WORLD PRESS TRENDS - World Association of Newspapers

SLOVAKIA
SLOVAKIA
Commentary - Slovak Association of Press Publishers
Economy
As 2002 drew to a close, Slovakia’s process of privatisation had
largely been completed. The year also saw increasing investor
interest in the country, helped by the election of a pro-Western
government coalition in September, and invitations to join the
NATO and the EU in November and December respectively.
The crown’s exchange rate with the euro strengthened over 2002
from SKK 42.40 in January to SKK 41.70 at the end of December,
while it grew more than 20% against the US dollar, from SKK
48 in January to SKK 40.50 at the end of the year. However,
insiders expressed concern that a strong Slovak crown did not
accurately reflect the state of the Slovak economy,
overshadowed by threats of a high budget and trade deficits.
According to a “competition index” compiled by the World
Economic Forum, the Slovak economy ranked 49th out of 80
countries in competitiveness in 2002, down from 40th place in
2001, and behind both Hungary and the Czech Republic in
central Europe.
Figures from Slovakia’s Statistics Office show a gradual 18-
month decline in unemployment, with an 18.6% jobless rate
reported in the second quarter of this year. Nevertheless,
Slovakia still has one of the most problematic employment
situations in Europe, characterised by sharp regional
discrepancies and a thriving illegal labour market.
VAT, increasing costs and falling circulation
Towards the end of 2002, two amendments to the VAT Law
were published in the Collection of the Law. The first one
substantially changed the VAT system and the second one
changed VAT rates: the basic rate has decreased to 20% and the
reduced rate has increased to 14%. Both amendments came into
effect on January 1 2003.
This regulation has a negative impact on Slovak publishers, as
a 14% VAT rate for sales of newspapers increases the already
heavy production costs of publishers. Their attempt to get an
exception from this taxation failed because of obduracy of the
government. The argument that many other European countries
have a zero VAT rate did not have any effect.
Together with production costs, distribution costs have
increased as well. Because of the low purchasing power of the
Slovak population, publishers cannot transfer these costs on to
the buyers and they have to pay them themselves. At the same
time, circulation of dailies decreased in 2002 again.
Advertising
As in other countries, the advertising market in Slovakia is
dependent on the level of economy, number of advertisers, and
the amount of advertising expenditure. The Slovak advertising
market is determined by the long-term conservatism of its
society, and little acceptance of original and creative ideas by
clients. In spite of this the total volume of advertising has
increased lately.
A unique situation exists in electronic media, in which the TV
sector is totally dominated by a private TV station; public TV
faces serious problems. Regional commercial radio stations are
developing a network in order to compete better with the
national stations and gain a larger share of the radio market.
The only market which is consolidating is print media. This is
mainly due to the inflow of international media groups (Verlag
Gruppe Passau, Ringier and Gruner + Jahr, for example).
In 2002 advertising investments in Slovakia grew by 6.5% yearon-year,
according to marketing firm AC Nielsen. National and
municipal election campaigns are believed to have contributed
to the increase
Press Council
In 2002 the Association for the Protection of Journalistic Ethics,
which was set up in October 2001 by the Slovak Syndicate of
Journalists and the Slovak Association of Press Publishers,
established the Press Council as a self-regulatory body. The
council collects public complaints and, if they are found to have
grounds, will approach newspapers to have a correction printed
or rebuttal space given to the injured party. The council will
publish its findings in its annual report, and in the bulletins of
its founding organisations.
POPULATION
Population by age and sex
All individuals Male Female Households
000 % 000 % 000 % 000
Children 1,102 20 564 22 538 19 1,884
16-24 819 15 418 16 401 15
25-34 791 15 401 15 390 14
35-44 778 14 391 15 387 14
45-54 754 14 369 14 385 14
55-64 474 9 214 8 260 9
65+ 659 12 255 10 404 15
Total 5,377 100 2,612 100 2,765 100
Source: Statistical yearbook 2002
Age structure of readership
% of % daily reach
Age readership within age group
14-17 9.2 36.8
18–24 14.8 59.3
25-34 15.4 61.5
35-44 15.8 63.2
45-54 15.5 62.1
55-64 15.0 60.0
65+ 14.4 57.6
Source: Slovak Radio Media Research Department
238
Newspaper reach (%)
Daily
All adults 58
Men 68
Women 52
WORLD ASSOCIATION OF NEWSPAPERS - WORLD PRESS TRENDS 2003