Silencing the Fourth Estate: Italy’s Democratic Drift

This report presents the findings from the mission and MFRR’s ongoing monitoring, providing a comprehensive analysis of the three most urgent issues identified in Italy. In a context of media freedom deterioration,  Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) led the organization of an urgent mission to Rome, Italy, on May 16-17, 2024. The mission was joined by the partner organizations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR). The mission sought to engage with state representatives, institutions, and political parties on three pressing issues: political interference in public media, legal harassment of critical journalists, and the potential acquisition of AGI, one of the country's major news agencies.

The report assesses the impact of various measures and legislative proposals introduced by Italian policymakers, in light of recent EU directives aimed at ensuring the independence of public media, countering market concentration, addressing conflicts of interest, and empowering the judiciary to tackle vexatious lawsuits. The report also offers detailed recommendations for Italian institutional and governmental actors, outlining the necessary steps to counter the decline in media freedom and implement much-needed reforms.