Freedom of the media

“Media freedom has increasingly come under the spotlight in recent years. The threat to media freedom is often attributed to the recent rise of populist and authoritarian governments, with many world-leaders – including leaders of major democracies – increasingly seeming to view free media as an opponent, rather than a fundamental aspect of a free society. The knock-on effects of such actions can be grave, particularly given the important role that a free media plays in upholding democracy and democratic freedoms. Media freedom and pluralism are part of the rights and principles enshrined in the European Charter of Fundamental Rights and in the European Convention on Human Rights. As the coronavirus pandemic continues to have significant ramifications for public health, social welfare and the economy, the crisis also presents a significant threat to media freedom. Media freedom proponents have warned that governments across the world could use the coronavirus emergency as a pretext for the implementation of new, draconian restrictions on free expression, as well as to increase press censorship. In its 2020 World Press Freedom Index, RSF argues that certain governments have used the crisis to impose media restrictions that in ordinary times would be impossible. The Council of Europe (CoE) Platform for the Protection of Journalists has warned that the fresh assault on media freedom amid the Covid-19 pandemic has worsened an already gloomy media freedom outlook.” In this Briefing, the European Parliament discusses: “1) the current state of media freedom, 2) the impact of coronavirus on media freedom, 3) the wider implications of media freedom restrictions, and 4) EU action to protect and boost media freedom.”

“Around the world, disinformation is spreading and becoming a more complex phenomenon based on emerging techniques of deception. Disinformation undermines human rights and many elements of good quality democracy; but counter-disinformation measures can also have a prejudicial impact on human rights and democracy. COVID-19 compounds both these dynamics and has unleashed more intense waves of disinformation, allied to human rights and democracy setbacks. Effective responses to disinformation are needed at multiple levels, including formal laws and regulations, corporate measures and civil society action. While the EU has begun to tackle disinformation in its external actions, it has scope to place greater stress on the human rights dimension of this challenge. In doing so, the EU can draw upon best practice examples from around the world that tackle disinformation through a human rights lens. This study proposes steps the EU can take to build counter-disinformation more seamlessly into its global human rights and democracy policies.”

Gillwald examines the public sphere, contextualising it in terms of the debate between the liberalist school of thought and the Marxist school of thought. While the traditional liberalist position that locates the media “at the interface between the governors and governed”, the Marxist school characterises the media as bourgeoisie. Gillwald in elucidating on the shortcomings of both these notions, seeks to understand the public sphere in the sense of Habermas’ critical sphere. Through the debunking of certain misplaced assumptions with regard to the public sphere, she seeks to reconstruct the public sphere, thereby redefining the role of the media in a democracy.

“This guide was designed as a basic and synthetic input to help judges and legal practitioners across the Americas who must apply international (especially inter-American) standards that enshrine and protect the fundamental right to freedom of expression.” Available only in Spanish.

Bennett in examining the scholarship on the different theories of media seeks to understand the assumptions at play in the various schools of thought, which have gone on to shape our understanding of media. Through this exercise he also aims to comprehend the implications of the terminology “mass, media and communications”, so as to discern the nature of the media as perceived.

The toolkit “is organized in six thematic modules that offer up to date information on the protection and promotion of freedom of expression, access to public information and safety of journalists in Judicial Systems in Ibero America. It also provides a range of learning activities, assessment tools, and didactic resources, with the aim of becoming a dynamic component of basic and advance training in Judicial Schools”. Available only in Spanish.

“This publication presents a revision of the evolution that the transition from analog to digital free-to-air television has had in the hemisphere, given that several countries are in full transition and others have not even begun this process which involves a deep technological change and decision-making can affect the right to freedom of expression. The role of media in a democratic society implies that any decision on the transition to digital television must observe the guarantees related to the exercise of freedom of expression, legal certainty and the promotion of diversity principles and pluralism in all platforms.” 

The Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (CMPF) published a study of the so-called “news deserts” - areas that lack “sufficient, reliable, and diverse information from trustworthy media sources” - in Europe. The report results from an all-EU research project that assessed challenges and opportunities faced by local and community media outlets in the 27 Member States. The CMPF methodology includes such indicators as economic and political conditions, local journalists’ safety, the degree of media’s inclusiveness towards minorities and marginalized groups, and engagement with the audience. The report concludes with recommendations for the EU, Member States’ national and local authorities, media organizations, journalists, scholars, and other stakeholders. CMPF highlights an urgent issue to address - “the lack of data related to the economic and financial information for both local and community media, as well as locally focused audience measurements and more detailed research on trust, audience perspectives, perceptions and engagement within local media markets.”

“In this report, [the authors] identify some policy options available for the European Commission and for European Union member states should they wish to create a more enabling environment for independent professional journalism going forward. Many of these options are relevant far beyond Europe and demonstrate what democratic digital media policy could look like. [They] argue that, to thrive, independent professional journalism needs freedom, funding, and a future. To enable this, media policy needs (a) to protect journalists and media from threats to their independence and to freedom of expression, (b) to provide a level playing field and support for a sustainable business of news, and (c) to be oriented towards the digital, mobile, and platform-dominated future that people are demonstrably embracing – not towards defending the broadcast and print-dominated past. The report identifies a number of real policy choices that elected officials can pursue, at both the European level and at the member state level, all of which have the potential to make a meaningful difference and help create a more enabling environment for independent professional journalism across the continent while minimising the room for political interference with the media. [It is hoped that] it can serve as a useful starting point for a discussion of the role of media policy in European democracy (and beyond) going forward and thus help ensure we develop twenty-first- century media policies for a twenty-first-century media environment.”

“The Windhoek+30 Declaration was adopted on 03 May 2021 during a conference held to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration and World Press Freedom Day. The conference was held under the theme ‘Information as a Public Good’ from 29 April and ended on 03 May. The Windhoek Declaration was promulgated in 1991 and focused on the role of a free, independent and pluralistic media. The date of the declaration’s adoption, 03 May, was declared World Press Freedom Day. The Windhoek+30 Declaration has called on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and other intergovernmental organisations to reinforce cooperation with governments and civil society organisations in order to safeguard and enhance guarantees for the full exercise of the right to information and freedom of expression, both online and offline, with a particular focus on strengthening media freedom, diversity, and independence as well as media viability, transparency of digital platforms, and media and information literacy.”