The mass media in Belarus are mass-media outlets based in Belarus. Television, magazines, and newspapers are operated by state-owned and for-profit corporations and depend on advertising, subscriptions, and other sales-related revenue. The Constitution of Belarus guarantees freedom of speech, but this is contradicted in practice by repressive and restrictive laws. Arbitrary detention, arrests, and harassment of journalists are frequent in Belarus. Anti-extremism legislation targets independent journalism, including material considered unfavourable to the president.
Legislative framework
The legal framework of Belarusian media include the Constitution of Belarus, the Закон Республики Беларусь "О средствах массовой информации" (Media Law of Belarus), international obligations and treaties, and by-laws.
The Media Law of Belarus, enacted in February 2009, required the registration of mass media by February 2010. Some articles of the law are considered to restricting Belarusian citizens' constitutional rights to freedom of speech a free press.
Despite constitutional protections, criticizing the president or the government is a criminal offense in Belarus; libel is punished with fines and imprisonment. No guarantee exists for public access to government records or a free trial. A politicized legal system and obscure regulations are used to harass independent media outlets in Belarus. Since it is not a member of the Council of Europe, Belarus is not bound to the European Convention on Human Rights. More than 20 journalists were questioned, warned or fined in 2014 for "illegal production and distribution of media products". Belarusian journalists adopted two ethical codes in 1995: "Кодекс профессиональной этики журналиста" (Code of Professional Etiquette of the Journalist of the Belarus Union of Journalists) and "Кодекс журналистской этики" (Code of Journalistic Ethics of the Belarus Association of Journalists).
Regulatory authorities
The Ministry of Information of Belarus, established in 2001, is the country's media regulator. Licensing and registration procedures are opaque and politicized. Since 2009, all media outlets (including websites) must register to avoid being blocked. Independent publications have been forced to use foreign-based internet domains. Outlets which "threaten the interests of the state" may be denied accreditation and shut down. In February 2009, the government established a Public Coordination Council for Mass Information to coordinate the interaction of state management, public associations and other organisations generating mass information, enforce mass-media laws, and answer legal questions.
Press accreditation
Journalists need to receive press accreditation by the authorities to be authorized "to cover events organised by state bodies, political parties, other public associations, other legal persons as well as other events taking place in the territory of the Republic of Belarus and outside it" (Art. 1 of the Law on Mass Media). Freelance journalists do not have the right to have accreditation, and journalists working for independent media are often denied accreditation. This means that many public activities are only covered by journalists from state-run media.
Censorship and media freedom
Freedom of the press in Belarus remains restricted. State-owned media are subordinate to the president, and harassment and censorship of independent media are routine. The government intimidates independent and foreign media, especially for reporting on the deteriorating economy and human-rights abuses. Journalists, harassed and detained for reporting on unauthorized demonstrations or working with unregistered media outlets, have died under suspicious circumstances. Most local independent outlets regularly practice self-censorship.
Reporters Without Borders ranked Belarus 154th out of 178 countries in its 2010 Press Freedom Index. In the 2011 Freedom House Freedom of the Press report, Belarus scored 92 on a scale from 10 (most free) to 99 (least free) because Aleksandr Lukashenko's regime curtails press freedom. The score placed Belarus ninth from the bottom of the 196 countries included in the report, giving the country "not free" status.
Outlets
Belarus hosts state- and privately owned media. In 2009 there were 1,314 media outlets in the country, of which 414 were state-owned and 900 privately owned.