Media

Italy: MFRR open letter to the President of the European Parliament and the President of the European Commission

25/06/2024

MFRR partner organisations sent a letter to President Metsola and President von der Leyen to express serious concerns about the declining media freedom in Italy and bring to their attention the findings of the recent advocacy mission to Rome

Transnistria “under blockade”

13/06/2024 -  Giorgio Comai

A media analysis of Transnistria’s main news agency and TV station shows just how insistently local media and politicians talk about being “under blockade”. The expression is exceedingly dramatic. But Chișinău should do more to allay immediate and pragmatic concerns of local residents

Serbia: media independence is an exception rather than the rule

13/06/2024 -  Serena Epis

Increasing political and financial pressure threatens the independence and editorial autonomy of many media outlets in Serbia. We interviewed Irina Milutinović, Senior Research Associate at the Institute of European Studies in Belgrade and co-author of the Country Report on Serbia of the Media Pluralism Monitor 2023

Croatia: SafeJournalists and MFRR partners express full solidarity and support to Hrvoje Zovko in further legal battle

07/06/2024

Following the decision of the Supreme Court to overturn the the previous verdicts on the case involving Hrvoje Zovko and the Croatian Radiotelevision (HRT), media freedom organisations show full support to the Croatian journalist in his appeal to the Constitutional Court

Dangerous liaisons: the media and gambling in Bulgaria and Romania

05/06/2024 -  Iulia RosuTsvetelina SokolovaKrasen Nikolov

Betting and gambling companies have gained enormous influence in Bulgaria and Romania. Not only on the people who slip into gambling addiction, but also on the media, which suffer from their economic power. New laws seek to contain this influence, but their impact is unclear

Urgent action is needed to address the financial deadlock facing Radio-Television of Bosnia and Herzegovina

31/05/2024

Today the partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) express concern at the critical financial situation facing Radio-Television of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BHRT)

SafeJournalists network, MFRR partners, and Coalition for Media Freedom condemn continuing pressures and attacks on journalists in Serbia

31/05/2024

The SafeJournalists network, Media Freedom Rapid Response partners, and Coalition for Media Freedom condemn the growing pressure on Serbian journalists, recently exemplified by a physical attack on journalist Vuk Cvijić, and the demand for prison sentences for the journalists of the media outlets KRIK and Pištaljka. We call on the authorities to prioritise addressing the rise in attacks against the press and to genuinely commit to improving the safety of journalists

Romania: Super election year calls for press freedom assessment

30/05/2024

Upcoming mission of European media freedom consortium to evaluate concerns

SafeJournalists and MFRR condemn two decades of impunity in case of murder of Duško Jovanović

27/05/2024

On the 20th anniversary of the murder of Montenegrin journalist Duško Jovanović, OBCT joins partners in the SafeJournalists Network and the Media Freedom Rapid Response in calling for stronger action from the authorities

Silencing the Fourth Estate: Italy’s democratic drift

21/05/2024

Media freedom coalition sounds the alarm on political meddling and legal threats to journalism

Bosnia and Herzegovina: authorities urged to intervene in public broadcasting deadlock

16/05/2024

Following the temporary interruption of RTV Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina television and radio programs on May 8 2024, Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners denounce the irresponsible political management that violates citizens' right to freedom of information

BiH, the public service on the brink of collapse

17/05/2024 -  Darko Kurić Sarajevo

The public service in Bosnia and Herzegovina is in increasingly dire straits. In the absence of real reform, the lack of a sustainable financing mechanism has caused tensions to explode between two of the three public broadcasters

North Macedonia: Media freedom groups urge authorities to cease harassment of journalist Furkan Saliu

10/05/2024

OBCT joins international media freedom, free expression, and journalist organisations in calling on authorities in North Macedonia to cease harassment of Furkan Saliu

MFRR to conduct an urgent mission to Italy amid worsening state of media freedom

08/05/2024

The growing pressure on press freedom in Italy has prompted the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) consortium to organize an urgent mission to Rome on May 16 and 17. The unprecedented political interference in the public service media, the increasing cases of vexatious lawsuits against journalists, and the possible sale of the AGI news agency will be the focus of the two-day visit. Meetings will be held with institutional stakeholders, journalists, trade unions and civil society

Turkey: new wave of arrests targets Kurdish journalism

03/05/2024

Turkey: OBC Transeuropa and 26 press freedom and human rights organizations vehemently condemn the arrest of three Kurdish journalists last week and the alarming surge in harassment of Kurdish journalists.

WPFD 2024: Media freedom groups sound the alarm over press freedom in Europe

03/05/2024

On WPFD, OBCT joins MFRR partners in drawing the attention to the more than 1,000 media freedom violations recorded in past year

Press freedom in Italy: those in power are not to be criticised

03/05/2024 -  Sielke Kelner

In 2021, then opposition leader Giorgia Meloni sued Roberto Saviano for defamation. Last October, the Rome Criminal Court issued a sentence against the Italian writer. A ruling that alarmed Italian and European civil society. We had a conversation about it with Antonio Nobile, Saviano's lawyer

Bulgaria Minister urged to drop defamation lawsuit

24/04/2024

Media Freedom organizations call on Bulgarian Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov to withdraw charges against two investigative journalists of the Bureau for Investigative Reporting and Data (BIRD)

Petition against attacks on Domani newspaper, and for media freedom in Italy

23/04/2024

Over 70 international organisations and media, including the Media Freedom Rapid Response, signed a petition in support of three journalists from the daily newspaper Domani who risk up to nine years in prison. While the European Media Freedom Act promises to strengthen the protection of journalistic sources, in Italy investigative journalism risks being turned into a crime

Safety and justice: demanding accountability for attacks against journalists in Serbia

11/04/2024

Media freedom advocates condemn 25 years of impunity for journalist Slavko Ćuruvija’s murder, shot in front of his home in Belgrade, and underscore the urgent need for authorities to act and protect press freedom in Serbia

Three years later: still no justice for murdered Greek journalist

09/04/2024

Media freedom advocates reissue call to end impunity on the third anniversary of Giorgos Karaivaz's murder

Media in Albania, under the blows of power

03/04/2024 -  Erion Gjatolli Tirana

The recent angry attack by the Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama against a journalist has brought the constant pressure and intimidation that the power in Albania exerts on the media and media professionals back under the spotlight

Pulse, a new collaborative journalism project on European affairs

26/03/2024 -  Redazione

Last week saw the presentation in Brussels of "PULSE. Europe beyond the beat", an ambitious project coordinated by OBCT aimed at making collaboration among European newsrooms a tool to harness the coverage of European affairs

Serbia: escalating threats and attacks against journalists in Novi Sad

21/03/2024

OBCT shares media freedom partner organisations' concerns on the the escalation of threats and violence suffered by journalists in Novi Sad, northern Serbia, and urges competent authorities to promptly investigate these cases

The MFRR network presents the Monitoring Report 2023

21/03/2024

The partners from the MFRR consortium published the latest edition of the Monitoring Report which documents press and media freedom violations from January to December 2023

North Macedonia, media and public funds

21/03/2024 -  Aleksandar Samardjiev Tetovo

In view of the upcoming political and presidential elections, the Macedonian government has reintroduced forms of public funding for the media. However, the country's media organisations argue that the move may aggravate the influence of political interests on news outlets

The European Parliament adopts the European Media Freedom Act

14/03/2024

OBCT, as part of the EU Media Advocacy Working Group, welcomes the adoption of the European Media Freedom Act by the European Parliament and calls for an effective implementation of the new regulation

Georgia: smear campaign against journalists by parliament presidency

13/03/2024

Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partner organizations express concern over the discrediting of the prominent Georgian journalist Gela Mtivlishvili by Shalva Papuashvili, Speaker of the Georgian Parliament

Türkiye: a hostile environment for journalists and civil society

12/03/2024

The human rights commission of the Council of Europe publishes a memorandum denouncing the Anatolian country's extreme hostility towards freedom of expression and towards journalists, human rights defenders and civil society

Italy: MFRR partners strongly condemn investigation into Domani journalists

07/03/2024

OBCT and MFRR partners note with concern that Italian press freedom has fallen under renewed pressure. We call for the preliminary investigation of three Domani journalists to be immediately dropped, and we urge Italian authorities to respect the confidentiality of journalistic sources in line with international and European press freedom standards