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

Albania: concern after government ally elected to head the Audiovisual Media Authority - Article

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) expresses deep concern about the future impartiality and independence of Albania’s Audiovisual Media Authority (AMA) following the election of a close associate of the ruling Socialist Party to head the media regulator

Poland: PKN Orlen media purchase violates EU merger rules and media pluralism standards - Article

MFRR supports ARTICLE 19 legal opinion submitted to Warsaw competition court

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

Police violence against the press in Europe, by Martin Hoffmann - Article

The Vice Chair of the European Institute for Journalism and Communication Research (EIJC), Editor with ZDF heute journal and Researcher for ECPMF, gives an overview of cases and recommendations to tackle the issue of police violence against media

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

MFRR partners raise serious concerns over suspension of funding to Slovenian Press Agency - Article

A temporary halt of state financing for the Slovenian Press Agency is a threat to freedom of information in the country

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