Eastern European English-language news sources
News from the east
Source: The Economist THERE are a bewildering number of east European English-language news sources out there, as readers of this blog who have spent any time searching on Google News may have discovered. Here is a (subjective and partial) guide to some of them.
General
The Southeast European Times (SETimes), which covers 12 countries in nine languages other than English, boasts a solid reference section and news archive, but is perhaps not as slick or thoroughly updated as one would expect from an outlet sponsored by the US Military’s European Command.
Bosnia
Neither the public nor private sectors appear to have treated English-language news as a priority. ONASA is a competent private-sector outlet. The FENA state outlet grants free access only to news that is four days old. The official Bosnian Serb news agency, SRNA, first failed to deliver on its promised English-language page and now seems to have disappeared entirely.
Bulgaria
One of the stellar performers, boasting a large and varied range of English-language news outlets, including English-language services on Radio Bulgaria. FOCUS Information Agency offers a first-class service. For those without a subscription, however, the Bulgarian News Agency, offers a grimly functional site which may have been designed to distract readers from the limitations of its torpor-inducing content. Even within sources the standards can lurch wildly. At Novinite, the country’s largest English-language provider, stories can range from the fine to the (endearingly) broken to the utterly incomprehensible.
Croatia
Little of value here to the seeker of English-language news. The extremely limited Croatian Information Centre and the Croatian Times Online, which mixes local and crime reporting with tales of human interest, are the best it gets.
Czech Republic
The public-sector news agency CTK offers little to non-subscribers. But the private Prague Daily Monitor distributes up-to-date CTK news free of charge. Private-sector outlets include České Noviny and the Prague Post (whose website needs updating).
Estonia
A new news portal, Estonian Public Broadcasting (ERR), says it aims to offer Estonia a “consistent, objective voice in a language not its own”. Private media outlets in Estonia have suffered as advertising spends have declined, hence this publicly funded outfit.
Hungary
The MTI news agency, a public broadcaster, offers only a limited sample of its reporting to non-subscribers. The Budapest Report and the more established Budapest Times (which also offers a German service) are private providers, both founded by journalists, and targeting non-Hungarian-speaking expatriates. Strangely, neither offers a wide selection of Hungarian news, at least in their online incarnations. The Budapest Business Journal, which appears bi-weekly in print, is a confident and cogent source of data and analysis.
Kosovo
Given Kosovo’s vested interest in making its voice heard it is perhaps strange that the English content at state broadcaster RTK is so limited. Private agencies offer either malfunctioning web addresses or the briefest of stories.
Macedonia
The Macedonian Information Agency sports a jazzy homepage and a solid and up-to-date collection of news. Also worth an honourable mention is the independent Makfak agency.
Montenegro
Not much to see here. The private MNNews, operated by the Montenegro News Agency, Mina has nothing but syntax-wrestling story previews available to non-subscribers.
Poland
As the largest media market in eastern Europe, you might expect Poland to have a diverse and thriving English press. Yet a click on the English news service icon buried deep on the homepage of national news agency PAP reveals a page entirely—bar the title—in Polish. A few hopeful clicks later and you are invited to subscribe for a three-day demonstration without having gained a whiff of the content. Elsewhere, private and non-profit providers of English-language news are a mixed bag. Poland.pl enjoys a prime URL but sometimes struggles to express itself (“Entrepreneurship Incubators New Project” runs one headline). In a similar vein the New Poland Express is notable mainly for its colourful interest stories (“Drunken doc touched up by patients”). Moving up the scale, the daily Warsaw Voice grants online access to most of its (rather short) stories while reserving a stock of premium content, and the weekly Warsaw Business Journal offers a sparse but well-written collection of articles. Perhaps the best is thenews.pl, an offshoot of Polskie Radio, a solid provider of national and international news.
Romania
Romania’s AGERPRES operates in a competitive English-language market, including state radio stations broadcasting in English, suggesting that fears of public-sector “crowding out” may be overdone. The effective Nine O’Clock News (which combines its own domestic reporting with Reuters stories), and the private Mediafax agency are other examples.
Serbia
Tanjug offers a rump service. B92, a vibrant private-sector broadcaster, offers limited English news.
Slovakia
The Slovak Spectator is the country’s only English-language newspaper, and operates an out-of-date website. There is little competition; the TASR news agency’s slim English-language offerings are presumably intended to entice visitors to pay to join the “Client zone”.
Slovenia
At the STA state press agency you are granted a short taster of an interesting story, before being rewarded with information on how long the article you are barred from viewing is, and how much it will cost you to access it. Alternatives are scarce. The country’s first private English-language paper, the Slovenia Times, has an extremely sparse website, and if you are in the country the state broadcaster RTV (in line with Slovenia’s studied cultivation of its tourism industry) provides internal English and German services for tourists.
General
The Southeast European Times (SETimes), which covers 12 countries in nine languages other than English, boasts a solid reference section and news archive, but is perhaps not as slick or thoroughly updated as one would expect from an outlet sponsored by the US Military’s European Command.
Bosnia
Neither the public nor private sectors appear to have treated English-language news as a priority. ONASA is a competent private-sector outlet. The FENA state outlet grants free access only to news that is four days old. The official Bosnian Serb news agency, SRNA, first failed to deliver on its promised English-language page and now seems to have disappeared entirely.
Bulgaria
One of the stellar performers, boasting a large and varied range of English-language news outlets, including English-language services on Radio Bulgaria. FOCUS Information Agency offers a first-class service. For those without a subscription, however, the Bulgarian News Agency, offers a grimly functional site which may have been designed to distract readers from the limitations of its torpor-inducing content. Even within sources the standards can lurch wildly. At Novinite, the country’s largest English-language provider, stories can range from the fine to the (endearingly) broken to the utterly incomprehensible.
Croatia
Little of value here to the seeker of English-language news. The extremely limited Croatian Information Centre and the Croatian Times Online, which mixes local and crime reporting with tales of human interest, are the best it gets.
Czech Republic
The public-sector news agency CTK offers little to non-subscribers. But the private Prague Daily Monitor distributes up-to-date CTK news free of charge. Private-sector outlets include České Noviny and the Prague Post (whose website needs updating).
Estonia
A new news portal, Estonian Public Broadcasting (ERR), says it aims to offer Estonia a “consistent, objective voice in a language not its own”. Private media outlets in Estonia have suffered as advertising spends have declined, hence this publicly funded outfit.
Hungary
The MTI news agency, a public broadcaster, offers only a limited sample of its reporting to non-subscribers. The Budapest Report and the more established Budapest Times (which also offers a German service) are private providers, both founded by journalists, and targeting non-Hungarian-speaking expatriates. Strangely, neither offers a wide selection of Hungarian news, at least in their online incarnations. The Budapest Business Journal, which appears bi-weekly in print, is a confident and cogent source of data and analysis.
Kosovo
Given Kosovo’s vested interest in making its voice heard it is perhaps strange that the English content at state broadcaster RTK is so limited. Private agencies offer either malfunctioning web addresses or the briefest of stories.
Macedonia
The Macedonian Information Agency sports a jazzy homepage and a solid and up-to-date collection of news. Also worth an honourable mention is the independent Makfak agency.
Montenegro
Not much to see here. The private MNNews, operated by the Montenegro News Agency, Mina has nothing but syntax-wrestling story previews available to non-subscribers.
Poland
As the largest media market in eastern Europe, you might expect Poland to have a diverse and thriving English press. Yet a click on the English news service icon buried deep on the homepage of national news agency PAP reveals a page entirely—bar the title—in Polish. A few hopeful clicks later and you are invited to subscribe for a three-day demonstration without having gained a whiff of the content. Elsewhere, private and non-profit providers of English-language news are a mixed bag. Poland.pl enjoys a prime URL but sometimes struggles to express itself (“Entrepreneurship Incubators New Project” runs one headline). In a similar vein the New Poland Express is notable mainly for its colourful interest stories (“Drunken doc touched up by patients”). Moving up the scale, the daily Warsaw Voice grants online access to most of its (rather short) stories while reserving a stock of premium content, and the weekly Warsaw Business Journal offers a sparse but well-written collection of articles. Perhaps the best is thenews.pl, an offshoot of Polskie Radio, a solid provider of national and international news.
Romania
Romania’s AGERPRES operates in a competitive English-language market, including state radio stations broadcasting in English, suggesting that fears of public-sector “crowding out” may be overdone. The effective Nine O’Clock News (which combines its own domestic reporting with Reuters stories), and the private Mediafax agency are other examples.
Serbia
Tanjug offers a rump service. B92, a vibrant private-sector broadcaster, offers limited English news.
Slovakia
The Slovak Spectator is the country’s only English-language newspaper, and operates an out-of-date website. There is little competition; the TASR news agency’s slim English-language offerings are presumably intended to entice visitors to pay to join the “Client zone”.
Slovenia
At the STA state press agency you are granted a short taster of an interesting story, before being rewarded with information on how long the article you are barred from viewing is, and how much it will cost you to access it. Alternatives are scarce. The country’s first private English-language paper, the Slovenia Times, has an extremely sparse website, and if you are in the country the state broadcaster RTV (in line with Slovenia’s studied cultivation of its tourism industry) provides internal English and German services for tourists.
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