Journalism and democracy in Kyrgyzstan: the impact of victimizations of the media practitioners
Bahtiyar Kurambayev · Media Asia · 2016
This study also explores the state of the press freedom in Kyrgyzstan and the long-term effects that victimization produces on journalists as well as its impact on the country, which is viewed as most democratic in the former Soviet Union Central Asian region. The author employed a snowball sampling to locate initial several research participants and seek their suggestions of other journalists. In-depth qualitative semi-structured interviews with 27 journalists based in capital Bishkek City reveal that Kyrgyz journalists employ avoidance strategy because of potential victimization including lawsuits, physical attacks, and arrests. The interviews were held in January 2016, primarily in Russian language.