4 minute read
Media Freedom. Few Good Stories to Tell
From the trend report on press freedom for Reporting Democracy
Governments across Central and South-Eastern Europe have stepped up their efforts during the pandemic to exert more control over the independent media, using a variety of means, in a bid to control the narrative. Nimble, tech-savvy, often crowdfunded media start-ups are filling the void.
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The Mapping Media Freedom project of the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) identifies limitations, threats and violations faced by media workers in 43 countries. The latest monitoring report, covering the period between July and October 2020, recorded 111 alerts across Europe, of which 53 occurred in the region of Central and South-Eastern Europe. The majority of the alerts concerned psychological or physical threats; less frequent, but still widespread, were threats of legal action and censorship.
The politicisation of the public and independent media in Central and South-Eastern Europe is a longterm trend that has picked up over the last couple of years. According to Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index, Hungary has experienced a dramatic drop of 16 places in the index since 2018, Serbia a fall of 17 places and the Czech Republic six places. Bulgaria languishes in 111th place on the index, by far the worst score in the EU and second only to Belarus in Europe.
The pandemic has provided an opportunity for the nationalist-populist governments in the region to exert more control over the media. Hungary, generally accepted to be the EU’s most egregious media freedom abuser, has a modus operandi that involves the concentration of media in the hands of allies of the government. “The plurality of the media market is at high risk in Hungary. Independent media outlets face systemic obstruction and intimidation,” the European Commission wrote in its inaugural Rule of Law Report published in October 2020.
Oligarchs and politicians often cooperate to control the narrative and critical voices. This is especially true for powerful ruling parties, which attempt to translate their strong position in politics into more favourable coverage and control over the media. Politicians and oligarchs increasingly use so-called SLAPP suits to legally challenge critical reporting, resulting in costly and prolonged court hearings. This ultimately encourages self-censorship by journalists as a way to stay out of trouble. The takeover of independent media by government allies and state companies will also have a chilling effect on critical coverage.
There are growing calls by independent media watchdogs for the EU and international groups/governments to step in. The latest came from a group of 17 organisations that wrote an open letter to MEPs, ahead of a 10 March 2021 debate in the European Parliament on media freedom in Poland, Hungary and Slovenia, calling for the European Commission to act. “To prosper, democracy needs a certain kind of public sphere, one in which citizens and their representatives engage in vigorous argument on the basis of shared facts. Restoring that kind of public sphere is now a central task for the renewal of liberal democracy.” Timothy Garton Ash, historian, The Guardian, 8 February 2021
Illustration: Reporting Democracy
The European Commission’s inaugural report on the state of the rule of law in the bloc in 2020 showed major shortcomings, especially in Poland and Hungary, but also in other countries in the region. 2021’s report, expected in July, will provide a clearer picture on developments in media freedom during the pandemic. Despite the relative clumsiness of EU processes, action to protect media freedom is on its way. However, it is unclear how significant this will be and whether it can stop media freedom abusers from continuing their efforts to crush the independent media.
While the internet has aided malign media influences like disinformation and fake news, it has also enabled the building – often using crowdfunding – and operation of new nimble, tech-savvy investigative outlets, which are increasingly becoming the main voices holding governments in the region to account. There is a growing number of digital initiatives by the EU and NGOs to provide funding for media start-ups. According to the European Commission in February 2021, there are currently 18 projects, either ongoing or in preparation, representing close to 20 million euros in EU funding. The Commission wants to increase funding and ensure long-term support for these types of projects under the next Multiannual Financial Framework, which for the first time may have a dedicated envelope for media pluralism, journalism and media literacy of at least 61 million euros under Creative Europe.
This article is an excerpt from the latest trend report on media freedom in CEE by Pavel Hanosek for Reporting Democracy. The full trend report 2021 can be found here:
In 2019, ERSTE Foundation and the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) co-founded a cross-border journalistic platform: Reporting Democracy. Independent journalists research and question the topics, trends and events that are shaping the future of democracy in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. Reporting Democracy publishes reports, interviews and analyses by correspondents from 14 countries. Journalists on the ground receive commissions and grants for in-depth reports and research. Each spring, journalists and experts identify key trends likely to have a lasting impact by analysing the past developments in the region.
