Media in Post-Communist Societies: Objective Information vs. Ideological Bias International Conference Material, Minsk, October 18 and 19, 2002 The collection features presentations made at the conference organized by the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, Norwegian PEN, the Belarusian Association of Journalists, and Belarusian PEN. All texts are in two languages – Belarusian and English. The conference covered the following topics: the information space in post-communist countries, the mass audience and ideological impact, propaganda techniques, the mass media as a mechanism for maintaining and ensuring a democratic society, the media as a forum for public debates and the Belarusian reality. Belarus' independent media outlets need protection because there is no other means to highlight issues in the country. The Belarusian government sees the media as part of the state propaganda system. Uncensored information makes people think, react, make decisions and conscious choices. This is why officials seek to control information flows. Information control leads to stagnation in society in the best-case scenario, or to degradation and a twisted perception of the reality.