Mongolia
Media Environment | News Gathering | Practical Tips
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Media Environment
Media in this former communist state are considered to be largely free from political interference. The 1998 ‘Law of Freedom of the Media’ included the requirement that ‘the state shall not impose control over the contents of public information’. Building on this, a 2005 law signalled the transition of the country’s party-controlled radio and television into a public-service broadcaster. Its stations now compete with commercial radio and television, including cable and satellite providers.
State-owned newspapers have been privatised, though political parties do publish some titles and the accusation has been made that most national media outlets serve as propaganda instruments of the political and business interests that created them. Circulation of newspapers generally is modest despite Mongolia’s relatively high level of literacy.
The privately-owned Unuudur is the country’s largest daily. There are two Ulaan Bataar-based English-language weeklies, the Mongol Messenger (www.mongolmessenger.mn/home/index.php) published by Montsame, the state-owned press agency (www.montsame.mn), and the independent UB Post (http://ubpost.mongolnews.mn).
Mongolian National Broadcaster (MNB) the national public broadcast service operates alongside a number of private channels including MN Channel 25, C1, TV5 and TV9 as well as UBS TV, a station owned by Ulan Bator city government. Radio services include Mongolian Radio, the country’s only national broadcaster Radio Ulan Bator and Inforadio 105.5. Olloo (www.olloo.mn/en/index.php) is a comprehensive Mongolian news and information portal.
News Gathering
Print and broadcast media in Mongolia are compromised by the widespread practice of accepting paid-for articles or programming masquerading as ‘business news’ and this in turn has had a corrosive effect on the professionalism of journalists and the concept of balanced reporting.
Practical Tips
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Sparsely populated and with rudimentary infrastructure, Mongolia relies heavily on air travel. Few airports have paved runways, however, and schedules change at short notice. Be aware that it is not possible to buy return tickets at the place of departure and that foreigners pay more than locals for flights.
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Bus travel is increasingly popular, but bear in mind that there are no bus routes in the west of the country and that taxis are only practical on paved roads (97.5 per cent of the country’s roads are unpaved). Jeeps can be hired, usually with a driver and/or guide. Be aware that petrol is sometimes hard to find.
Contributor: Vaughan Yarwood
Latest update September 2008
