In a potentially seismic break from custom, state television in Uzbekistan has begun broadcasting news bulletins live to air instead of pre-recording the programs.
Dia.uz News website reported that the first such bulletin to be aired in this way was the Ahborot (“News”) program shown on Channel 1 on April 4 at 2 p.m.
This sudden change of policy comes on the heels of criticism about the standard of news programing from President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. The president said at a government meeting on March 30 that state television and radio stations needed overhauling — he singled out Uzbekistan and Yoshlar TV stations and the Ahborot bulletin for particular condemnation.
“The time for cheerleading is over. What we need on television are critical and analytical materials. People should be waiting for these programs with a sense of anticipation,” he said.
It was Mirziyoyev that specifically suggested the news should go out live.
Naturally, the remarks themselves were extensively reported on state television and then in other media.
Ahborot broadcasts every day in a 20-minute slot. On Sunday, a wider-ranging, hour-long analytical version of the program is aired.
The presumed purpose of allowing news programs to air live is that it will limit the scope for censorship and grant reporters greater freedom to run potentially problematic reporting. How it will actually play out, however, is another matter, since broadcasters are liable to simply censor themselves in the process of production instead of the edit.
But it is evident that Mirziyoyev is eager to circumvent certain branches of his own government — the security services first and foremost — and engage more directly with the general public.
In a related development, Podrobdno.uz has reported that the national broadcasting company has a new deputy chairman in charge of news output.
Babur Alikhanov, 58, reportedly has previous experience working for broadcasters in Moscow, and for US television companies and the BBC.
Most recently, he was the editor for UzReport.uz news website.
Veteran journalist Elparid Hadjayev told EurasiaNet.org that the main thing is to go beyond rhetoric and actually implement the president’s instructions. Ahborot has until served exclusively as a tribune for praising the government.
“The viewer did not even hear about what is going on in their own country — but they want to hear about the real situation. And reforms are needed not just with news programming, but with TV as a whole,” he said.
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