The mass media in Cyprus refers to mass media outlets based on the island of Cyprus, including both the Republic of Cyprus (RoC) and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). Television, magazines, and newspapers are all operated by both state-owned and for-profit corporations which depend on advertising, subscription, and other sales-related revenues.
In the 2015 Freedom of the Press report of Freedom House, the Republic of Cyprus was ranked "free" and scored 25/100 in press freedom, 5/30 in Legal Environment, 11/40 in Political Environment, and 9/30 in Economic Environment (the lower scores the better).Freedom House , 2015 report Cyprus Reporters Without Borders rank the Republic of Cyprus 24th out of 180 countries in the 2015 World Press Freedom Index, with a score of 15.62.RSF , Cyprus
History In the 1960–75 Cyprus, the media (owned by the government) were deemed not free. The power-sharing agreement among Turkish and Greek communities collapsed in 1963 after Makarios' attempt at pushing through Constitutional amendments. The Turkish community withdrew from the power-sharing agreements, and media remained under control of the Greek-dominated government.Jenifer Whitten-Woodring, Douglas A. Van Belle, Historical Guide to World Media Freedom: A Country-by-Country Analysis
The 1974 failed Greek coup triggered the Turkish military intervention and resulted in the division of the island. The partition removed the Turkish population from the Greek Cypriots' political sphere, and media controls were slowly relaxed. The editorial independence of the state-owned media (on the BBC model) was slowly reinforced in the 1976–77 period, when media in the Republic of Cyprus were deemed "partly free". Few small but free independent media outlets also emerged.
By 1977, governmental controls on the media in the Republic of Cyprus had been removed and the media started to be deemed "free". The 1989 Press Law allowed privatisation and reinforced journalists' protections.
Legislative framework Republic of Cyprus The Constitution of Cyprus guarantees freedom of speech and of expression (art. 19): «Every person has the right to freedom of speech and expression in any form. This right includes freedom to hold opinions and receive and impart information and ideas without interference by any public authority and regardless of frontiers.»Government of Cyprus, Press and Information Office
These are generally respected in practice by the government. The press of the Republic of Cyprus is seen as "vibrant" and does not shy from criticising authorities.Freedom House, 2014 Cyprus Freedom of the Press report
The 1989 RoC Press Law supports press freedom by guaranteeing the circulation of newspapers, journalists' right not to reveal sources, and public access to information. Libel and defamation are decriminalised and remain as civil offenses.
Cypriot and foreign journalists have the right to free access to state sources of information, freedom to seek and acquire information from any competent authority of the Republic and the freedom to make this public. Information can only be withhold for state or public security, constitutional or public order, public morals or the protection of the honour and rights of third parties.
Cyprus does not have a specific freedom of information (FOI) law (the only EU member state, with Spain, in such a condition), although a draft law was being prepared in late 2013.
Cypriot and foreign journalists have the right to protect their sources and not to give testimony without liability, unless when the published information concerns a criminal offence. In that case the journalist may be requirest to reveal her/his source, given that the information is clearly related to the criminal offence, it cannot be obtained otherwise, and there exist a superior and imperative public interest that require that the information be revealed.
A right to reply exists for persons, organisations or public institutions that are named or indirectly referred to in a report or article, if they consider it as untrue or misleading. Their reply must be published, free of charge, within three days of its receipt, giving it the same prominence as the initial report.
The law provides for freedom of speech and press, and the government generally respects these rights in practice. An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system combine to ensure freedom of speech and of the press. The law prohibits arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home, or correspondence, and the government generally respects these prohibitions in practice.
In 2015 a bill criminalizing denial of war crimes recognised by the Parliament (punished with prison terms of up to five years and a €10,000 fine) raised concerns (e.g. by the OSCE RFoM) about compliance with international freedom of expression standards.OSCE RFoM
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
The law protects press freedom in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and internet access is not restricted. Some media institutions and journalists are openly critical of the government, independent media is active and expresses a wide variety of views. Some journalists have expressed concerns about privacy laws passed in 2014 that could potentially limit investigative journalism.
Status and self-regulation of journalists Journalists, gathered in the Cyprus Union of Journalists, resort to self-regulation to address complaints about professional standards, based on a 1997 Code of Conduct and an Ethics Commission monitoring its implementation.Code of Conduct
The Cyprus Media Complaints Commission (CMCC), established in May 1997, is a press council responsible for the self-regulation of the written and electronic news media, independent from government interference or judicial supervision.CMCC
Media outlets
Print media
The print press in the Republic of Cyprus include 7 daily newspapers and 31 weeklies, often linked to political parties. As of 2009 there were 9 dailies with an average circulation of 100,000.
Daily newspapers include Alithia, Haravgi, Makhi, Phileleftheros, Politis, Simerini. Kypriaki has been discontinued. English-language press include the Cyprus Mail and the Cyprus Reporter (The Cyprus Times has been discontinued). The online press include CyprusNews.Live, CyprusNews.eu, onlycy, News in Cyprus, and Supermpala (sport magazine). Weeklies include Kathimerini (in Greek) and several English-language magazines: Cyprus Dialogue, Cyprus Observer, Cyprus Today, Cyprus Weekly, Financial Mirror.
EU citizens can issue print publications without restrictions or authorisations, only by registering before a District Court Registrar of the Republic, which forward it to the Press and Information Office (PIO), which issue a receipt. This is to be renewed in case of change of ownership.Registration of newspapers Non-EU citizens require a permit from the Minister of the Interior to publish a newspaper or a magazine in Cyprus. The permit is conditional and non-transferable, and may be revoked if the conditions are breached. Editorial and printing activities must be carried out in Cyprus.
In Northern Cyprus several local dailies in Turkish language are available, although mainland Turkish papers are generally preferred. Kıbrıs has by far the highest circulation.Tümerkan, Mete. "KKTC MEDYASI" (Prime Ministry of Turkey) Retrieved 2011-04-23KIBRIS, en çok okunan gazete (Kıbrıs) Retrieved 2011-04-23. The U.S. Department of State reported in 2002 that there were opposition newspapers which often criticized the government.2002 Report on Human Rights in Cyprus, U.S. Department of State, retrieved on 21 April 2011. Northern Cyprus dailies include Afrika, Avrupa Demokrat Bakış, Detay, Diyalog, Haberdar, Halkın Sesi, Havadis, Kıbrıs, Kıbrıs Postası, Kıbrıslı, Realist, Star Kıbrıs, Vatan, Volkan, Yeni Düzen. Weeklies include Cümbez, Cyprus Dialogue, Cyprus Observer, Cyprus Today, Ekonomi, Star International, Yeniçağ.
Publishing
Radio broadcasting
A mixture of state and privately run radio services; the public broadcaster operates 4 radio stations; in addition a number of private radio stations are available; in Northern Cyprus, there are 4 public radio stations as well as privately owned radio broadcast stations (2007)."Communications", Cyprus. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency., published 5 December 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
Cyprus has a thriving radio landscape, with 93% of Greek Cypriots tuning in every day. Most stations broadcast in FM, and there's a mixture of state and private-run stations. This article lists all radio stations broadcasting in the southern part of Cyprus, and overviews the major stations broadcasting from the Northern Cyprus. The British sovereign military bases of Akrotiri and Dhekelia also operate radio transmitters. In addition to domestic broadcasts, Cyprus hosts international broadcast centres beaming content to the Middle East.
The Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation charter mandates a diverse radio programme with national coverage. It currently produces 4 radio programmes. The table below only includes high-power transmitters and omits low-power transmitters that serve as gap-fillers for areas with difficult reception.
Four medium wave stations broadcast to the Middle East from Cyprus. The BBC Arabic service transmitter is located at Zygi, Limassol. Another BBC MW transmitter is located within the sovereign bases area. The rest broadcast from Cape Greco, Famagusta. Although not the target audience, all stations can be received from within Cyprus.
When Turkish Cypriots withdrew from all official positions in the Republic of Cyprus in the aftermath of the intercommunal clashes in 1963–64, Bayrak assumed the role of the public broadcaster for the Turkish Cypriot enclaves first, and Northern Cyprus after 1974. It currently produces 6 radio programmes, on FM, MW and SW.
Television broadcasting
A mixture of state and privately run TV services; the RoC public broadcaster operates 2 TV channels; 6 private TV broadcasters, satellite and cable TV services including telecasts from Greece and Turkey are available; in Northern Cyprus, there are 2 public TV stations, and privately owned TV broadcast stations (2007).
Television in Cyprus was introduced in 1956. Private TV was introduced on 26 April 1992, by LOGOS TV which started its transmissions in STEREO and TELETEXT from day one. The first private TV station of Cyprus was owned and operated by the Church of Cyprus. In August 1995, the same station introduced the first ISP in Cyprus, LOGOSNET. The Republic of Cyprus currently uses the PAL colour system, and has converted terrestrial transmissions to digital on 1 July 2011, in line with EU policy. The analogue switch-off has led to several local TV stations shutting down for being unable to sustain the costs of compulsory nationwide digital transmission.
In 1978 BBC television filmed the drama series The Aphrodite Inheritance, starring Peter McEnery and Brian Blessed in Cyprus, and in 1999 the BBC again used the island to film the drama series Sunburn starring Michelle Collins.
Because of the political division of the island, television companies are also divided.
The Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC, , ) is the state-funded broadcasting organization in the Republic of Cyprus, with three television channels and four radio stations, although there are also privately owned radio and TV stations.
Terrestrial digital transmission is now available in the Republic of Cyprus (parallel analogue transmissions ended on 1 July 2011). Satellite digital transmission is available through the NOVA Cyprus platform. Athina Sat, another provider, was launched in 2005 but ceased operations in 2008. CytaVision and PrimeTel both offer digital TV through IPTV transmission and Cablenet through its privately owned cable network (in certain urban areas).