Özbekistan’da Medya Tarihine Bir Bakış /An Overview of Media History in Uzbekistan

The media in the Turkic Republics, which gained independence after the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, played an important role in the process of eliminating communism's influence and regaining their own identities, particularly in the fields of history, language, religion, and culture. Media in Uzbekistan, which gained its independence in 1991, was used mostly to instill the ideology during the period of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. However, Uzbekistan eradicated communism's influence in 1991 and began broadcasting with an emphasis on culture, religion, and science, as well as teaching Uzbek Turkish to the public. With the effect of globalization, the private sector also established various media outlets in addition to the state-owned television channels, newspapers, and magazines. Moreover, the Constitution of Uzbekistan defined the duties, responsibilities, and rights of the media after independence, and promised a free media. However, the freedom of media workers and media could not extend beyond the provisions of the Constitution under the tenure of Islam Karimov, who ruled from the country's independence in 1991 until his death in 2016. However, during the presidency of Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who succeeded Islam Karimov, numerous media reforms were adopted. As a result of these reforms, some journalists who were imprisoned for more than two decades were released, as were some press and media outlets. Consequently, Uzbekistan's ranking in the World Press Index has risen.