Investigative Journalism - 1637 Words

Investigative Journalism ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` Rajashri Venkatesh Ameet Kaur Abhishek Baldota Avinash Kaur Bedi Kawaljeet Singh Chandhok Divya Chitroda Shilpa Das Aakash Prabhakar Kashish Kapoor ` An investigative report is a document that is meant to provide information on a certain topic that is not easily obtained. It is meant to present the reader with a wealth of easily understood information and usually contains an interview or two on the subject. In order to write a successful investigative report, one must conduct a substantial amount of research and provide the reader with a wealth of information so that he or she can make an informed choice. ` Investigative journalism is a form of†¦show more content†¦But if your investigation takes you into an unfamiliar area, you must be able to familiarise yourself with at least the background, conventions, terminology, role-players and issues of that area quickly. ` ` Determination and patience- Investigative reporting will bring you up against all kinds of obstacles, from sources who disappear and records that don ¶t exist, to editors who want to can the story because it is taking too long or costing too much. Only your own motivation and belief that it is a worthwhile story will carry you through what is often a slow process of discovery. Courage- It isn ¶t only subjects and sources that are at risk. Reporters may be threatened with legal action or violence, jailed, or even assassinated for their investigations. In the face of these risks, you may succumb to pressure and censor yourself. You need to believe in what you ¶re doing, have the courage to carry on ` ` ` ` ` ` ` Bofurs Gun Scandal The Fodder Scam The Jain Diary Case(1996) Satyendra Dubey Murder Case Operation Westend 2002 Gujarat Riots Jessica Lall Case ` ` ` ` ` ` ` Cement Quota scam(1981) Reliance scam (1987- Indian Express) Shakti Kapoor casting couch Money for Vote sting operation Adarsh Housing Society scandal Stamp paper scam Harshad Mehta scandal 1980 ¶s ` ` ` ` ` Nagarwala scandal (Rs 60 lakh) Cement Scam involving A R Antulay(Rs 30 crore) Bofors Scandal St Kitts forgery[Show MoreRelatedInvestigative Article On Investigative Journalism1756 Words   |  8 PagesFive years ago, the word in the media was that investigative journalism was dying. No longer would corruption and morality be kept in check through journalists such as Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman (Nellie Bly), Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Carl Bernstein, Bob Woodward, and Seymour Hersh. (The Ring Of Fire Network 2015) What happened to investigative journalism in the first place? The short answer: it was about the money. Traditional investigative reporting is very expensive and time-consuming. It requiresRead MoreEssay on Investigative Reporting is the Driving Force in Journalism2455 Words   |  10 PagesInvestigative reporting has been a driving force in journalism for centuries. The reporting tradition of revealing misconduct was already well established much before the 20th Century. Its practise even predates the publication of the first successful colonial newspaper in 1704, demonstrating the press’ watchdog role has had deep historical roots in democracy much prior to the 1960s. Over the past three centuries, investigative reporters have tried to make a difference by raising public consciousnessRead MoreInvestigative Journalism Specialization Essay554 Words   |  3 PagesI was working for six months on my thesis research, a journalistic investigation entitled â€Å"The Other Side o f Ecomafia †. It was my first experience as an investigative reporter, but I immediately realized that it would not be the last. Indeed, the problems my land was going through in those years awakened a passion for investigative journalism in me. The thesis has been an exciting challenge. It gave me the opportunity to conduct an in-depth research over several months, gather and organize largeRead MoreWhy Democracy Needs an Investigative Journalism1815 Words   |  8 PagesI N T R O D U C T I O N â€Å"A free, aggressive, open and bold press is part of the spiritual core of our Democracy†. -Thomas Jefferson In the world we are living today, investigative journalism is becoming a significant part in our daily lives as it informs, unleash and reveals us the happenings in our community, society, government and in the country. Having the democracy to exercise and express our freedom of the press, which was have been suppressed before, during the Marcos regime, we can sayRead MoreAn Project On Investigative Journalism1025 Words   |  5 PagesMethodology My proposal focuses on a particular set of cultural practices, organizations, productions, and identities, such as those mobilized by the performance of investigative journalism in Chile in a post-authoritarian moment. I am particularly acknowledging culture’s conception as a process and a set of practices and not a collection of things (Hall, cited by Rose, 2016: 2), constituted by â€Å"interworked systems of construable signs† by which culture is actually a context within which â€Å"socialRead MoreThe Field Of The Investigative Journalism1508 Words   |  7 Pagesthe journalistic field in a wider and strong way that other cultural transformations did before within the cultural field. Doing so, says Bourdieu, television and journalistic field have also triggered transformations in other fields upon which journalism has an impact. As it is performed, the journalistic field tends to reinforce the economic (commercial) field instead of the pure one. Following Bourdieu , the journalistic field was settled during the 19th Century through the opposition between theRead MoreSummary : Investigative Journalism Essay952 Words   |  4 PagesSavannah Hamman Ms. Falbo Investigative Journalism 21 October 2016 Sleep and Students She woke up and stretched the stiffness from her limbs as she glanced at the clock, squinting through the blur of her tired eyes. 6:30 am, it read back to her, she sighed as she inched her way out of bed, not wanting to reach the edge and just stay in the warmth of her cozy sheets all day. When she finally stumbled into school, the students all around her were exactly the same. They walked the halls onlyRead MoreEssay On Investigative Journalism1366 Words   |  6 Pageseso es lo que define tu capacidad de grandeza Eduardo Galeano (interviewed by Faà ºndez, 2002: 11) The narratives and the evidence about the status of IJ in Latin America are contradictory. For some, there is an increasing practice of this genre of journalism (Alves, 2005; Castillo, 2016; Joyce, Saldaà ±a, Schmitz Weiss, Alves, 2017) while for others, there is a relative declining of it (Dermota, 2002). These perceptions heavily depends on the chosen type of medium (newspapers, television, digital),Read MoreThe Importance of Investigative Journalism Essay769 Words   |  4 PagesThough connected through the general base of being a part of the media, investigative journalism is far from the daily reporting and paparazzi reports we are used to. Investigative journalists look to bring attention to violated laws, regulations or wrongdoings that they feel very strongly about. The topic of their research is completely up to their own personal interest and choosing. Their research often takes a long time to collect, and must be very thorough and involve many different sources whileRea d MoreThe Effects Of Reporting The Financial Crisis On Subprime Lending812 Words   |  4 Pageshigh-ranking financial pundits might partially explain why despite a large number of business stories issued during the crisis the media remained baffled and uncertain about the length and depth of the downturn. However, that financial journalism put aside investigative reporting, as well as the fact that it could not adopt a critical view about the functioning of the system and identified the cracks in the financial market were driven by an even larger political force: the abdication of State’s uncompromised

Knock’s Educated Man Free Essays

The â€Å"Disadvantages of Being Educated† examines contemporary society’s preference for building specialized skills at the expense of liberal education. Albert Knock believes that today’s curricula have changed its orientation from helping create the Renaissance Man from the tabula rasa into the mechanic of Ford or the programmer of Silicon Valley. Knock pointed out that this is training and should not be synonymous with education. We will write a custom essay sample on Knock’s Educated Man or any similar topic only for you Order Now Being proficient or trained in something could categorize one as trained but not educated. Training is not synonymous to having been educated. Knock’s man has cultivated his intellect and character to the point where his options for the future included, in his words, â€Å"what he could become and be instead of what he could get and do†. What is surprising for him is contemporary society’s not distinguishing between the difference between training and education which was not the case before. During the Medieval period, scholars of classical works were looked upon as learned men. The cobbler, builder, stonemasons, tinkerers, and town criers were on a subordinate level far below that of the scholastics. Carrying on with Knock’s line of thought, we could imagine the manual laborers of the Dark Ages as having become shoe stylists and fashion models, engineers, computer programmers and technicians, and TV hosts of today who are good in their fields and perhaps below mediocre in dialectics. Yet, the honor of having â€Å"made it† is easily applied to them by contemporary society than to the stereotyped harried-looking teacher of a university. Knock has nothing against the emphasis on specialization. He argued that specialization and liberal education are relevant. Both could be had instead of having one being preferred at the expense of the other. Knock expressed regret this is not so today. The educated man that he had in mind would be hard put to find his place in today’s modern setting. His educated man is open to other fields of interests that would encourage the thinking process: argue the ills of society, participate in dialectics, and develop a mind that is always inquiring and trying to discover what is good for the best kind of life. Since today’s trend in life is getting the proper or specialized skill that could ensure one a high-paying job, Knock’s educated man would have difficulty connecting with his contemporaries. He would not be in agreement with their having narrowing the focus of their concentration and energy to the mundane ambition of having an eight- to- five job that could buy them a Superbowl ticket and ensure a healthy pension after working as a cog or bolt in an assembly line. He would not even care to become the main nut in that assembly line. Each field created its own complexities and somebody having found himself a niche in his chosen field could claim a consultancy fee. I could be a consultant to the Tupperware Company if my scientific expertise resulted to inventing a fireproof plastic. The skill acquired in such a field may be hopelessly irrelevant during the Renaissance period but the pay is hopefully and insanely more than sufficient to ensure a comfortable life while still pursuing new plastic discoveries. One can only stay in the business if he or she will continue to update with new developments or make new developments himself. Failure to do so would condemn oneself to irrelevance in his chosen field. Meaning, the acquisition of knowledge on plastics will have to continue until the moment I die, perhaps induced by having to work with plastic. The competition for the American dream is rigid and I could not afford to pause for a breath asking the meaning of life while everybody else is plunging down to their success. As a student, Knock would prefer me to be the educated man that he has in mind. He wouldn’t agree to my cultivating a mindset that looks forward to having just a job to enable me to pay for my daily meals, ensure payment for my cable bills, and after work enabling me to be a couch potato. Knock would love see me entertain ideas for ideas’ sake and look at them as an educated man would look: objectively and disinterestedly. Knock perhaps sees the mainstream as a flock of sheep narrowing their vision on the grass before them and seldom raising their heads to appreciate the greater perspective. For most of us-including me- the trend is acquiring skills; the more specialized the skill, the greater the opportunity for a well-placed and well-paying job. The past-paced world that we have today is unkind to thinkers. Why pursue the meaning of life when what is life has already been defined by the American dream? Consumerist society measures a man by his capability to purchase the hottest and the latest pick. For someone to indulge in the search for the meaning of life would be condemning oneself to a meaningless life of penury and from the viewpoint of the mainstream-irrelevance. The social construct on success has already been insinuated, defined, and considered as an end. Knock may quote Longfellow and implore me, â€Å"Be not like dumb, driven cattle, be the hero in the strife†. Yes, I have already heard it in the required subjects in the first year and it is difficult to indulge myself in them when I am about to major in something useful. History, reexamining its ills, could not buy my cappuccino at Starbucks; Moliere and his wit could not pay for my taxicab fare; and I have no time to waste on Kant’s â€Å"Critique on Pure Reason† when I have to attend a workshop on plastics. Free thinking could free the soul, nourish the intellect, and strengthen the character. This is quite noble and at best, the preoccupation of the Renaissance Man. This is tempting but it would be difficult to explain myself to my friends in when we met to socialize or even to my family during a reunion. How to cite Knock’s Educated Man, Papers

Creative product free essay sample

In this task I am going to be speaking about and explaining a successful promotional campaign. The campaign I will be speaking about is the ‘whopper sacrifice’. The whopper sacrifice is a Burger King advertising campaign on Facebook that promised a coupon for a free hamburger if participants deleted 10 people from their ‘friends’ lists on the social network. I would class a good advertising campaign as: it is aimed at the target audience and uses the most effective medium for them. It should raise the awareness of the business and also increase the publics estimation of its importance. The main message must be the most prominent one, the one that stays in your head. The main types of advertising media are as follows: television, printed (newspaper, magazines etc ), press coverage, billboards, radio, in store, social media, emails and paid searches (i. e. paying google to advertise you on certain searches) I think burger king’s whopper sacrifice was a huge success: the Facebook application was installed nearly 60,000 times in a matter of days, nearly 20,000 Whopper coupons were sent out, and well over 200,000 Facebook friends were deleted. We will write a custom essay sample on Creative product or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Facebook members even created unofficial groups, offering to let other members add them as friends and then delete them for Whopper Sacrifice purposes. In an interview, Brian Gies, vice president for marketing for the fast-food chain; Burger-King, said Burger King intended to limit the promotion to 25,000 Whopper coupons. I think he did this because he doesn’t want to lose too many burgers for one, and also because that is a lot of people who have just put Burger King in their good books and this should lead to good word of mouth and should maximise sales at some point. Why use Facebook for advertising a marketing campaign? Social media is everywhere. It certainly creates challenges but it also creates a great deal of opportunity for businesses that devote the time to creating social media plans and following them through. Here are a few of the reasons why businesses use social media platforms of some type: Total Reach: Few types of marketplaces offers the total reach that social media does to burger King. Stats require constant upgrading, but Facebook claims to have over 500 million active users, twitter has over 75 million accounts and LinkedIn near 80 million members. And it’s not just kids: Facebook users have an average age of 38. Establishing Expertise: Blatant advertising doesn’t work in many social media platforms especially not from pitches instead of discussions but by posing questions, publishing useful content, and answering others’ questions, you can develop a following and burger king have done something similar to this, created a ‘group’ Niche Markets: Reach people in a space where they’re already comfortable and spending their time. By choosing the right platforms and groups, you can invest your time in developing relationships with exactly the right markets, such as Facebook groups who all like American cuisine or something similar. Free Exposure: While there are some intriguing advert buy options with Facebook depending on your goal and industry, traditional social media exposure carries zero cost. Creating a great presence requires a lot of time and effort, but it’s something you can do without any out-of-pocket costs. Loved by Search Engines: If all of the above weren’t enough, the search engines love many social media platforms. By building an effective presence on Facebook, LinkedIn, or twitter, you can use these profiles to help optimize your main website, even if it not the website you’re trying to promote. If Burger King didn’t pick social media as their primary type of promotion, they could have picked something like television adverts. People who see television adverts are watching TV, people who can actually be bothered to go on Facebook to check this out are probably not watching TV, so this might not work out. Although, some people will go on Facebook even though their favourite program is just about to come back on whilst the adverts finish up, they would go on Facebook and go through with burger king’s promotion, but I just think it would be a lot more convenient as a potential customer to just be reminded next time they’re surfing on the FB. Overall I think that burger king was right to use social media as their media choice in this successful promotional campaign. I think this because of the reasons and all of the advantages that I have spoken about above. These are not, though, the only reasons, there are many more such as ANYBODY out of 500 Million people are open to this campaign and I just think that overall, no other media type could have resulted in success in this particular campaign as much as web based/social media could have. Factors which companies must consider when deciding on which type of media to use for a promotional campaign: Coverage: Otherwise called reach, expressed as a percentage, reach is the number of individuals (or homes) to expose the product to through media scheduled over  a period of time you need to consider this when choosing a type of media because if you are a large business like Apple then you will be aiming for a large coverage, yet if you’re taste of Lahore, then you may not be aiming for huge coverage, you may not even want television ads, because when you’re a small business all you need to do is make sure your customer base is susceptible to seeing your promotional campaign and t his number of people could be as small as 1000 people. Taste of Lahore only need to make posters on their windows, signs on their delivery vehicles and menus to promote really. Cost: companies also need to be considering how much it is going to cost to be able to do certain things as a method of promotion. They all have different prices and some are hugely expensive whereas some are rather affordable for a sole trader. Depending on how much you have in your budget, you will be limited to certain types of media Target Market: target market is also a large factor for businesses that are picking a medium for their promotional campaign. They need to decide which media is going to be the best to reach the target market that they have Many business people are convinced that by casting a big net, they’ll catch more fish (customers). But the audiences — especially when using television, radio, newspapers and outdoor, are so large and diverse that your message rarely stands out. And when it does stand out, it’s often for the wrong reasons, so it is very important to know who you want to see it, and then tailor it to them. Focus of Appeal: for some businesses they are technically revolving around a certain one of our senses, such as McDonalds revolving around our sense of taste. McDonalds craft their adverts carefully to focus their appeal to our tongues this is what you have to do in a lot of businesses. Some businesses like Marks and Spencer use radio adverts to appeal to your sense of taste through your sense of sound.

Lithuania Eu Cultural Policy Area Essay Example

Lithuania Eu Cultural Policy Area Essay Lithuanian Cultural Policy and the European Union The cultural policy has been adopted by the European Union during the 1990s with the aim of creating a European identity which would bring the people of Europe closer and which would lead them to identify themselves as â€Å"Europeans†. On the other hand, the cultural policy adopted by the Union remained supplementary in its character as the member states did not want to lose their sovereignties, especially on such an issue that underlines the national identities, (Sassatelli, 436) As a result, the European cultural policy became one that respects and tries to protect the national cultures of the member states on the one hand, while it tries to create a European culture and identity on the other. In other words, the main aim of the European cultural policy is to create unity in diversity. Sassatelli, 30) Although it is supplementary in character and although the Union is not the decision maker in the cultural matters, the member states are expected to follow the cultural policy of the Union which suggests them to protect their national heritage, cooperate with other member states in cultural matters, to promote an inclusive national culture, to adopt a democratic, open and competitive national cultural policy. Lithu ania, which became a member of the European Union in 2004, had a different cultural policy understanding than the Union and its member states as it was a Communist country. We will write a custom essay sample on Lithuania Eu Cultural Policy Area specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Lithuania Eu Cultural Policy Area specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Lithuania Eu Cultural Policy Area specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer With the end of Communism and with the aim of becoming a member of the European Union, Lithuania has changed its cultural policy and shaped the new policy according to the idea of cultural policy adopted by the Union; a competitive, inclusionary, and based on cooperation. European Union Cultural Policy The first steps towards the establishment of a cultural policy in the European Union were taken during the late 1970s, when the European Union was European Community. In the 1973 with the wave of enlargement and with the economic crisis the Community faced, the member states signed a Declaration of the European Identity. With the Declaration they stated that the member states of the Community share common attitudes and their aim is to build a society which gives priority to the individuals. (Bozoki, 2) The low turn out in the first direct elections for the European parliament made the Community to realize that there was a need to take measures for unification of peoples of Europe as it became obvious that economic integration alone would not lead to such thing. In 1984, the European Council set up a Committee for a People’s Europe. The main aim of the Committee was to take necessary measures to strengthen the European identity. The Committee produced two reports in both of which it was suggested to increase cooperation between the member states in the area of culture, information, and communication. The reports also argued for the development of cultural projects in the form of cultural exchanges, town twining schemes, and youth programs (Bozoki 3). However, the reports were away from proposing a common cultural policy. Another attempt to create a European cultural policy came in the mid 1980s when the Community was preparing itself to the Single European Act, which created the internal market. In 1985, the Delors Commission started to implement the proposals of the Committee for a People’s Europe. During the time the blue flag with twelve stars were adopted as the official flag of the Community. European passports, driving licenses were introduced together with the European postage stamps. (Bozoki, 3) The European Cultural Area was created with the aim of promoting educational exchanges, translation of literary works, and town twining schemes. Another program that was adopted during the time was the Cultural Capitals of Europe. The European Union has legalized its cultural policy with the Treaty of Maastricht, the treaty establishing the European Union, for the first time in 1991. The 151. Article of the treaty states â€Å"The Community shall contribute to the flowering of the cultures of the Member States, while respecting their national and regional diversity and at the same time bringing the common cultural heritage to the fore†. Bozoki, 4) The article on the Cultural Policy further suggests that â€Å"Cultural policy is governed by the principle of subsidiarity, with Community action is to be taken only if the objective cannot be achieved sufficiently by member states alone. Thus EU-level cultural policy is limited to encouraging cooperation between member states, and, if necessary supporting and supplementing their action†. (Bozoki, 4) According to the article the Union should take into consideration cu ltural compatibility when it implements cultural policies. The European Cultural Policy had three aims. The first one of these was to improve the knowledge of the culture and history of the Europe and its people. The second aim was to conserve the European cultural heritage and the last aim was to support the cultural exchange and artistic creation. In order to achieve these aims three cultural programs have been implemented by the Union between 1996 and 1999. The first one of these programs was â€Å"Kaleidoscope†. The aim of the program was to encourage artistic creation and promote cultural awareness among the peoples of Europe in the areas of creative arts, performing arts, and applied arts by means of exchange and cultural cooperation. Kouveliotis, 5) The second program was â€Å"Ariane†. It aimed to promote knowledge of European literary works through the means of translation. The objective of the program was to create awareness in the member states regarding the current literary art together with the current drama. (Kouveliotis, 6) The third program that implemente d in the 1997- 2000 period was â€Å"Raphael†. The aim of the program was to encourage cooperation among the member countries of the Union in the area of cultural heritage. Kouveliotis, 8) The program aimed to bring the common cultural to the fore while respecting the national diversities. The European Capital of Culture was another program that adopted by the European Union. The main objective of the program was to highlight the diversity and richness of European cultures and to promote greater mutual acquaintance between European citizens. (Kouveliotis, 10) Under the program starting from 2005, each year a city would be chosen as the European capital of culture. The objectives of the program were to highlight the artistic movements and styles shared by Europeans, to promote events involving people active in culture from other cities in the member states of the Union, to ensure mobilization and participation of large sections of population, to encourage reception of citizens of the European Union and to reach as wide an audience as possible by employing multimedia and multilingual approach, to promote dialogue between European cultures and other cultures in the world, to exploit the historic heritage, urban architecture, and quality of the city. Kouveliotis, 10) In the year 2000, the Union adopted Culture 2000 program under which all the three programs were merged. The Culture 2000 program aims to promote creativity and disseminate culture through support Europe wide cooperation between cultural organizations, institutions within and outside of the Union (Kouveliotis, 12). Under the program three types of activities were defined to be support ed. These are innovative activities, experimental actions of multiannual cultural cooperation, and cultural events with European dimension. Kouveliotis, 12) In 2007, Culture 2007 program was implemented by the Union for the period of 2007- 2013. (Dewey, 99) The main aim of the program is to focus on the mobility of artists and art works in order to enhance cultural cooperation in the Union. Lithuanian Cultural Policy Lithuania is one of the countries that faced transition from Communism to liberal democracy. Like all other policies the cultural policy of the country was also affected by that change in the regime. During the Soviet period the cultural policy of the country were under the control of the Communist Party (Council of Europel/ERICarts 2). In other words, the cultural policy of the country was under an ideological influence and control. The Soviet cultural policy and its administration were under the lines of strict command of the party. The cultural events and institutions were used by the party to legitimize Communism. The privileges were offered to the artists. In this way the artists were attracted to the ruling circles and they were prevented to produce artifacts criticizing the regime (Council of Europel/ERICarts 2). As a result of such policy implementation, democratic forms of cultural self government cannot be established in Lithuania. Lithuania was one of the post-Soviet era East European countries that applied European Union for full membership. Like all other candidate countries, Lithuania had to take the necessary steps in order to fulfill the criteria defined by the Union in order to become a member of the Union. The Maastrich criteria, which Lithuania was expected to fulfill, consist of three criterions. The first one of these is the political according to which every candidate country should adopt rule of law, respect minority rights, and stable democratic institutions. Varbanova, 54) The second criterion is the economic one. Under this criterion a candidate country should adopt a well functioning market economy and should be able to compete in the European market. (Varbanova, 54) The third criterion is the adoption of â€Å"acquis communautaire† and the last criterion is to have the capacity to fulfill the membership obligations. As far as the cultural policy during the accession process is concerned , the candidate countries are required to complete a questionnaire on the economic and public sectors which includes ulture and audio visual policy. (Varbanova, 54) The questionnaire includes legislation for protecting cultural heritage, legislation in the field of broadcasting, the national system for the support of artistic activities, professional training, and arts education. (Varbanova, 54) In this respect, Lithuania benefited from the European financial support schemes provided to candidate countries under the Culture Program, Structural Funds, and European initiatives to advance cultural cooperation. With the end of the Communist regime in 1989, a new era in the Lithuanian politics has started. The country turned its face to Europe and started to implement the necessary measures to be a liberal democracy. This process also affected the Lithuanian cultural policy. In the year of 1991, the Lithuanian government has adopted a new program called â€Å"Market†, Democracy Freedom which set a new direction of the Lithuanian cultural policy as the program included a specific objective which was the development of a â€Å"Lithuanian Cultural Model†. Dufton, 15) This new cultural model aimed to bring freedom of expression, democratic process and an arms length approach, according to which the policy making and policy implementation in the area of culture would be separated from each other. In other words, the new program brought decentralization to the Lithuanian cultural policy. On the other hand, throughout the 1990s the decisions taken regarding the cultural policy in Lith uania cannot be taken appropriately due to the some problems faced by the country. The first problem the country faced regarding the cultural policy was the lack of money as a result of which the projects could not be implemented. The second problem was the lack of local government tradition. The third problem was the exclusion of some sectors of the population from cultural activities and the fourth problem was the contradictions in the legislation. (Dufton, 18) The cultural activities which were financed by the central and local government generally were spent on the existing cultural institutions such as theaters, cinemas, libraries etc. As the number of the audiences and the performances decreased the burden of financing the cultural activities started to rest with the government. (Dufton, 19) The decision making process regarding the cultural policy was at the hands of the high executives. As a result, most of the important channels were cut off from the process, leading to disintegration in cultural services. (Dufton, 19) As the problems in the above mentioned areas continued to exist, Lithuania passed a law, Law on the Amendment of the Law on Local Self-Government, for the decentralization of the cultural policy making and implementation. The law provided the local governments the legal and administrative capacities to implement cultural policy according to the needs of their communities. Another development in the decentralization of cultural policy came in 2002, when the Lithuanian government adopted the Cultural Development Program of the Regions, with the aim to form the administrative, financial, legal and information basis for the development of regional culture (Council of Europel/ERICarts 10). In 2002, Lithuania adopted a document called â€Å"State’s Long Term Development Strategy† defining the aims of the Lithuanian cultural policy as â€Å"to preserve and promote common European cultural values and national identity, to warrant its prolongation, openness and competitiveness in contemporary Lithuanian, European and the World cultural context†. (Council of Europel/ERICarts, 11) Furthermore, the new cultural policy aimed to guarantee participation in culture life of the Lithuanian society and consumption of culture. The cultural identity of the Lithuanian culture was defined as the use of national language, state protection of the ethnic culture, national heritage, and support national minorities living in Lithuania. (Council of Europel/ERICarts, 12) Moreover, the cultural policy aimed to improve the administrative system on national heritage protection, expand the democracy in cultural life, to set the basic principles for state’s support to art and artists, to stimulate regional cultural development and cooperation of tourism and cultural institutions, and to develop the information society and access to culture. Council of Europel/ERICarts, 12) In this respect it can rightly be argued that the cultural policy adopted by Lithuania was in line with the cultural policy objectives of the Union. It aimed to promote European values as a part of the Lithuanian culture, to promote cooperation with other states regarding the cultural programs, to increase the participation of the Lithuanian soc iety in cultural programs and to promote the Lithuanian culture in such a way that all the different elements of the Lithuanian society would be reflected. Current Issues in Lithuanian Cultural Policy National minorities and their place in the Lithuanian cultural policy are some of the current issues in the Lithuanian cultural policy. Lithuania has been one of the first Central and Eastern European counties which passed the Law on National Minorities. (Council of Europel/ERICarts, 13) Under this law the national minorities have the right to receive state support for fostering of their national culture. They have access to information and press in their native language and to establish cultural and educational organizations. Furthermore, the national minorities are given the right to organize cultural events in their native languages. Moreover, the minorities have the right to publish books and newspapers in their own languages. In addition to this, according of the Law of Education the educational institution should provide information on ethnic cultures into their curricula. (Council of Europel/ERICarts, 13) In 2004 the Lithuanian government passed the Program of Integration of National Minorities into Society for the years 2005-2010 with the objectives of integrating national minorities into Lithuanian cultural life, preservation of ethnic identities of minorities, and development of coherent relationships with the minorities. Council of Europel/ERICarts, 14). The state and the municipalities provide financial support for the cultural organizations and events of the national minorities. As it is mentioned above another main objective of the Lithuanian Cultural Policy is to promote openness of the Lithuanian national culture through promoting Lithuanian culture abroad and to familiarize the local population with the culture of other nations. The regions where the national minorities lived as majorities have adopted special cultural programs and education programs. Council of Europel/ERICarts, 14) In addition to integrate the national minorities into the culture of Lithuania, these programs also aim to bring regional economic development to these areas. As it is mentioned above, one of the aims of the Lithuanian cultural policy is to bring equal access to the culture to everyone in the culture life of the country. The programs adopted by the government such as The Regional Culture Development Program and the Support to Young Artists Program brought measures to increase the participation to regional cultural events and to integrate the young artists into the cultural market. Council of Europel/ERICarts, 14) Although the state remained as the main supported of the above mentioned cultural programs, the private sector started to emerge as an important supporter and initiator of cultural events in Lithuania. Private sector in cooperation with NGOs implemented many social cohesion acts such as the Open Air Museum of the Centre of Europe, which also was included into the Culture 2000 Project of the Union. (Council of Europel/ERICarts, 14) Artistic Parks in Nature: the Bridge for Teaching Contemporary Art in Schools was a project developed by the private sector and NGOs. It involved young people and professional artists from different countries. The project, Uzupio Respublika has been one of the important projects developed under the Lithuanian cultural policy. (Council of Europel/ERICarts, 14). It was started by a group of young artists in 1990s. It became an important place for the cultural organizations such as festivals. Publications of books and film productions also have taken their places in the Lithuanian Cultural Policy. Translation of foreign books into Lithuanian language has become one of the priorities according to the cultural policy of the country. As far as the film production is concerned, the state plays an important role in the financial support. After the accession to the European Union the film producers started to cooperate with companies from other countries. The cultural heritage and its protection is one of the important areas under the Lithuanian cultural policy. In 1994 with a law passed by the government, the Law on the Basic National Security of Lithuania, cultural heritage became a national security object. (Council of Europel/ERICarts, 17- 18) During the last years the government has taken several steps in the area. Training programs for the protection of national heritage were implemented with the fund provided by World Heritage Fund. The protection of the heritage was also decentralized as the local authorities were given more funds for the protection of heritage. However, the insufficient funding remains as an important problem in the protection of heritage. Conclusion Lithuania has adapted its cultural policy according to the cultural policy aims of the European Union. The country has taken the necessary measures to protect its national culture, including the culture of the national minorities. It has developed and implemented programs in order to familiarize its society with the different cultural elements that existed within Lithuania. The country also developed cultural programs to promote the Lithuanian culture abroad and cooperated with other countries in this regard. Moreover, the country has also promoted the idea of protection of national heritage and has taken the necessary steps, despite some financial problems the policy regarding heritage works well. In 2009 Lithuania involved in the European Capital of Culture Project with Vilnius. In this regard, it can rightly be stated that the Lithuanian cultural policy has affected by the ideas promoted by the European cultural policy in the sense that Lithuania promoted a democratic national cultural policy, embracing the European identity and promoting the Lithuanian one. As far as the other side of the coin, the European cultural policy is concerned, it can be suggested that the Union’s cultural policy is not affected by the Lithuanian cultural policy. But as it is the case with other member states, Lithuanian cultural policy contributes to the development of the European culture and identity. With the adopted projects Lithuanian culture is known in other member states of the European Union and the European identity gains another component; Lithuanian. In other words, the programs promoted by the Union which are adopted and implemented by Lithuania enrich the European culture and identity. Bibliography Bozoki, Andras. Cultural Policy and Politics at European Union. 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