Serbia: Tendering process of national FTA TV licences must be open and transparent - Article

Partner organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) and the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (NUNS) are concerned about the lack of a transparent process for the allocation of national free to air (FTA) TV licences in Serbia and of a Development Strategy for radio and audiovisual media services

Hungary: Fidesz Media Council moves to silence independent station Tilos Rádió - Article

Steady erosion of media pluralism continues after Orbán re-election

Who is afraid of journalists? The MFRR Italy Mission Report - Article

The collection of findings and recommendations by the partners of the MFRR, in a booklet curated by OBCT.

Following the MFRR Italy Mission from 4 to 6 April, coordinated by OBCT, the conclusions about SLAPP, defamation and safety of journalists are published here

Czech Republic: Independence of public broadcasters must be insulated against future attacks - Article

Recent boost in press freedom should drive legislative reform for public service media

Turkey: Spectre of a Digital Lockdown - Reports

The report led by IPI examines government efforts to increase digital censorship through further control of online information in the build up to the next elections due in 2023. The report is based on the media freedom mission led by IPI in October 2021 which met with journalists, politicians, and the Constitutional Court and draws on IPI’s media monitoring programme conducted under the #FreeTurkeyJournalists campaign

A series of Thematic Directories. SLAPP - Article

A chronological overview of resources related to SLAPP, strategic lawsuit against public participation, to tell the story of the last 3 years of advocacy and engagement of a transnational community. Available also as a pdf

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s national public broadcaster faces closure - Article

The EFJ, EBU and SEEMO have all called for an urgent resolution to save the national broadcaster and its workers from financial ruin

Romania: Publication of stolen pictures of Emilia Șercan and leak from criminal investigation must be investigated swiftly and independently - Article

Ten European and international press freedom and freedom of expression organisations, members of the MFRR and their partners, have reacted to the harassment of Emilia Șercan, expressing serious concerns about the case and its implications for media freedom in Romania. Today, the ten organisations sent an open letter to the Romanian authorities calling for swift and independent investigations. The letter recalls that the threats and harassment of Șercan are set against a background of recent aggression and undue pressure against journalists and media workers in Romania coming from politicians, prosecutors, police, and military officers

A press conference on journalists safety in the Netherlands - Article

A press conference in The Hague and online will be held on 13 April to discuss the findings of the fact-finding mission part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response

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