First point

The Public Chamber assessed media freedom in the Voronezh region

The Public Chamber and the All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion published the first results of research as part of the Freedom of Speech Index in Russia project . The data was announced on Wednesday at a joint meeting of the VTsIOM expert group and the OP Commission on Freedom of Speech and Media in Voronezh. The Voronezh region became a pilot region where sociologists tested methods for determining the level of population access to the media, as well as the independence of the press from government and business.

Based on the results of the study, the region was assigned an index - the degree of “freedom of speech in Voronezh” was rated at 55.1 points on a 100-point scale. Zero points indicate a complete lack of freedom of information, and 100 indicates its maximum possible accessibility. “Naturally, we cannot yet say where the Voronezh region ranks relative to other Russian regions, but when extensive research is carried out, then we will be able to draw conclusions,” said VTsIOM director Valery Fedorov. “It’s good that there are more than 50, but it will be possible to give estimates only by comparing with other regions of Russia,” Pavel Gusev, head of the OP Commission on Freedom of Speech and editor-in-chief of Moskovsky Komsomolets, agreed with the expert. According to VTsIOM staff, in the near future sociologists should complete research on the Novosibirsk region (it, like Voronezh, was chosen as a typical region in its federal district), and then it will be possible to draw some conclusions.

“During the study, our employees asked 48 questions to fifty experts we selected,” Mr. Fedorov told Vremya Novostei. The experts were journalists themselves, editors-in-chief and owners of regional media, human rights activists, representatives of public organizations and political parties. About 600 residents of the Voronezh region who had nothing to do with the press took part in the survey; according to Mr. Fedorov, this is a fairly representative sample for the region.

“Of course, no one asked directly: “Is the press free in your region?” -- the press service of the Public Chamber explained to Vremya Novostey. “The study participants asked respondents how the authorities influence information in the region, whether economic pressure from the administration on the media is possible, etc.”

The idea to conduct their own monitoring arose among social activists last year - the members of the OP were not happy that the determination of the level of democracy of the media in Russia was carried out exclusively by Western foundations (see the issue of Vremya Novostei dated October 4, 2007) . “We would like this index to become one of the criteria by which the performance of governors is assessed. Then they would have more motives to think about ensuring that the press in their region is of high quality and objective,” Pavel Gusev expressed his wish yesterday. Voronezh Governor Vladimir Kulakov, who was present at the retreat of the OP and VTsIOM, believes that in the region he leads, everything is in order with freedom of speech. Every week I meet with media representatives and answer all questions and I believe that every leader should do this,” said Mr. Kulakov. Adding that “freedom should not turn into permissiveness.”

In official reports summing up the results of the study, the Glasnost Defense Foundation, led by the famous human rights activist Alexei Simonov, is mentioned as one of the co-founders and “participants” of the Freedom of Speech Index project. However, as Mr. Simonov himself noted to Vremya Novostey, declaring the fund’s participation “would be a big stretch.” “We handed over to the Public Chamber the sociological developments at our disposal - three different methods and four questionnaires, on the basis of which similar studies are carried out by international organizations,” says the human rights activist. “But later, when drawing up methodological developments, no one asked our opinion.”

Mikhail MOSHKIN