Council of Europe Recommendation on media pluralism, transparency of media ownership and media literacy

This digest has been produced in cooperation with the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) 

In a Recommendation, adopted on 7 March 2018, the Committee of Ministers endorses a comprehensive framework of guidelines for creating a pluralist, transparent and participatory media environment, both offline and online.

States are encouraged to develop strategies for increasing the sustainability of a variety of media ranging from public service media, local, minority, community and cross-border media.

States are also encouraged to support quality independent and investigative journalism, whilst fully respecting the editorial and operational autonomy of the media. The recommendation provides guidelines which are to assure visibility of diverse content across a number of platforms and help expose it to the widest possible audience through media literacy programmes.

The adopted guidelines call on states to support concrete measures for the media and media pluralism:

• “States should develop, in consultation with representatives of the media and civil society organisations, strategies and mechanisms to support professional news media and quality independent and investigative journalism”;
• “States are encouraged to provide various forms of financial support such as advertising and subsidies. States are also encouraged to support projects relating to journalism education, media research, investigative journalism and innovative approaches to strengthen media pluralism and freedom of expression”;
• “Support measures should have clearly defined purposes and should be based on predetermined, clear, precise, equitable, objective and transparent criteria. They should be implemented in full respect of the editorial and operational autonomy of the media”;
• “Support measures should be administered in a non-discriminatory and transparent manner by a body enjoying functional and operational autonomy, such as an independent media regulatory authority”.

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