Mass Media in Belarus

Lead-in activity. Work in two teams. Think about your own country's media — TV channels, newspapers, radio stations, news agencies. In 3 minutes, brainstorm as many examples as you can in each category. When time is up, each team shares their list one by one. The team with more unique examples wins!

Task 1. Listen to the text about Mass media in Belarus and say what was the most surprising fact about Mass Media in Belarus for you? Listen again and fill in the missing words and numbers.

Mass media in Belarus

A variety of print media and electronic media of different forms of ownership is operating in Belarus. Foreign media are widely represented in the national media space, too.

The largest national media outlets are the Belarusian Television and Radio Company (Belteleradiocompany), the Second National TV Channel, Stolichnoye Televideniye, the Belarus Segodnya publishing house, the Zvyazda publishing house, the BelTA News Agency.

1.________ mass media in Belarus. As of 1 January 2026, 2.________ print media outlets were published in Belarus, including 3.___________ newspapers and 4.___________ magazines, as well as 12 bulletins. More than half of them are private.

Printed press is 5.__________ mainly in the Belarusian and Russian languages; there are publications in English and Chinese.

The most influential 6.____________ include Belarus Segodnya and the Respublika.

News Agencies of Belarus. Six national news agencies, including four 7.____________ ones, operate in Belarus.

The BelTA News Agency is the country’s biggest news agency, having the correspondent 8.____________ in all the regions of the country.

E-media in Belarus. As of 1 January 2026, there were 9.___________ radio broadcast stations and 10.__________ television broadcast stations in Belarus. 23 radio stations and 41 TV broadcast stations were private.

The majority of public radio stations is run by the 11.__________ authorities.

There are around 12.___________ FM radio stations in Belarus, including Radius FM, Radio Unistar (Belarusian-German media project), Europe plus and others.

There are national TV broadcasters in Belarus: Belarus 1, Belarus 2 (youth audience), Belarus 3 (social and cultural content), Belarus 5 (sport), Second National TV Channel (ONT), Stolichnoye Televideniye (STV).

A new regional TV channel Belarus 4 was 13.________ in September 2015. The channel provides a platform for all the oblasts of the country. In each oblast the channel offers an 14.________ TV product with a different label for each region: Belarus 4. Mogilev, Belarus 4. Gomel and so on...

The first and only Belarus’ international satellite TV channel, Belarus 24, went on air in 2005 (Belarus TV). Today it broadcasts 24/7 for over 200,000,000 viewers in more than 15.________ countries. The main TV content is news and analytics on major events in the country and the world, interesting TV projects, 16.__________ films, and, of course, a lot of programs on Belarus: the 17.__________ history and culture of the country, the main attractions and tourist destinations, Belarusian cuisine, famous brands, outstanding people.

Mass Media Legislation in Belarus. The Constitution of the Republic of Belarus and the Law "On Mass Media constitutes the legal basis of the media activity in Belarus.

The Constitution of the Republic of Belarus guarantees the 18.________of thought, belief and expression, prohibits the monopolization of the media and censorship.

The Law "On Mass Media" formalizes the basic principles of mass media’s activity: accuracy, equality, respect for human rights and freedoms, diversity of views; protection of morals; observance of the norms of journalist’s professional ethics.

Task 2. Find the words in bold in the text that mean the following:

a. a company that makes and sells books, magazines, or newspapers.

b. to send a radio or TV program to many people at the same time.

c. ways to send information to many people, like TV, radio, or the internet.

d. a short news report or announcement for the public.

e. the act of stopping certain information from being shown or shared.

f. a machine sent into space to send or receive signals for TV or communication.

g. the state of having something as your property or control.

h. the information or ideas that are inside a book, show, or website.

i. a place or way where information or products are sent to the public.

Task 3. Decide if the statements are TRUE\FALSE. Correct the FALSE ones.

1. More than half of the print media outlets in Belarus are privately owned.

2. The BelTA News Agency has reporters working in every region of the country.

3. Most public radio stations in Belarus are managed by the national government.

4. Belarus 24 is the only international satellite TV channel from Belarus, and it reaches viewers in more than one hundred countries.

5. Radio Unistar is a media project run jointly by Belarus and Germany.

6. The Belarusian Constitution allows the government to control media content through censorship if necessary.

7. Belarus 5 is a TV channel focused on sports content.

8. The regional TV channel Belarus 4 was created to serve audiences in the capital city only.

9. Publications in Belarus are available mainly in two languages, with some content also printed in English and Chinese.

10. The Law "On Mass Media" includes respect for human rights as one of the basic principles for media activity.

Task 4. Answer the following questions.

1. How many print media outlets were published in Belarus as of January 2026?

2. What languages are most Belarusian newspapers and magazines printed in?

3. Who runs most of the public radio stations in Belarus?

4. Why is Belarus 4 different from other national TV channels in Belarus?

5. How many countries can watch Belarus 24?

6. What kind of content does Belarus 24 mainly show?

7. How does the Belarusian constitution protect the media?

8. What principles does the Law "On Mass Media" require journalists to follow?

9. How does the number of private print media outlets compare to public ones?

10. What makes BelTA the most important news agency in Belarus?