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Advancing a Comprehensive Research Agenda for Central Asian Mass Media

In former Soviet Central Asia, independence in 1991 led to five distinctive press systems with authoritarian commonalities. Since then, scholars have barely scratched the surface in studying those press systems in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. This article identifies unexplored and under-explored topics, including questions related to journalistic practices and standards; governmental constraints; training and education; coverage of public affairs; access to information; public attitudes towards the press; social media; self-censorship and ethics; and the Internet. In addition, the article identifies obstacles to research in the region as well as the potential value of collaboration among scholars in and beyond the region. Many of these prospective areas of inquiry are also applicable for other post-communist and post-authoritarian countries in lessdeveloped regions of the world.