One Country, Two Polarised Audiences: Estonia and the Deficiency of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive

Abstract

This article argues that until recent times, the Estonian media policy has mainly been interpreted as an economic issue and it did not account for the strategic need to build a comprehensive media field to serve all groups in society. This has happened despite the fact the Estonian media policy is in line with the European Union (EU) media policy, which should ensure freedom of information, diversity of opinion and media pluralism. Findings of the Estonian case study show that despite these noble aims, Estonia has two radically different information fields: one for Estonian speaking audiences and one for Russian speakers. Events in Ukraine have added to the democratic media policy paradigm a question of national security. Now it is a challenge for the policy makers to unite polarised media fields and how to minimise the impact of Russian propaganda. On the EU level, one supportive measure could be a revision of the Audiovisual Media Service Directive.

Elite Agenda, Media Framing, and Public Perception of European Integration in Estonia

“…After more than two decades of political debate around the need for a Russian-language TV channel in Estonia (Jõesaar, Jufereva & Rannu, 2014), the first public Russian TV channel was launched in 2015, but "the groundbreaking political decision was not made on the basis of the recognition of the information needs of the minority language group but was driven by the events in Ukraine and increasing wave of Russian propaganda" (Jõesaar, 2015). According to Saar Poll survey, television is the prime source for both Estonian-and Russian-speaking communities.…”

“…In cases of underfunding, it is clear that PSB remits might not be fulfilled, as citizens' rights to receive democratic and pluralistic content are not protected. (Jõesaar, 2015) 'Me. The World.…”

Susceptibility of the Estonian Russian-speaking Audience to the Spread of Fake News and Information Disorder in the News Media

“…The studies of the media habits and preferences of Estonia's Russian-speaking audience conducted in the first half of the 2010s (Saar Poll, 2014;Jõesaar, 2015) show the Russian native speakers-almost 33% of the country's population (Vihalemm & Juzefovičs, 2020b , p. 2)-live in a separate infosphere. Estonians and Russian-speaking residents represent two polarized audiences in one country in this period (Jõesaar, 2015) and even as of 2019 "the infospheres of the Estonianspeaking and Russian-speaking communities are still quite different" (Jõesaar, 2020, p. 83), because the latter still actively consume the Russia's media outlets, especially Russian TV channels (Jõesaar, 2020).…”