Press and Media Workers Day in Uzbekistan Date in the current year: June 27, 2024

The date of June 27 was selected because on that day in 1906, the first issue of the newspaper “Taraqqiy” (Progress) was published. It was the first Uzbek-language newspaper ever. This event can be considered the starting point in the history of the national press.

The newspaper market in Uzbekistan is dominated by state-owned newspapers, although there are some independence newspapers as well. The country's national news agency is the Uzbekistan National News Agency. Currently, the Republic of Uzbekistan has 17 radio stations and 28 television broadcast stations.

Sadly, the state of press freedom in Uzbekistan leaves much to be desired. The country's press practices self-censorship, although state censorship was officially abolished in 2002. Foreign reporters have been gradually forced to leave Uzbekistan, and local journalists risk being jailed for doing their job. The information coming out of the country is controlled by the authorities.