Lost in transition

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Lost in transition?

• A summary of six country reports for the project
• Youth and Media in Transition Societies
• by the
• Robert Bosch Foundation
• Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen

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Countries

• Bulgaria
• Croatia
• Germany
• Poland
• Romania
• Serbia

• 2 EU members G, P
• 3 EU candidate countries BG, CRO, RO
• 1 Country (SER) in SAP negotiating SAA
• -----------------------------
• 2 post-war countries (CROSER)

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Reporters

• Bulgaria Rumyana Bozhkova
• Croatia Barbara Peranic
• Germany Neboja Martinovic
• Poland ALeksandra Lipczak Manuela
  Plizga-Jonarska
• Romania Adrian Ardelean
• Serbia Marko Cade Radovan Kupres

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Transition

• Change from socialist system to democracy
• Change of the political framework
• Change of the legal framework
• Change of the role of the media
• (SERCRO Change from war to post-conflict
  reconstruction)

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Purpose of research to describe

• Youth as target group for the media
• Youths self-perception in the political life
• How is the youths role in transition seen by
  political and social decision-makers
• How is youth included into transition

• Young generation
• 15-17 18-24 years
• in several reports up to 29 years of age

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Relevant mass media mass media platforms

• Television
• Radio
• Print media
• Internet

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Focus method of research

• Emphasis on how young generation uses mass media
  for political information
• Underlying assumption informed young citizens
  empowered to participate in transition,
  particularly through civil society activism
• General media sector structure and media
  consumption patterns only as background
• Meta-analysis of existing empirical data

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Structure of the reports

• Introduction Political environment in the
  country
• Overview of the media sector in the country
• Overview of existing studies relevant to the
  research
• Monitoring of the relevant media to determine
  discourse on youth issues
• Media usage by young generation
• Governmental and non-governmental initiatives for
  the young generation
• Presentation of (a) best-practice model (s)
• Optional interviews with experts
• Conclusions Evaluation ? Discussion at this
  conference

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Findings 1.1.Political environment young
generation

• EU Members
• GER Transition not typical, but higher level of
  uncertainty among the whole population and
  especially the youth
• POL Transformation process has been concluded
  in the most crucial aspects
• EU Candidates
• ROM Only when ROM enters EU, transformation is
  over
• BG 1989-1996 low speed 1997 now extensive
  reform package
• CRO has yet to complete its transition process
• SAP Country
• SER key problems remain (SERCRO still suffer
  from war)
• YOUNG GENERATION
• SER Youth lost in transition
• CRO Youth in Croatia Lost in transition
• BG Lost generation (because of emigration)
• ROM Young generation has to be made fit for
  democracy
• POL Abandoned generation
• GER Apparent luck of interest and trust of
  young people towards politics

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1.2. Findings Political environment young
generation

• Some common descriptions
• Young generation leading in revolutions but
  afterwards marginalised by the establishment
• Economic other burdens of transition fall
  heavily on young generation (unemployment, fall
  of living standard, deterioration of educational
  systems, reduced social benefits, corruption
  organised crime, inefficient legal systems)
• Civic involvement declining, mistrust in politics
  politicians rising

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2.Findings Media sector

• Proliferation of mass media outlets
• Strong influx dominant position of foreign
  capital
• Disappearance of rebel youth media (Polet,
  Mladina, Non)
• Dumbing down both in commercial sector PSB to
  increase market share (www.eumap.org)
• Ethnic stereotyping persistent (Roma!) minority
  representation deficient (including GER)
• Internet on the rise

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3.1. Findings Existing studies on youth
transition

• Some common outcomes
• Prevalent support for European integration
• Less educated young people see more dangers
  coming from EU integration (jobs!)
• Democracy accepted (education age!)
• !POL Degree of trust in the media is related to
  degree of interest in politics better
  orientation in public life strengthens a more
  critical reception of media content
• Acceptance of market economy and readiness for
  enterprise (education!)
• Retreat into private sphere corresponding media
  interests such as entertainment, sports, soaps,
  life-style
• Feeling of loss social loneliness turn to
  traditional values (religious rites!) (less
  educated less affluent)

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3.2. Findings Existing studies on youth
transition

• Television is the preferred mass media outlet
  both for entertainment political information
  (cheaper!)
• Radio preferred for music and instant
  information as background companion
• Daily press is used less and less by the young
  generation (education!)
• Imagetext format (Newsweek Polska),
  infotainment outright tabloidisation on the
  rise
• Internet increasingly popular among young
  generation but costs and education are limiting
  factors
• Few examples of civic media or youth to youth
  media
• Media divide some minorities (BG Roma!) gain
  significantly less media access attention -
  but other enjoy a positive attitude (ROM towards
  German, i.e. western, ethnic minority)
• General distrust of social institutions,
  including news media. But less educated youth
  trust news media more than better educated young
  people

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45. Monitoring of selected media outlets

• Some mass media pay attention to providing
  content for and by the young generation (Gazeta
  Wyborcza, Blic, Direkt tv show, Spoko, etc)
• Content provided by young media (BG Alma
  Mater, CRO Radio Student, etc., UniSpiegel) is
  popular and fosters critical social and political
  attitudes
• Most established media do not see young
  generation as worth of particular editorial and
  marketing strategies therefore young people
  disregard them as well (especially quasi PSB such
  as RTS, HRT, etc.)
• Circulation audience rising topics such as sex
  crime, celebrities and sports frame young
  generation far from reality
• Internet is the mass media platform for the
  better educated and affluent youth as it provides
  most choices
• Post-conflict societies (but not only)
  occurrence of hate-speech towards ethnic
  other minorities
• GER other old Europe (in various degrees)
  fail to engage immigrant youth significantly into
  public life

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6. Gov. CSO initiatives for the youth

• GER No shortage of projects, but in some cases
  there is a lack of cooperation
• POL School parliaments, mock elections, media
  literacy workshops
• CRO Gong 50 of all final-year grammar
  school pupils participated in workshops of that
  CSO, RADIO101 (Omladinski radio)
• BG www.izbori2005.org with over 4000 young
  participants
• SER Evronet (Mrea), 5 RTS1

• Governments (GER exception) tend to be passive
• Often lip-service only to programmes for youth
  and inclusion of young generation into political
  decision-making
• CSOs depend on external financial assistance and
  sometimes content input important role of the
  German political foundations
• Lack of co-ordination (domestic external)
  waists possible synergies
• Young generation is divided according to social
  status, wealth, ethnic background, location of
  living, etc. so that initiatives have to be
  tailored to specific needs

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7. Best practice models

• SER Restart RTS2 programme for young people
  from ex-Yu to foster Vergangenheitsbewältigung
• ROM Pausenradio radio in a German minority
  school in Temisoara broadcasting twice daily
  news, features, music, etc.
• BG Agency for Youth Sports supported in 1998 a
  project to create a childrens parliament
• CRO Gong a project to foster participation
  of young people in democracy
• POL (several) Nowy Staw Foundation in Lubin runs
  EU media trainer empowering young people from
  local civil centres to prepare media reports
  about their social environment
• GER DASDING by PSB SWR 45 interactive TV by
  young journalists on various platforms ZISCH
  participating school classes receive free copies
  of dailies and review content critically can
  themselves write articles for local papers

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9.1 Conclusions

• GER It is important to reach those youth who
  show little interest in politics and society
  (but sometimes care about social activism)
• POL Polish people are tired by the low quality
  of political culture, including mass media but
  mass media are among few institutions enjoying
  some social trust
• People in CRO are tired of political games and
  party conflicts and their confidence in the media
  is not that great. The country lacks independent
  and non-profit youth media

• BG Although there is greater diversity in the
  media, young people are pejoratively presented
  denied access to the media to influence politics
  society as a whole
• ROM The question remains how to motive young
  people to consume more news and current affairs
  reporting especially if young people are not
  strongly integrated into politics
• SER Who will bring the country in the next years
  into the EU if young generation is excluded from
  the political process? Gvt should develop a
  national youth policy

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9.2.1 Additional aspects worth examining

• Demographical trends indicate aging of population
  throughout Europe already now Southeast Europe
  (except Albanian population) belongs to the
  oldest groups on the continent
• Young people (especially less educated with
  minority migrant background) especially
  jeopardised by unemployment poverty throughout
  Europe
• Post-conflict area in ex-Yu still impaired by war
  experience, particularly young people who were
  affected by violence
• Migration issues increasingly affect CEE SEE as
  these are both labour exporting importing
  regions

• Digitalisation continues to change media sector
  (4000 TV channels over Europe)
• Internet based services affect media consumption
• Transnational media concentration continues with
  little public knowledge about changes
• Further liberalisation in the media sector
  endorsed by EU (product placement rules, revised
  Television Without Frontiers Directive, etc.)
• EUs democratic deficit continues to provoke
  public discontent produces enlargement
  fatigue affecting perspectives of weakest part
  of Europe -SEE

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10. Recommendations

• ?