Silencing the Fourth Estate: Italy’s democratic drift

Silencing the Fourth Estate:

Italy’s Democratic Drift

29 July, 14:00 CET.

On July 29, Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), and the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) will host a webinar to mark the publication of the final report following the MFRR mission to Rome.

Amid unprecedented political interference in public media, widespread use of legal intimidation against dissenting journalists by government officials, a problematic defamation reform put forward by the ruling coalition, and the potential acquisition of AGI by one of Lega’s MPs, the MFRR organised an urgent mission to Italy on May 16 and 17, 2024.

Relying on the findings from meetings held during the mission and MFRR’s ongoing monitoring of the situation in the country, the report assesses the deterioration of media freedom in Italy. These challenges, indicative of a tense relationship between media and political actors, undermine independent and critical journalism, generating worrying implications for Italian democracy. The mission observed that the chilling effect resulting from the contraction of freedom of expression and the governments’ attempts to silence the press signal a worrying democratic decline in Italy’s media freedom landscape.

Last May’s MFRR mission to Italy was led by the Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ). The mission report was prepared by MFRR partner organisations: ARTICLE 19 Europe; European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF); European Federation of Journalists (EFJ); International Press Institute (IPI); Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT).

The report will be published in English on July 29, with a translated Italian version to follow in the first week of September.

Moderator

Renate Schroeder

Director of European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)

Speakers

Alessandra Mancuso

Member of Usigrai

Francesca de Benedetti

Journalist at Domani

Davide Sarsini

Journalist at AGI

Final remarks

Serena Epis

Researcher at Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT)

Germany’s Election Aftermath

Germany’s election aftermath

20 June, 15:00 CET.

In the wake of Germany’s recent European election results, this webinar will focus on the consequences of increased far-right representation for media freedom. Former MEP Rebecca Harms will guide the discussion on the potential threats and necessary safeguards for independent journalism in this new political era.

Moderator

Rebecca Harms

Vice Chair of the Executive Board at ECPMF, former MEP

Speakers

Yann P. M. Rees

Researcher at the Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict and Violence, Bielefeld University

Philippe Meistermann

Head of Brussels Office, Bundesverband Digitalpublisher und Zeitungsverleger e. V.

Alexander Matschke

Team Lead BMZ Relations, DW Akademie

World Press Freedom Day 2024: Europe’s press freedom battlegrounds

World Press Freedom Day 2024

Europe’s press freedom battlegrounds

02 May, 14:00 CET.

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) and the International Press Institute (IPI) invite you to join our World Press Freedom Day 2024 webinar: Europe’s press freedom battlegrounds.

Leading editors from Poland, Germany, Slovakia, and Italy will highlight and debate key challenges they face as Europe gears up for a crucial election season.

We will look at rising threats, what is behind them, and the support independent media need to counter them. Plus, we’ll debate what the EU elections mean for media freedom.

Moderator

Scott Griffen

Deputy Director, International Press Institute

Speakers

Beata Balogová

Editor-in-chief of SME, a major independent daily and news site in Slovakia

Bartosz Wieliński

Deputy editor-in-chief, Gazeta Wyborcza, a major independent daily and news site in Poland

Stefano Vergine

Freelance investigative journalist and contributor, Domani, Italy

Ramona Strugariu

MEP and lead negotiator on the European Media Freedom Act for the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Steffen Grimberg

Senior Editor at KNA Mediendienst, the media section of Katholische Nachrichtenagentur

Georgia: Press Freedom Erosion amid Reintroduced ‘Foreign Agent Law’

25 April, 12:00 CEST

On April 25, 2024, the Media Freedom Rapid Response will host a webinar addressing the recent decline in press freedom in Georgia. This decline has been exacerbated by the reintroduction of a Russia-style foreign agent law earlier this month.

The new law, titled ‘Transparency of Foreign Influence’ requires independent media and civil society organizations that receive funding from abroad to label themselves as “organizations pursuing the interests of a foreign power.”

Since then, journalists from online media were barred from the parliament when the law was being debated and on April 16, 2024, reporters from online media outlets Publika, Tabula, and Aprili were physically and verbally assaulted while reporting large scale protests against the bill.

Join us and leading Georgian journalists and press freedom advocates as we delve into the implications of the law and explore the broader state of press freedom in the country.

Moderator

Teona Sekhniashvili

Europe Network & Press Freedom Coordinator at the International Press Institute (IPI)

Speakers

Mariam Nikuradze

Co-founder and Executive Director at Open Caucasus Media

Lika Zakashvili

Co-founder and Editor-in-chief of Publika

Tamar Kintsurashvili

Executive Director of the Media Development Foundation

Mamuka Andguladze

Chairperson of the Media Advocacy Coalition

Media freedom in Romania ahead of Super Election year

Media freedom in Romania ahead of Super Election Year

4 April, 14:00 CET

On April 4, the International Press Institute (IPI) and the Media Freedom Rapid Response will host a webinar to mark the publication of a major report assessing press freedom and independent journalism in Romania.

In Romania, the main instrument of political capture of the media are the ‘media and propaganda’ funds. Political parties pay around 20 million euros annually to the media from their allocation from the state budget. The size and lack of transparency over their expenditure has created a pliant media culture that panders to politicians and fails to hold the government to account. There is a profound crisis in local journalism created by a near complete dependency on local government funds for survival.

A growing use of abusive lawsuits, or SLAPPs, used against Romanian media and journalists is draining resources and increasing costs for media. Journalists are facing a growing chilling effect on newsrooms and pressure to desist from pursuing investigative content.

Lastly, while most journalists conduct their work without fear for their safety, a significant number are regularly trolled, threatened or worse. Too often, the police fail to take appropriate action, leaving women journalists to either accept the threats or leave the profession.

Moderator

Oliver Money-Kyrle

Head of Europe Advocacy and Programmes, International Press Institute (IPI)

Speakers

Septimius Parvu

Electoral Expert, Expert Forum

Cristina Lupu

Executive Director, Center for Independent Journalism

Ana Poenariu

Investigative journalist

Marius Daea

Producer and country coordinator in the Science+ project at Free Press Unlimited

Conclusion

Sielke Kelner

Researcher and Advocacy Officer, Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT)

The report has been jointly produced by the organizations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR): ARTICLE 19 Europe, the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), Free Press Unlimited (FPU), the International Press Institute (IPI) and the Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT).

The report will be published first in English, with a translated Romanian version to follow in the coming weeks.

Occupied Ukraine: Media reporting in the shadow of Russian…

Occupied Ukraine

Media reporting in the shadow of Russian forces

29 February, 14:30 CET.

As of February 2024, a significant proportion of Ukraine remains under occupation by Russian forces. This includes Crimea, as well as vast areas in the regions of Donbas, Zaporizhia, and Kherson. While some of these territories are under Russian control since 2014, most were torn away from Ukraine at the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Two years after 24 February 2022, the MFRR partners investigate what occupation means for media. How do Ukrainian journalists continue to report on regions they cannot travel to? What happened to media outlets in towns and cities now under Russian control?

This webinar will focus on the timeline of events with the aim of understanding the realities Ukrainian media face under Russian occupation. Starting from forced closures of media by the military, panellists will recount stories of journalists fleeing from invasion, before turning to the challenges that the current situation creates, such as the need to conduct work undercover, in the shadow of Russian forces. Perspectives for the return of free media to a future de-occupied Ukraine will also be examined.

To delve into these questions, the MFRR partners will be joined by several Ukrainian journalists with first-hand experience of working under Russian occupation.

Moderator

Karol Łuczka

Eastern Europe Advocacy and Monitoring Officer at the International Press Institute

Speakers

Nastya Stanko

Editor-in-chief of Slidstvo.Info

Olha Reshetylova

Coordinator of the Media Initiative for Human Rights

Sevgil Musaieva

Editor-in-chief of Ukrainska Pravda

The true cost of journalism: Ongoing impunity cases in…

The true cost of journalism:

Ongoing impunity cases in Europe

19 February, 11:00 CET.

On 21 February 2018, journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová were murdered in Veľká Mača, Slovakia. The assassination sparked mass protests and the eventual resignation of Prime Minister Robert Fico. Although those who ordered and carried out the murder have been found guilty and sentenced to time in prison, the alleged mastermind was acquitted in May 2023.

During the latest MFRR webinar, marking the sixth anniversary of the murder of Ján Kuciak and Martina Kušnírová, panellists will discuss ongoing impunity cases for crimes against journalists in Europe with a spotlight on Slovakia, Turkey, and Serbia.

Moderator

Jasmijn de Zeeuw

Legal Advisor, Free Press Unlimited

Speakers

Massimo Moratti

Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa (OBC Transeuropa)

Barış Altıntaş

Co-Director, Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA)

Lukas Diko

Editor-in-Chief, Investigative Center of Jan Kuciak

Webinar: Assessing the state of press freedom in Greece

30 January, 11:00 CET.

On 30 January, international media freedom groups will hold a webinar and press conference to mark the publication of a major report assessing the landscape for press freedom and independent journalism in Greece, following a mission to Athens in September 2023.

The report examines the clear period of deterioration in media freedom in the EU Member State over the last few years, identifies the reasons behind this deterioration, and sets out recommendations for steps to be taken to address these many challenges.

It also provides a detailed analysis of the measures taken by the New Democracy government in recent years to try and address the problems and assesses their effectiveness of these policies so far, including the government’s Task Force for journalist safety.

The report has been jointly produced by the organsiaitons of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR): ARTICLE 19 Europe, the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), Free Press Unlimited (FPU), the International Press Institute (IPI) and the Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT), along with the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

During the webinar, representatives of these organisations will present the conclusions and findings of the mission delegation on five key themes: surveillance and spyware; the safety of journalists and impunity; SLAPPs and legal threats; media pluralism and independent journalism; and the role of unions and importance of solidarity.

There will be a press conference at the end of the event. The report will be published first in English, with a translated Greek version to follow in the coming weeks.

Speakers

Pavol Szalai

Reporters Without Borders (RSF)

Jasmijn de Zeeuw

Free Press Unlimited (FPU)

Attila Mong

Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)

Jamie Wiseman

International Press Institute (IPI)

Massimo Moratti

Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT)

Thodoris Chondrogiannos

Reporters United

Marina Rafenberg

Greece correspondent for Le Monde and AFP

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Media Freedom in Survival Mode

Bosnia and Herzegovina:

Media Freedom in Survival Mode

25 January, 10:00 CET.

On 15 December 2022, the European Council granted Bosnia and Herzegovina candidate status for EU membership. While Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 accelerated the EU enlargement process, Bosnia and Herzegovina has yet to improve its environment for the media to continue on its path towards potential EU accession, as limited progress has been made since submitting its application in 2016.

In this MFRR webinar, speakers will discuss the findings of a recent press freedom fact-finding mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, highlighting the suffocating environment for independent journalists in the country and issues ranging from the criminalisation of defamation in Republika Srpska, hostile rhetoric and denigration of journalists by public officials, the so-called “foreign agent law”, sanctions against the dissemination of “fake news”, and the effect of the financial crisis on media.

Moderator

Maksym Popovych

ARTICLE 19 Europe

Speakers

Frane Maroevic

Executive Director of the International Press Institute (IPI)

Maja Sever

President of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)

Webinar – Assessing the quiet press freedom gains in…

Assessing the quiet press freedom gains in Bulgaria

31 October, 11:00 CEST.

In the last two years, Bulgaria has undergone a subtle yet steady period of improvement in press freedom. Long ranked among the worst countries in the EU for media freedom, the Eastern European country is finally now experiencing an upward trajectory after years of stagnation. After the formation of a coalition government following a protracted political crisis, there is cautious hope amongst the journalistic community that this positive momentum can now be consolidated. However, engrained challenges regarding media ownership, lawsuits and the safety of journalists continue, and recent gains are fragile.

In this webinar organised by the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), we’ll hear from a leading newspaper editor, a media expert and press freedom advocate, and one of the country’s top media lawyers about the major developments in the last year, to ask about the conditions behind the subtle improvements in the press freedom environment and examine the many outstanding challenges that remain. The MFRR webinar will also look at the impact that the EU Commission’s planned European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) could have in Bulgaria and review the push to legislate against SLAPPs.