Information minister: Newspapers get less warnings
Belarus's Information Minister Uladzimir Rusakevich is holding an on-line press conference on the web site of the Belarusian official news agency BELTA. This is what he responded to a student's question over the warnings issued by the ministry to the newspapers.
"As for the closure of the media organizations, this is the work of courts. How often does the ministry issue reprimands? I am happy that the number of warnings has dropped. We believe that the legal culture of journalists and media manager has significantly increased.
Therefore, such forms of relations likes warnings or interviews are used more seldom: 3-4 times per month. The warnings are issued mostly for technical violations: frequency of the publication, the language of the newspaper, topicality, the legal address, etc. In 2007, 76 newspapers received warnings".
"As for the closure of the media organizations, this is the work of courts. How often does the ministry issue reprimands? I am happy that the number of warnings has dropped. We believe that the legal culture of journalists and media manager has significantly increased.
Therefore, such forms of relations likes warnings or interviews are used more seldom: 3-4 times per month. The warnings are issued mostly for technical violations: frequency of the publication, the language of the newspaper, topicality, the legal address, etc. In 2007, 76 newspapers received warnings".
