Not only vulnerable, defenceless

The COVID-19 pandemic has reaffirmed the crucial role of the press  – informing the public and holding governments to account at times when the latter demand national unity. However, the crisis has also highlighted the systemic threats to the future survival of the media, from political interference to the search for a sustainable funding model in the digital era.

The situation of independent media after Covid-19 shows similar trends in the Central and South-Eastern European region: collapse of advertising revenues, problems of ditsribution networks, political control over public information and political pressure on independent media with subtle methods.

The Budapest Office of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, in cooperation with the Berlin based Media NGO and journalists’ network n-ost, asked journalists from Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, and Slovenia to report on how the pandemic has affected journalism in their countries.

Click here for the study.

Join us for the Launch Events When?

Report Launch #1: July 2 18h CET (focusing on media)
Launch Event #2: July 6 15h CET (focusing on policy making)

Register here.

Media:"Corona crisis puts media under increased pressure", in: Morgenjournal, Ö1 (ORF RADIO), 9 July 2020

Link (German)