ABSTRACT
Under communism the media functioned as a propaganda tool, seeking to control all flows of information, thereby enabling ruling elites to successfully engage in “cultural policy”. A high density of televisions and radios ensured “thought control” and the “indoctrination of the fundamental tenets of socialism: social equality and social ownership of the means of production”. The crucial step towards democracy lies in the removal of communist control over all areas of public life. According to Przeworski, “democracy is consolidated when compliance - acting within the institutional framework - constitutes the equilibrium of the decentralized strategies of all relevant political forces”. Independent journalism depends on editorial autonomy, which in turn, is strongly correlated with financial independence. De-monopolizing the printed press and all related media businesses therefore constitutes absolute priority of media reform. As soon as censorship was abolished after the revolutions in 1989, many new newspapers and magazines began to flood the market.
