Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom CMPF

☀ What a week! We're wrapping up the 2024 Summer School for Journalists and Media Practitioners with great memories and insights.

Over the past few days, we've delved into the intersection of and media, and today we concluded the journey with a focus on .

We are incredibly grateful to our speakers, dedicated participants, and everyone who contributed to the success of this program. This summer school has not only broadened our understanding of AI and media but also strengthened our resolve to uphold journalistic values.

🏆 Last, but not least, we are thrilled to share an opportunity: the second round of the Voices Awards is now open! We will award 10 prizes of 1000 euros each to journalists and media literacy professionals to come to in Zagreb.

🔸 Follow - European Festival of Journalism and Media Literacy to know more!

WE ARE DOING IT AGAIN... and we are thrilled to announce 10 prizes of 1000 euros each to participate in !

🏆 You can come to for the second edition of the festival as an awardee ➡️ 10 prizes to champion outstanding and advocates

📅 Apply by 15 October 2024: https://bit.ly/47ZdHWN

Today, we were honoured to present the findings of the 2024 Media Pluralism Monitor alongside our country teams.

🎙 Following welcome remarks from Director Erik Jones, Vice-President of the European Commission Věra Jourová commended the CMPF team for its timely and policy-relevant research monitoring the state of media pluralism across Europe. She also acknowledged the resilience of journalists who continue their vital work amidst escalating challenges, attacks, and precarious working conditions.

⏲ Pier Luigi Parcu and Elda Brogi reflected on over a decade of monitoring media pluralism, highlighting achievements and the challenges ahead. Iva Nenadic focused on governance of online platforms and monitoring systemic risks to media pluralism.

Danielle da Costa Leite Borges, Sofia Verza, Roberta Carlini, Konrad Bleyer-Simon and Marie Palmer, Ph.D shared key insights from the latest :

📌 Journalists face an increasingly hostile environment, both physically and online, often fueled by influential politicians. Precarious working conditions leave them even more vulnerable, especially those employed in local media.

📌 The Market Plurality area, which evaluates the economic dimension of media pluralism, remains the highest scoring area with no low-risk country. Digital markets show the highest risk levels, driven by revenue and audience concentration dominated by Google & Meta.

📌 The indicator of Editorial Independence from commercial and owner influence has shifted from medium to high risk for the first time.

📌 Structural risks to political independence of the media, including political control over public service media, have remained stable over the past decade, indicating a lack of political will or ability to address the issue at the national level.

📌 One of the highest scoring indicators remains in the media: only Denmark and Sweden report a low risk in . Representation of women is insufficient and stereotypical, and access to managerial positions is still limited.

🔎 Additionally, we delved into detailed case studies on Cyprus, Germany and Hungary with our country researchers Christophoros CHRISTOPHOROU, Jan Kahlbenn and Agnes Urban.

👏 Heartfelt thanks to all participants for their engagement and insightful questions, and to the researchers whose dedication makes this project possible!

Find out more about 🔗 https://cmpf.eui.eu/media-pluralism-monitor-2024/

How worried should we be about the health of media systems in Europe? 🌡️ Learn more in this blog post where author Iva Nenadic reflects on a decade of monitoring threats to media freedom through the Media Pluralism Monitor Project and presents the key findings of its latest report, 📌 https://cmpf.eui.eu/media-pluralism-monitor-2024-snapshot-of-risks/

🔺 Working conditions for journalists continue to deteriorate.

🔺 Digital safety of journalists is at high risk due to increasing online abuses in many assessed countries.

🔺 Market plurality scores the highest average risk, with no country reporting low risk in this area.

🔺 The indicator of editorial independence from commercial and owner influence has shifted from medium to high risk for the first time.

🔺 Structural risks to political independence of the media, including political control over public service media, have remained stable over the past decade, indicating a lack of political will or ability to address the issue at the national level.

🔺 Gender equality in the media remains one of the highest scoring risk indicators over the years, with only Denmark and Sweden performing at low risk in .

Curious to learn more? Join the presentation of hashtag results online here 🔗 https://www.eui.eu/events?id=570324

The Media Pluralism Monitor 2024 is out! ➡️ This marks our 10th year of assessing risks to media pluralism in countries and candidates.

The shows evidence that no country in 🇪🇺 is free from risks for 👉 While some countries perform satisfactorily in the legal protection of press freedom, overall trends show increasing commercial and political interference.

Click to learn about the latest alarming trends that put under pressure 📌 https://cmpf.eui.eu/media-pluralism-monitor-2024/

"Safety of is one of, if not the main reason, the risk of local journalism in the . Since local journalists work in local communities, they feel higher pressures due to the closeness to the people they investigate." warns our Researcher Sofia Verza at the festival in .

📢 She is sharing the project's findings, the project used data from mapping research to develop better support for .

➡ Learn more about it: https://cmpf.eui.eu/local-media-for-democracy-project/

European Federation of Journalists - EFJ

Excited to be working on a new edition of this initiative that is designed for citizens of all generations!

This time we are coming to ! Pre-registration is available 👇

📅28 Feb - 1 March -> MSU Zagreb

Date reveal! 🎉We are happy to announce that the second edition of Voices will be held on 28 February - 1 March 2025 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in 📍 MSU Zagreb

Save the date and get your ticket 🔸https://voicesfestival.eu/🔸

Ready to vote this weekend? 🗳️

Try the EU&I app to make an informed decision. It only takes 6 minutes (30 questions) to discover your best political match for the 2024 ➡️ https://euandi.eu

Available in 𝟮𝟰 languages, EU&I is accessible to every European citizen, helping us make an informed choice before the vote. 🗳️

Try out the questionnaire in 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 language now 👉 https://loom.ly/XDHwPss

Today ➡ News deserts and state of play

Join us at 14:00 CEST for a webinar presenting the first-ever comparative research on in Europe

Registration is still open! 💻 https://www.eui.eu/events?id=569907

"A general lack of targeted regulation, opacity from political actors, as well as the partial ability of Data Protection Authorities to address the use of personal on individuals, are persistent factors that might challenge the quality of the next European electoral round."

Ahead of the , Matteo Trevisan and Konrad Bleyer-Simon identify political advertising as a major concern for a healthy electoral process, based on the data from the upcoming

Read their blog 📌 https://cmpf.eui.eu/media-and-eu-parliament-elections-2024/

"Research continuously finds evidence of the use of disinformation by politicians or states to achieve certain domestic- or foreign-political goals. This presents the fundamental paradox of the disinformation challenge: those tasked with designing and implementing measures to enhance the integrity of the information environment are frequently the key actors of disinformation campaigns." Great article by Iva Nenadić-Litre 👇
https://loom.ly/mcd7pKw

Safeguarding local is essential to ensure that citizens remain well-informed in matters that directly impact their lives.

Failing to address the ongoing challenges outlets face can have negative implications.

Join us in discussing our research results on and other studies on the local media landscape.

📅 06 June |14:00 - 17:15 CEST |

Register 📌 https://www.eui.eu/events?id=569907

"At the present stage, monitoring pluralism is as essential as ever. sets a new standard, which requires adding a novel European dimension to measure media . Many articles will also require evaluation of the response at the national level"

During the seminar 'Journalism between undue influences and technology challenges' Pier Luigi Parcu tackled the importance of monitoring press freedom.

If you missed the event, you can now access the recording 📌 https://www.eui.eu/news-hub?id=unpacking-journalisms-challenges-amidst-technological-disruptions

"The growing disconnection between traditional news brands and younger audiences, who increasingly rely on social media platforms and influencers for , raises concerns for the future of "

In celebration of World Press Freedom Day , the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom CMPF hosted a seminar addressing journalism's contemporary challenges.

Professors and researchers led discussions on safety of , economic vulnerabilities, and the role of platforms.

🎥 The main insights and the recording are now available: https://www.eui.eu/news-hub?id=unpacking-journalisms-challenges-amidst-technological-disruptions

Next week, Iva Nenadić-Litre will be in for the European Digital Media Observatory's annual conference. She will discuss the public oversight over platforms' commitment to combat systemic risks while preserving and pluralism

Check out the full programme and registrations📌 https://edmo.eu/event/2024-edmo-annual-conference/

🗞️ Ahead of World Press Freedom Day, Iva Nenadić-Litre was featured on Croatian TV N1 Hrvatska's Newsnight to speak about and in the country and the EU

Read more ➡️ https://cmpf.eui.eu/iva-nenadic-on-croatian-tv/

Iva Nenadić featured on Croatian TV N1 Hrvatska to discuss media freedom in the country - Centre for Media Pluralism and Freedom On 28 April 2024, Iva Nenadić spoke about media freedom and journalism in Croatia and the EU for N1 Hrvatska Newsnight.

🛑 The Italian media ecosystem isn’t kind to women, a fact that is corroborated by research.

🖋 Francesco Guidotti and Angelo Boccato spoke with multiple women journalists to understand how they are all navigating this male-dominated industry.

The article also references our research done for the Media Pluralism Monitor ⤵

The glass ceiling for women journalists in Italy feels unbreakable. What can be done? - The Fix The Italian media ecosystem isn’t kind to women, a fact that is corroborated by numbers. We look at what is wrong and what can be done to make things better.

As we approach day, we invite you to save the date and attend this seminar dedicated to unpacking some of the key systemic challenges confronting journalism and today.

🗓️ 3 May 2024 | 10:00 CEST
📍 Florence + online

We will discuss:
◾ the profession of journalism and the safety of journalists in an environment disrupted by technologies and undue influences by powerful actors
◾ the economic fragility of media and journalism
◾ the challenges of information integrity and regulatory responses
◾ the specific position of , where many challenges are amplified

Register here 🔗

Journalism between undue influences and technology challenges On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, this seminar unpacks some of the key systemic challenges confronting journalism and press freedom today. It also highlights exemplary practices and regulatory advancements aimed at addressing these challenges.

Professor Elda Brogi is today at the Πανεπιστήμιο Κύπρου | University Of Cyprus to talk about independence, , and platform regulation as part of the 1st Conference of the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence DIGI U ➡ 'Fight against '

🕒 15:00 CEST

Join her online 📌 https://bit.ly/3JuOw3O

➡ Full programme: https://bit.ly/3xP9lV1

Jan Kermer and Roberta Carlini send us greetings from ! 🇬🇧

Today they're presenting a paper at the Industries Conference at King's College London on the economic sustainability and pluralism of the in our time, drawing on insights from the Media Pluralism Monitor

More on the MPM report: https://cmpf.eui.eu/media-pluralism-monitor-2023/

📢Opportunity! We are thrilled to announce that we are offering 3⃣6⃣ scholarships to participate in the 2024 !

Don't miss the chance to come to for 5 days of exploring the implications of for

👉Apply now! https://bit.ly/49yITfq

The ranking of content in a feed has a big impact on the amount of time we spend viewing, reading, and engaging with news.

Yet, we have limited control over our feeds.

Today we're exploring the impact of intermediaries and on news consumption with Eleonora Maria Mazzoli, Ali-Abbas Ali fromOfcom, and Elda Brogi

➡ 15:30 CEST, European University Institute, Florence

Register 📌 https://www.eui.eu/events?id=568980

What is the impact of , search engines and on consumption?

Join Eleonora Maria Mazzoli, Ali-Abbas Ali from Ofcom and Elda Brogi for a seminar on the impact of intermediaries on how we read news

Tomorrow 👉15:30 CEST

📍 European University Institute, Florence

Register 📌 https://www.eui.eu/events?id=568980

What do we need to build a healthy ecosystem?

"The has done more than ever before to create a more safe and sustainable space for , not least by pursuing the (...) This is however not enough"

Read this oped by European Federation of Journalists - EFJ Director Renate Schroeder: https://cmpf.eui.eu/journalism-as-a-public-good/

"Although can be considered a desirable business model, getting users to pay for news has proved to be challenging and, ultimately, insufficient (...) Local news media not only need to diversify their revenue streams as much as possible but they also need to continually experiment in terms of news formats." write Danielle da Costa Leite Borges and Urbano Reviglio

has disrupted media's traditional business models, in particular, local media outlets, that need to adopt new ways to improve reach and audience

This blog looks at some innovative responses from local media in Europe (namely: subscriptions, advertising, membership, crowdfunding, donations, and grants) as well as their strengths and weaknesses.

➡ Full text: https://cmpf.eui.eu/emerging-business-models-for-local-media/

European Federation of Journalists - EFJ

Habemus ! 🚨 And next week we will examine how effectively the European Media Freedom Act can deliver on its pledge to strengthen pluralism and within the .

🕘9:30 CEST
🗓️ 5 April
Join us 📌 https://www.eui.eu/events?id=566849

Why is disinformation so easy to monetise?

"(...) we need to change our definition: we need to look at disinformation as cheaply produced content that is not yet illegal (and as such, there is no legal requirement to remove it, but, as the Code of Practice points out, it has immense potential to cause harm to society)."

In this blog, Konrad Bleyer-Simon explores the business of and the limits of the existing approaches to demonetise disinformation.

Full text 📌 https://cmpf.eui.eu/demonetisation-of-disinformation/

"The is revolutionary and almost a miracle, it took nearly 30 years to make it a reality" Our Director Pier Luigi Parcu at - European Festival of Journalism and Media Literacy on why Europe needs a Media Freedom Act.

"We have 27 different media systems, and we need a common framework to ensure they operate in the interest of citizens."

Discover more at 📌 https://voicesfestival.eu/

Shaping narratives: religion, radicalisation and media. Based on the Min Ana documentary - Voices festival This panel will discuss the critical importance of responsible reporting on themes such as religion and radicalisation.