Take into account: not officially announced, but implemented policy. Even the members of the Supervisory Board, who allegedly made these decisions, will not be able to answer your questions. After all, not they drew up the list. The structure of the Presidential Administration, which controls the work of the Foundation, drew up the list, and it was simply approved. The questions you voiced should be addressed there; but once you ask, I will express my opinion: some specialized, except for children's publications; nobody should receive money from the budget. In particular, party newspapers. Why should the tax levied on the salary of a 60-year-old sick teacher have to go on the account of the salary of a red-cheeked editor who has two cars and whom this teacher has never seen, and would not like to see? Budget funds should be spent on the development of public interests, structural changes in the field of media, the creation of new resources.

- There is an opinion that if the employees of 20 newspapers, who"s funding were discontinued, would act against such a situation at one time, demanding free competition and advertising medium, today they would not face such a situation. If these journalists would oppose media support of the state and make efforts for media independence, now they would not face such a situation. Now these journalists are out of work. Will journalists, accustomed to working with the finances from the government, be able to become a threat to the government, become a problem? What will they do to silence them?

- Your question is more moral than material, so everyone should answer it himself. I think that those who agreed to play according to the conditions of the Fund understand what they are doing.

Therefore, most editors have prepared in advance. As for colleagues of journalists, I sympathize with those who have lost their jobs, because in most cases they are hit hard.

- Because of the absence of the free media and advertising market in Azerbaijan, they seem to be out of order. If there is an advertising market, then newspapers, which have stopped financing today, could survive, and would not be doomed to close. Why is there no advertising market in Azerbaijan?

-Why, there is an advertising market in Azerbaijan. In order to present the current potential of the advertising market, it suffices to recall the advertising boom of 1996-1999. However, now this market, like the media itself, is in an ugly state. It must be removed from the monopoly and dictatorship of a small group. The second important condition is economic reform. It is necessary to create conditions for the development of free and fair competition in the country, to eliminate the monopoly, to enable the formation of a middle class population. In the world of 2/3 of all advertising falls on the medium and small business, the service sector. Our last survey, about 8 years ago, showed that 90% of the business is advertising (60% of them belong to three whales - the bank, mobile communications, and integrated construction). What does it mean? This means that our middle class has become very thin; the population consists mainly of a small group of the rich and a significant section of the poor. Maybe now the picture has changed somewhat, but I do not think.

-What do such structures as the State Assistance Foundation for Media Development and the Press Council? Is there need in them? What do you think should be done in order to get media and journalism out of a difficult situation?

- I will tell you about a single document, which clearly shows that the Fund created 10 years ago, does not correspond to the purpose of its creation. This is not a report of my investigation, it is an official document signed by the President in 2008 and so frequently cited by the Foundation "The Concept of State Support for the Development of Mass Media of the Republic of Azerbaijan". It says: "Financial support includes government support in order to strengthen the material and technical base of the media, modernize the infrastructure, strengthen economic independence, finance programs, projects and activities aimed at solving important problems for the state and society."

Non-competitive financial support should cover regional media, targeted assistance to social, cultural and special children's publications; subventions (deductions for the publication of official documents); subsidies (budget funds for specific purposes), social media advertising. Competitive financial assistance consists of the provision of long-term concessional loans to enhance the economic independence of the media, the allocation of financial assistance for the implementation of targeted programs and projects.

From all these tasks, the Foundation chose for itself the first and most recent items, dealing with the distribution of aid and awards. The Foundation does not even recall such important tasks as infrastructure, modernization, economic independence, subvention, credit, social advertising. Here is the result.

As for your question "What to do?", then I will stop here. We have repeatedly voiced their proposals. Taking the form of proposals, they changed their essence, and directed the whole idea to other goals. There was a time when I proposed the idea of ​​creating a Press Council as a perfect model of press self-government. The idea was taken, we were removed by administrative resources, and the chair of the Council was "perpetuated", turning the Press Council into an even worse structure than the Ministry of Information. Elchin Shikhli and Mehman Aliyev proposed the idea of ​​creating a Fund for Media Support and Development, prepared a provision. However, the provision was taken, and the authors were removed from the process. In addition, what is the result? In this case, let everything go on as usual, and reach its logical end.