The President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov ordered that the country''s practice of paying royalties to journalists working on radio and television be revived.

In the ruling the President indicated that paying these royalties will contribute to the improvement of broadcasting quality. In the course of one month a fees scale will be developed and relevant changes made in the state budget.

The previous president, Saparmurat Niyazov considered the royalties to be a "waste of resources" believing that the prestige of working for public radio and television was a sufficient incentive for journalists. Conditional royalties fee was practiced in printed media, where the fee per published issue amounted to $10 (currently, during Berdymuhamedov''s presidency the fee amounts to $70).

On March 13 Berdymuhamedov announced his intention to revive royalties payment in theatres, where such practices had also been abolished by Niyazov.

Berdymuhamedov repeatedly spoke of his intention to reform the Ministry of Culture and Broadcasting and increase its funding. He also criticized the work of the Turkmen State media and entertainment industry of the country.