On January 19, President Gurbanguly Berdimukhammedov held a meeting with a wide audience of the representatives of mass media, art and culture in Turkmenistan. Addressing the participants of the session, Berdimukhammedov laid out major criticisms on the mass media’s lethargic role in propagating what he called the “new ideology” in Turkmenistan.

Although a precise meaning of the newly announced concept of “new ideology” was not pinpointed at the meeting, the president somewhat dimly referred to his latest reforms and efforts to modernize many sectors in the country. In a televised speech, the president denounced the media representatives for not being able to break with the country’s idiosyncratic past. Instead of portraying the recent reforms, he said that the media was still concerned about fostering the president’s personality cult. “It is high time to replace the old ideology,” said Berdimukhammedov and also announced that his famous slogan “Dovlet adam uchindir! (the state is for people)” will constitute the core goal of his new ideology.

Under this new concept, Gurbanguly Berdimukhammedov has also ardently spoken of protecting human rights in the country. “Protecting human rights and liberties is my main objective … the citizens’ lives ought to improve and the population will have to feel it [improvement] in no time” claimed the president. Berdimukhammedov further noted that media sources should properly enlighten the population in Turkmenistan on the president’s and government’s policies and decisions. The criticisms also included news-making process in mass media. Particularly, it was noted that both TV and radio programs are of low quality and too repetitive. The president said that journalists lack basic skills such as conducting interviews, including expert opinions and doing research for TV reports and newspaper outlets.

Currently, Turkmenistan has three radio and four TV channels – Miras (heritage), Yashlyk (youth), Altyn Asyr (Golden Century) and Turkmenistan.  However, the majority of population in the country opts for watching mostly Russian and western channels including BBC, CNN through the relatively cheap satellite dishes that are installed on almost every family’s apartment roof. Those parts of the population living in border areas in eastern Turkmenistan watch Uzbek channels that are considered more or less entertaining. Berdimukhammedov claimed that the national TV programs do not portray the real life conditions amongst the population, and hence the low figures watching them. In this regard, the president called for preparing well-trained journalists and experts who could meet the guidelines of the “new ideology” in Turkmenistan.

The move to criticize the mass media and calling for a significant change in news-making in the country came out rather unexpectedly, and there is still some doubt over what specifically the authorities expect from the media representatives. Principles of freedom of speech and permitting any independent media sources were not mentioned during the session, however the president mutedly alluded to emulating western experience in mass media reporting. Under Niyazov’s administration, a high level of state censure over media did not allow any alternative source of information in the country and all media sources were used as a mere source of state propaganda. If any mass media reform takes place as required by Berdimukhammedov, then it is expected to be a major positive step in the country’s information policy.

It is noteworthy that President Berdimukhammedov has recently declared that organizations and institutions can from now on sign up for foreign media outlets in Turkmenistan. Berdimukhammedov has also allowed some additional access to information by opening up Internet cafes at reasonable prices in the major cities of Turkmenistan.  However, whether the president’s call for reform in the media will lead to significant changes in the near future remains to be seen, but the fact that he is willing to do so is already one step forward from the earlier dismal state of mass media in the country.