Croatia, the assault on the local press - Article

2024 is the year of elections for Croatia: European, political and presidential elections will take place between next June and December. And with the electoral competitions, the race for control of the local media, particularly the regional ones, is gaining ground in a hardly transparent way

By Giovanni Vale 

Originally published by OBCT. Also available in ITA and BHS

Trudeau against Facebook: social media, copyright, and information - Article

In protest against the new Canadian law that requires social media to pay news organisations every time a user shares a link, Facebook has blocked access to news portals, earning the condemnation of Prime Minister Trudeau. In Europe, meanwhile, new regulations are on their way on the removal of content, advertising, and disinformation

By Paola Rosà

Originally published by OBCT in ENG and ITA

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

Spain: a new law against fact-checking - Article

An analysis by Javier Luque, IPI Head of Digital Communications, for Media Freedom Rapid Response: polarization and attempts by far-right party to smear fact-checkers and journalists corner press freedom in the country

Safety of Journalists and the Fighting of Corruption in the EU - Reports

A study commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the LIBE Committee (Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs) examines the chilling effect of crimes and threats against media workers, exploring regulatory and other measures to counter the phenomenon

Media Freedom made in Scandinavia: six examples of best practices - Reports

This report of a fact-finding mission to Scandinavia organised by ECPMF with the participation of EFJ and OBCT shows policies and approaches that can inspire change for the better, suggesting what governments and media actors can do to defend media freedom

Media capture: Toolkit for 21st century autocrats - Article

©Text Vector/Shutterstock

The 8th of a series of thematic itineraries to explore the Resource Centre on Media Freedom through a curated aggregation of contents. 

Fact-finding mission to Czech Republic, 7th-8th October 2019 - Reports

From the very difficult position of local media to the Prime Minister's links to the outlets he used to own, the Czech Republic's issues in the field of freedom of expression are very evident, and the delegation has clear recommendations to give

Bulgaria: media ownership in a “captured state” - Reports

A report on the fact-finding mission by ECPMF and OBCT on Bulgaria’s media ownership structures and their implications for media freedom