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The media landscape in Cyprus

Until independence in 1960, Cyprus' media landscape was controlled by the British colonial power. Press freedom was anchored in the constitution and extended by law in 1989, guaranteeing free access to state information sources and greater protection of information privacy.

Panorama von Nikosia
Foto: sk12, Lizenz: Creative Commons by/2.0

In 1974 the National Guard staged a coup with the support of the Greek military junta and attempted to annex Cyprus to Greece. Pogroms against the Turkish-speaking population prompted the Turkish military to intervene and occupy the northern part of the country. The ensuing division of Cyprus is also reflected in the media landscape.

The newspaper market in the South is dominated by six major Greek-language newspapers and two English-language publications (Cyprus Mail, Cyprus Weekly), with numerous smaller dailies appearing in Turkish. Nine Turkish-language papers share the market in the North, the largest being Kibris. All of them are closely allied with political parties.

Radio and television broadcasting was established under the British rule in the 1950s. Today there are two state-run and six private television stations in the South of the island. Viewers prefer the private channels for the Greek entertainment shows and series they offer. People in the North prefer stations from Turkey, but there are also five private and one public Turkish-Cypriot broadcasters.

Major corporations have been able to develop as a result of the lack of regulation in the media market. The largest Greek-Cypriot media company Dias owns among others the most popular television station Sigma TV and the second-largest daily Simirini. In general political parties and the Church exert a large influence over the media. While Simerini is closely affiliated to the right-wing party DESY, the daily Havargi is close to the Communist Party, as is the radio station Astra.

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