Media Capture in the Czech Republic: lessons learnt from the Babiš era and how to rebuild defences against Media Capture - Reports

This IPI report examines growing pressure on the public-service broadcaster Czech Television (CT) under the Babiš government. In this light, the report looks at key reform proposals to strengthen Czech public media’s defenses against future attempts to compromise its independence, and it also details how government advertising funds were directed to benefit Mafra media owned by Babiš and recommends policy reform to end the abuse of government funds to reward positive media coverage

Turkey: growing digital censorship compounds press freedom crisis - Article

We joined ten other organisations in a mission to Turkey led by IPI. While the government refused the invitation for a meeting, journalists, civil society representatives, MPs and other institutions denounced an ever-worsening environment for Turkey's remaining independent press

Poland: open letter to Members of Parliament in defence of media freedom - Article

OBCT joined a coalition of press freedom and journalism organizations in urgently calling on members of the Sejm, the lower house of Poland’s legislature, to oppose a draft bill that would dramatically accelerate media capture in Poland. Here the text of the letter:

Poland: MFRR partners call for stronger EU and U.S. action over 'lex TVN' - Article

The passing of the so-called 'lex TVN' would clearly undermine the ownership structure of U.S.-owned TVN and TVN24, with implications for the government's control over the country's most influential critical broadcaster

MFRR letter to US President Biden - Article

The Media Freedom Rapid Response urges the President of the United Stated, in Brussel for a NATO summit, to support efforts by the European Commission to demand reform in Poland and Hungary that guarantee media pluralism and independent journalism

Poland: Purge of editors begins at Polska Press - Article

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) today calls on Poland’s state-controlled oil giant PKN Orlen to immediately halt its interference in the newsrooms and editorial independence of Polska Press media and to fully respect the court’s interim decision suspending its purchase of the publisher pending a review

MFRR raises concerns over increasing meddling in independence of Czech public broadcaster - Article

The partner organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) express their serious concern over the latest efforts by the ruling ANO party and its allies to further politicise the oversight body of the Czech public broadcaster.

We are worried that the slow-motion yet obvious efforts to stack the Council of the Czech TV (ČT Council) are ultimately aimed at the erosion of the public television’s independence and politically-motivated realignment of its news and opinion programming

Purchase of Polska Press by state energy giant spells disaster for media freedom in Poland - Article

An analysis by IPI: A long-feared, Hungary-style takeover of independent media in Poland gathered pace this week as a state-controlled energy giant announced the acquisition of a media company with more than 20 regional dailies, 120 weekly magazines and 500 online portals across the country, the International Press Institute (IPI) warned

Country factsheet: Hungary - Article

In 2020, a number of threats to media pluralism and transparency have continued to further marginalise and threaten media freedom across Hungary. Due to the expansion of pro-Government outlets and the weaponisation of government advertising, most Hungarian citizens receive news only from pro-government outlets. With this kind of control, there is no need to directly attack critical journalists, as they are excluded from the media market. Moreover, the coronavirus crisis had arguably the biggest effect on media freedom

A mission to inform. Journalists at risk speak out - Books

This book, dedicated "to Daphne Caruana Galizia and all journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession", is based on in-depth interviews with 20 journalists from 18 different countries and exemplifies forms of interference with press freedom already identified in the 2017 study, as well as journalists’ perceptions and the strategies they employ to go on with their work