CMPF
A picture showing a radar with capture of the title of the Media Pluralism Monitor - monitoring media pluralism in EU Member States
The Media Pluralism Monitor 2017 (MPM 2017) has confirmed the findings of the previous four rounds of monitoring – showing that no country analysed is free from risks to media pluralism. Increase in risk levels, especially for the area of Basic protection that assesses the essential conditions for freedom of expression, access to information and safety of journalists, is an additional source of concern that calls for immediate attention.
2017 was marked by events that have had a significant impact on media freedom and media pluralism in Europe. The darkest hour was without doubt the assassination of investigative journalist and blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia, in Malta, in October 2017.
Highlights from the results
- Journalists and other media actors are facing a series of threats and attacks (physical and digital) in several of the EU’s countries.
- Working conditions of journalists are deteriorating, exposing journalists to external and undue pressures in their professional activity in most of the countries examined.
- Whistleblowers protection is still weak in EU Member States.
- Media ownership concentration remains one of the most significant risks to media pluralism and is seen as creating barriers to the diversity of information and viewpoints.
- Existing media business models are proving increasingly ineffective at providing the financial resources necessary to support journalists and news organizations.
- News organisations continue to be vulnerable to political interference, especially if economic conditions are unstable.
- A lack of political independence of public service media, especially in Central and Eastern Europe, remains a matter of concern.
- Lack of gender equality in managerial and content creation roles in European media organisations is the indicator with the highest risk score.
- Little or no progress has been registered with regard to media literacy across EU.
The final report, as well as the country reports are available on the CMPF website.
The Media Pluralism Monitor (MPM) is designed to identify potential risks to media pluralism in Member States. It is an independent project, co-funded by the European Commission under the financing of the European Parliament, and managed by the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (CMPF) based at the EUI in Florence.