Online Newspapers, Live TV Channels, Radios

Media in the Republic of Kazakhstan enjoys freedom than any other neighboring states. The media outlets are formed with the participation of print, broadcast (television and radio), and online newspapers. The number of readerships is remarkable in the country. But there are some issues that media carefully maintains. Press freedom is ensured for the state-run media outlets. The privately owned media house are not always free. They are subject to censorship and when the bans are violated, there are penalty provisions available.

The privately owned and opposition media, in Kazakhstan, suffers most from the censorship. In fact, there were events of media closure in 2012 due to the violation of censorship imposed by the government. Several charges were brought against the media outlets and extremism promotion was the biggest one.

The media outlets in the country need to be registered before starting operation. The Ministry of Culture is responsible to register the media outlets. But the media websites do not need such registrations. It is applicable only to the print and broadcast media.

At present, the number of operation newspapers in Kazakhstan is seven only. They are mostly published in the local language and there is a single newspaper that publishes using the Russian language. Earlier, there were over 900 privately owned newspapers in the country and the number of printed magazines crossed 400. But those publications are not available now. Many of the newspapers and magazines have been abolished due to lawsuits and harassment. Many of the journalists have left the country for their safety and been operating from abroad.

The number of television stations in Kazakhstan is notable. The country has over 100 television channels and Kazakh TV is the state television for the country. The television contents are varied and are a great source for the people to get entertained and informed about the happenings around. Most of the television channels broadcast news and information of a varied interest. They also broadcast entertaining shows, musical events etc.

The country has a state-run radio station named Kazakh Radio. The radio is operated in local and Russian language. Besides, there are 32 online radio stations are operating as well. The stations broadcast numerous interesting events and shows. Most of the cases, they broadcast bulletins and music. But being under censorship, the radio stations need to follow some strict rules and regulations.

The number of internet users in Kazakhstan has crossed 5 million. So, the rise of online media is an important aspect of the country. The estimated number of online newspapers in the country is not enlisted but it is assumed that over hundreds of online websites are available and providing necessary news and information to the audience.