December 3, 2018

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 CMPF.

The 2017 Report covers 31 European countries (the EU 28 and Candidate Countries: the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey). The findings show either a general stagnation or deterioration in all of the four major areas encompassed by the MPM: basic protection; market plurality; political independence; and social inclusiveness.

The MPM 2017 has confirmed the findings of the previous four rounds of monitoring, showing that none of the countries assessed is free from risks to media pluralism. An increase in risk levels, especially in the area of basic protection, which comprises 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, the Report says.

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 include:

• journalists and other media actors are facing a series of threats and attacks (physical and digital) in several countries;
• working conditions of journalists are deteriorating, exposing journalists to external and undue pressures in their professional activity in most of the countries examined;
• whistleblower 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 organisations;
• 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 has the highest risk score; and
• little or no progress has been made with regard to media literacy across the EU.

To access the Report, click here.