The objective of the “Monitoring of the Programming Structure and News and Information Programs of the Mongolian National Broadcaster (MNB) -2” was to evaluate the extent to which the Mongolian National Broadcaster has fulfilled its public service mission during its transition period from a State broadcaster to a Public Service Broadcaster. In particular, the project aimed to compare the results of the 2010 analysis with data collected in the previous monitoring project in order to identify positve and negative changes since 2007 and provide the MNB management and policy makers with concrete recommendations for improvements.

To realize this, the project conducted following studies:
1. Analysis of the programming structure
2. Content analysis of news and information programs
Based on the data generated through quantitative studies, the project sought to evaluate if the MNB fulfills the principles of Public Service

Broadcasting defined as follows:
1. Independence from from political, economic and other one-sided interests
2. Diversity of programs in terms of the target group, program types and contents

In order to assess the current status of the MNB programs with regard to the broadcaster’s public service mandate, two studies have been conducted:
- An analysis of the programming structure of the MNB
- Content analysis of news and information programs of the MNB
The research methodology was developed during the first monitoring project, conducted in 2007. In order to generate comparable data, the research team used the research design from 2007 without significant changes.

The current study has been conducted with the aim of assessing the extent to which the Mongolian Public Service Broadcaster abides by the Law on Public Service Broadcasting and fulfills its public service mandate. To be more precise, the study aimed to identify changes to programming policy that have been made since 2007 when the Press Institute monitored the Public Service Broadcaster’s programs for the first time and provided recommendations for improvement.

Two surveys have been conducted to meet the above objective: An analysis of the programming structure of the Mongolian National Broadcaster (MNB) and content analysis of the news and information programs of the MNB.

When developing the research methodology, the Press Institute used EBU system of classification of broadcast programs, the ESCORT system, which allows for multi-dimensional classification of programs.

The research team analyzed the content and structure of a random sample of fourteen consecutive days of programming in April and September 2010 (a total 28 days).  Within this sample the research team registered 1224 items, out of which 69.4 percent were independent programs, including news, information and drama, which is similar to the situation in 2007. The remaining 30 percent were clips promoting own programs, commercial and non-commercial advertisement, beginning and and of programs etc. 

In order to assess how well the Mongolian National Broadcaster is fulfilling its public service mission, the project defined the following as the major principles that a public service broadcaster should comply with:

1. The Public Service Broadcaster remains independent from any private interests and political authorities. This means, the programs of the Public Service Broadcaster remain distant from any ulterior motives other than the quality of programs for their own sake.

2. The Public Service Broadcaster seeks to provide equal services to all citizens regardless of gender, social status, political view, religion, physical capacity or geographic location. This means the Public Service Broadcaster seeks to cater to a wide range of tastes and interests with appropriate programming.

3. In order to equally serve diverse groups of people, the Public Service Broadcaster seeks to diversify its programs in at least three ways: offer diverse program formats and genres (ranging from news to fiction, from information to education and entertainment), address diverse audiences (young people, elderly, minorities etc.) and deal with diverse subjects (responding to the various interests of the public and reflecting topics of social debate).  

Conclusions
Positve changes since 2007
- The level of professionalism of news production improved in comparison to 2007. Sources of information were more transparent and it was evident that MNB journalists strove to distinguish between fact and opinion. The dominant majority of news items were based on facts and the journalist did not make personal comments and conclusions.
- The share of in-house productions in the MNB doubled. This has been mainly due to structural changes in the MNB, which supported own production instead of purchasing programs from private studios.
- If in 2007 entertainment programs tended to dominate in the prime time, this trend changed for the better. In 2010 in prime time (between 8:00 and 10:00 PM) was mainly occupied by information programs, which the monitoring team considers to be a more appropriate for the public service missions of the MNB.
- Programs targeting special groups such as ethnic minorities or language groups have been broadcast more regularly. The MNB also introduced sign language for its news programs, which was not used in 2007.

Negative changes and trends
- The duration of single news items was relatively long in 2007 (around 1 minute). In 2010 the news items became even longer (90 seconds), even though the MNB news programs do not provide background stories and features. Worthy of mention is also the fact that despite the relatively long duration of news stories, the MNB does not use various levels of information sources. On the contrary, every second news item relies on the statement of one and only information source, who is usually a public official.
- Every second information program does not reveal its production origin, so sponsored programs and editorial policy content cannot be distinguished.
- Even though advertisements on the MNB in general do not exceed the 2 percent of broadcasting time allowed by law, prime time news programs are frequently interrupted by commercial and hidden advertisements and paid-for news items, which is not only against the law on Public Service Broadcasting and the Law on Advertisements, but is also a serious violation of professional standards in journalism. 
- An increasing trend of commercialization can be noticed in the MNB programming policy with more time dedicated to entertainment programs and less attention paid to information and educational programs. In this regard the MNB does not differ much from the commercial stations despite its public service mission.  
- Even though the  MNB dedicates sufficient time for children programs, the share of programs for different age groups that fall into the category of ‘children’ is not consistent. The same was situation was noted in 2007 and even though the monitoring team recommended reviewing the children’s programming policy, the situation has not changed so far.

Recommendations
For policy makers and legislators
A crucial factor that can influence the independence of  programming policy of the Public Service Broadcaster is its financial independence. For this reason the Press Institute recommends legislators and policy makers pay attention to the current financing system of the Public Service Broadcaster.

Monitoring of the Public Service Broadcaster programs showed that the current financing model of the Public Service Broadcaster tends to negatively affect the MNB’ programming policy. The license fees do not provide sufficient income for the Public Service Broadcaster and advertisement income is limited to 2% from non-commercial ads only so that the MNB significantly depends on the state budget support. In the effort to generate additional income the MNB uses all other means including sponsorship of information programs and even prime time news programs, paid-for news stories and hidden commercial advertisements.

The Press Institute recommends officially allowing an appropriate level of advertisement income in order to balance public funding with commercial sources of income and avoid overdependence on state subsidies. Official permission of (limited) income from commercial advertisements would not only loosen the strong dependence on political decisions regarding MNB’s annual budget, it will also contribute to creating a more dynamic and needs-oriented relationship between the MNB and its audience. 

For the Board of the MNB

- In accordance with Article 8.4 of the Law on Public Service Broadcasting, the board of the MNB is obliged to exercise control over the programming policy of the MNB to ensure that it  abides the law and follows the public service principles. For better efficiency of this control the Press Institute recommends regular examination of the programming structure of the MNB to assess the plurality of content and diversity of target audiences and program formats. Such assessments could, for example, help to identify trends of extreme commercialization by over-emphasizing entertainment programs and reduction in the amount of time dedicated to information programs, children etc.

- The analysis of the programming structure shall regularly be publicized to emphasis the unique role of the MNB its difference from commercials stations.

For program directors and the MNB management

- When defining the MNB programming policy at the editorial level, the Press Institute recommends introducing internal categories that allow precise definition of the objectives, content, target audience and format of each program based on the same criteria.
This will not only allow transparency in programming planning, it will make it easier to ensure balanced programming with regard to programs targeting specific groups, the share of information and entertainment programs, etc.

- To meet the legal requirement of producing programs on a “high professional level” the MNB needs to precisely define the criteria and requirements for each type of program in order to set common standards and promote them. On the other hand, attention should be paid to improving the professional qualifications of journalists by evaluating the level of professional knowledge and skills and the training needs and implementing capacity building programs for journalistic staff.

- The Press Institute recommends defining and implementing a concrete editorial policy with regard to sponsored programs. This would include the type and placement of sponsored programs and defining the extent to which sponsorship would interfere with the program content (this should be strictly limited to maintain the independence of programming policy and fulfill the public service mandate). The monitoring team advises restricting sponsorship of information programs, particularly news and children’s programs, in order to maintain editorial control over these programs, and ensure credibility and independence.

- The Press Institute appreciates increase in the MNG’s own programs in the share of total broadcasting time and recommends efforts be made to maintain this achievement.

- The MNB should continue its efforts to serve the needs of various social groups including disabled and increase the types of programs broadcast with sign language and subtitles. 

- The Press Institute notes that the majority of information programs aim tend to inform only, while analytical programs that scutinze problems, question facts and situations and look for solutions are rare.

For the management of the ММ news agency
- The Press Institute recommends urgent attention be paid to the fact that every second news item is based on the statement of one single source only. We recommend introducing and promoting standards to ensure the plurality of information sources in news stories to provide for balanced and accurate news reporting.

- Worthy of note is the fact that news items citing several sources mainly include official sources, while citizens and groups affected by the event/situation or independent sources without a conflict of interest rarely had a say. For this reason the monitoring team recommends promoting editorial rules and news standards to ensure use of diverse types and levels of information sources including decision makers, people directly affected by the decision/event and independent experts.

- The news bulletin mainly consists of short news stories. We recommend diversifying at least the main, prime time news program to include background and analytical stories and features, reportages and interviews to enrich the content and diversify formats of story presentation to meet the needs and interests of various groups of people.

- The Press Institute recommends urgently stopping the broadcasting of commercial advertisements prepared in the format of journalistic news pieces and direct ads within news programs, which not only violate the law and professional standards, but also damage the credibility and reputation of the public service broadcaster.

Full report available in PDF