The VoiCEE Podcast Episode 4: Media Independence in Central and Eastern Europe - Article

This episode is part of a podcast series that looks at Central and Eastern Europe from different angles and perspectives

Serbia: REM’s awarding of TV licences underscores media pluralism and media diversity failure - Article

The decision made by the Serbia’s Regulatory Body for Electronic Media to award four national FTA TV licences to pro-government outlets perpetuates a deeply unbalanced commercial broadcast media market and is another example of the authority’s failure to protect media diversity and pluralism in Serbia

Malta: Joint statement in support of The Shift News - Article

OBCT co-signed a statement in support of the independent media outlet The Shift News, as it faces a freedom of information battle with the government of Malta

Poland: Letter to the Ombudsman in defence of Polska Press - Article

OBCT joins a group of media freedom organisations in a letter to the Polish Ombudsman to urge him to reconsider its decision to refrain from appealing the acquisition of Polska Press by the state-controlled oil company PKN Orlen

Albania: Letter to Prime Minister Edi Rama from international press freedom organisations - Article

OBCT signed a letter addressed to Albanian PM Edi Rama in protest against a decision to ban journalists from attending press conferences after they asked challenging questions. Such an arbitrary restriction seriously affects the ability of the press to carry out its watchdog role. Albanian translation is available below

Maja Sever, the first woman to lead the EFJ - Article

Quickly resolving the economic issue relating to journalists, fighting harder against SLAPPs or gag complaints, using the rule of law to improve media conditions. These are the keywords of Maja Sever, the first woman to lead the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)

by Giovanni Vale

Romania: a joint letter on the case of Emilia Șercan - Article

OBCT joins a group of media freedom organisations in a letter to Romanian authorities concerning the case of Emilia Șercan. We express our concern about the delay in the investigations into the publication of her stolen photos and the alleged leak of key elements of the investigation into this offense. Romanian translation is available below

Temporary Relocations. A toolkit - Article

This summary of issues, open questions, recommendations, and suggestions on how to implement a residency programme for journalists under pressure is the result of OBCT research consulting existing literature and conducting several interviews with managers and beneficiaries. This 10-page document goes through the main aspects of the implementation of a journalists-in-residence programme, highlighting 19 issues that are considered to be the most problematic and interesting at the same time. The toolkit is also accessible as a pdf.

Curated by Paola Rosà, May 2022

Turkey: international groups call on parliament to reject the “disinformation” bill as a tool of digital censorship - Article

Law designed to expand censorship online and criminalize free flow of information

Third regional conference on countering disinformation in the Western Balkans - HTML5 video

Following the first and second Regional Disinformation Conference in 2020 and 2021, Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is organizing Third Regional Conference on countering disinformation in the Western Balkans on 1 June 2022 in Sarajevo in hybrid mode