Media Outlook: No Pressure, No Progress

Michael Hedges May 16, 2011 Follow on Twitter

Blights on the media landscape are oft noted, particularly at the fringes. The media is too powerful, except where it isn’t. It’s too rich, except where it isn’t. It has the best of values, except when it doesn’t. On this everybody seems to agree, except when they can’t.

Sponsored by the European Commission (EC) DG Expansion recently (May 6) was a Brussels conference titled “Speak Up” and its focus was media freedom in the Western Balkans and Turkey. Out came top policy makers from the EC and European Parliament, lobbyists and media watchers, media scholars and reporters. European Union expansion may not exactly be a hot topic in Brussels these days - austerity, debts and immigration high on the Twitter list – but it simmers. Turkey and the Western Balkans – Albania and the States formerly comprising Yugoslavia, excepting Slovenia – continue to raise concerns about media freedom. Slovenia joined the European Union in 2004.

Brussels regulars opened the “Speak Up” conference. European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek spoke up for the relationship between democracy and media freedom. “What is the main tool that we should use to fight for democracy?”, he opened. “It is information and free media as well as the courage of journalists who understand the meaning of pluralism.”

He talked about transitions, like his from the Solidarity trade union to Poland’s Prime Minister. “The retreat from the principles of freedom of media in some Western Balkan countries and in Turkey is not acceptable,” citing a theme all could agree with. “Citizens need to be properly informed and it is only the media which can give them this information.” Transitions, he said, take place because people want to “help create a better world to live in” not simply “formally perfect” constitutions.

EC Enlargement Commissioner Stafan Füle addressed what he sees as the big three “points of concern.” Media in the Western Balkans and Turkey are threatened by “political interference, economic pressure and violence against the media. All three represent attacks on the very heart of your democratic system and on our shared values.”

Evidence confirming those “points of concern” has been widely reported. Local politicians embrace their political realities by making untenable media organizations they cannot control. The tax ruling against Turkey’s Dogan Media Group, ultimately forcing to company to divest two newspapers, is not an isolated case. In several countries an independent public broadcaster has failed to take root because of political interference.

”The EU is setting clear standards regarding the freedom of speech and it is very concerned over the current situation,” said Commissioner Füle, reiterating that treaties are in place to protect human rights. Stronger local laws will help, he said, but implementation is harder. “The legal framework is necessary but it is insufficient, it is necessary to adequately implement it.”

European institutions, EuroParl President Buzek and Commissioner Füle seemed to be saying, can only do so much, limited to pressure more than rule making. The EC has steadfastly avoided media plurality issues, leaving media ownership rules to Member States. But, for EU candidate countries pressure to conform to certain standards and practices can be intense.

The track record for media independence in the newest EU Member States is spotty, at best. Newly enacted media laws in Slovenia and Hungary have sharply turned the good intentions of EU accession on their heads. Speaking at the “Speak Up” conference Commission Vice President for the Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes took credit for pressuring the Hungarian government over certain parts of its new Media Act, “triumphantly,” as pointed out by RFE/RL’s Rikard Jozwiak (May 9). More onerous provisions of Hungary’s new Media Act remain, from fines for “unbalanced (news) coverage” to direct political control over a newly created media regulator.

“The models that are coming from our neighbors are not encouraging at all,” said Albanian Media Institute Director Remzi Lani once the “Speak Up” conference allowed media representatives from the region to speak up. “The things that happen there make what happens in our country not that wrong,” he said mentioning the Hungarian media law, journalists jailed in Turkey and, of course, Silvio Berlusconi.

“Media is the most important achievement of new Balkan democracies,” Lani concluded. “If you are prime minister or president in our countries you cannot sleep well, and you cannot sleep well because of the media.”

“The EU should intervene,” said Reporters sans frontiers (RSF) General Secretary Jean-Francois Julliard, “but to be effective it needs to be credible, and to be credible it needs to scrupulously respect freedom of the press.” Paris-based RSF and Washington-based Freedom House issue annual press freedom rankings. For countries of the Western Balkans trends over the last five years has not been encouraging.

“Coming from Sarajevo,” said OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation Europe) media representative Dunja Mijatovic post-conference, “I do not think that speaking up is a problem in the Balkans. We are very loud, very outspoken. But when it comes to actually doing the work, then there is problem. So there is a need for a push.”

See also in ftm Knowledge

Media Development - Emerging Markets / Converging Platforms

Media development in emerging and transitional democracies has never been more important and never more challenging. With everything else, new media and the web are both opportunities and complications. The ftm Knowledge file reviews the changes. 54 pages PDF (March 2011)

Order here

Western Balkans - the struggle for order and independence

ftm reporting explores media development and investment in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia / Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia and Albania. Emerging from conflict broadcasters, publishers and governments face ghosts of the past to forge a new future. 40 pages PDF (October 2007)

Order here

Media in Spain - Diverse and Challenged – new

Media in Spain is steeped in tradition. yet challenged by diversity. Publishers hold great influence, broadcasters competing. New media has been slow to rise and business models for all are under stress. Rich in language and culture, Spain's media is reaching into the future and finding more than expected. 123 pages, PDF. January 2018

Order here

The Campaign Is On - Elections and Media

Elections campaigns are big media events. Candidates and issues are presented, analyzed and criticized in broadcast and print. Media is now more of a participant in elections than ever. This ftm Knowledge file reports on news coverage, advertising, endorsements and their effect on democracy at work. 84 pages. PDF (September 2017)

Order here

Fake News, Hate Speech and Propaganda

The institutional threat of fake news, hate speech and propaganda is testing the mettle of those who toil in news media. Those three related evils are not new, by any means, but taken together have put the truth and those reporting it on the back foot. Words matter. This ftm Knowledge file explores that light. 48 pages, PDF (March 2017)

Order here

More ftm Knowledge files here

Become an ftm Individual or Corporate Member to order Knowledge Files at no charge. JOIN HERE!