This policy-oriented report contributes understanding how and to what extent the European Union can intervene in matters of media pluralism and media freedom. Given the crucial role of media in the functioning of democratic systems, the European Union has not been, and cannot be, “neutral” on the issue of media pluralism and media freedom.
Major aspects of media economics and especially ownership are considered, including the concentration tendency and the relationship between pluralism and the increase in online sources.
The legal core of the report examines the development of the debate on legal instruments and jurisprudence, as well as the EU legal instruments currently available to tackle media pluralism and media freedom. As there are currently few EU instruments and a general legal uncertainty in this field, the report suggests how the legislation in force could be used or modified in order to foster media freedom and pluralism in a more efficient way.
As there are currently few EU instruments and a general legal uncertainty in this field, the report suggests how the legislation in force could be used or modified in order to foster media freedom and pluralism in a more efficient way.
The text also provides a state of the art perspective on the measuring and evaluating of media pluralism, arguing in favour of an understanding of media systems in Europe that goes beyond the cultural, political, historical and social differences among Member States and points to the definition of a common standard.
Tags: European policies and legislation Media Law Media freedom Media pluralism EU Member StatesThe content of this article can be used according to the terms of Creative Commons: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) . To do so use the the wording "this article was originally published on the Resource Centre on Media Freedom in Europe" including a direct active link to the original article page.
