Best practices on Public Service Broadcasting showcased at OSCE-led Central Asian media conference

BISHKEK, 22 May 2014 – More than 70 participants gathered today in Bishkek to share their experiences on various models of Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) at an OSCE conference. The participants at the two-day conference will discuss experiences of six OSCE participating States that have transformed state controlled broadcaster into the public service broadcasters.

“Public service broadcasting has a number of benefits for societies – it is able to foster social cohesion, national identity and promote the country’s common culture and heritage”, Dunja Mijatović, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, said.

“The establishment of the public service broadcaster in Kyrgyzstan was a progressive step for our country. Everyone has the right to access public information and the expectations on further development of the PSB are quite high”, Natalia Nikitenko, Member of the Kyrgyz Parliament, said.

The conference is organized by the Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, in co-operation with the OSCE Centre in Bishkek, the non-governmental media network Internews in Kyrgyzstan, and the Public Broadcasting Corporation of Kyrgyzstan (OTRK). The Kyrgyz OTRK established in 2010 is the first public service broadcaster in the Central Asian region.

The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media observes media developments in all 57 OSCE participating States. She provides early warning on violations of freedom of expression and media freedom and promotes full compliance with OSCE media freedom commitments. Learn more at www.osce.org/fom, Twitter: @OSCE_RFoM and on facebook.com/osce.rfom.