The last opposition newspaper to be published was that of the Erk party. In 1993 it was banned and has not been published since. Magazines and weeklies have to be registered, a procedure that includes providing information about the sources of funding, means of distribution, founders, and sponsors. A resolution by the Cabinet of Ministers bans private persons and journalist collectives from founding newspapers or magazines. Foreign correspondents based in Tashkent report that the security services have harassed and threatened their translators and other local employees.
Television broadcasting is state controlled.
Although there are local stations in various regions, nationwide programming is on two state-run channels that fully support the Government and its policies. The Ostankino channel from Russia broadcasts during the evening. Its news broadcasts are blacked out when they are critical of the Government. In September an Urgench-based independent television station resumed broadcasting after being closed by local authorities. Despite winning three court appeals, which allowed the station to reopen, local authorities used a variety of means to keep the station off the air, including sabotaging its signal, barring employees entry to the station, and using police to damage equipment.