The Open Society Institute organized a round table in Dushanbe and held a presentation of a study on the level of education among Tajik journalists.

The main methodology applied in the study was interviewing of experts. Twenty experts took part in the study – professors of faculties of journalism in Tajik universities, correspondents, editors and managers of the Tajik media, representatives of educational institutions and employees of international organizations.

The study says that since the early 1990-s, there have not been any daily newspapers in Tajikistan. Akbarali Sattorov, chairman of the Union of Journalists and publisher of several newspapers says that the country does not have a network for dissemination of printing outlets, and periodicals cannot be timely delivered to remote areas, whilst the government does not make any allocations to improve the system of postal deliveries.

Experts stressed that the absence of daily newspapers impedes development of the printing media market. Among the main problems experts indicated the lack of professionals, problems with advertisers, and insufficient legal education.

Many newspapers, mainly the Tajik-language ones violate ethical principles, and their publications contain offensive statements, which can lead to trials in court.

Experts also noted that the local private radio companies work with information in a more efficient manner since they have to compete with foreign electronic media available within Tajikistan’s information space.

At the same time, there are no radio stations working in the format of talk radio. Most of the FM stations prefer music to news and serious analytical programs. Experts say that radio stations in provinces are more interesting and informative rather than in the capital.

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