This Monitoring Report takes stock of the press freedom situation in 36 EU Member States and candidate countries during the first six months of 2025. Between January and June, the Mapping Media Freedom database documented 709 press freedom violations, affecting 1249 media workers or entities.  The report documents a vast variety of attacks, indicating that media workers in Europe operate in an increasingly hostile environment. The types of attacks documented included verbal attacks – such as death threats and smear campaigns – physical attacks, attacks to property, legal incidents, and interference with reporting work.  Media workers faced threats in different…

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) consortium published an updated report on the state of media freedom in Croatia following an advocacy mission to Zagreb between 19 to 21 May 2025. The purpose of the mission was to assess the government’s progress in implementing recommendations made following the MFRR online fact-finding mission in September 2024, and to identify new and emerging threats to media freedom and independent journalism. During the three-day visit, the delegation engaged with a diverse range of stakeholders, including journalists, publishers, media leaders, representatives from journalist associations and unions, and key institutional actors such as the Ministry of Culture…

On the eve of World Press Freedom Day, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners in publishing our mission report, with alarming findings about the deteriorating state of press and media freedom in Serbia. The MFRR solidarity mission to Belgrade and Novi Sad, conducted on 7-9 April, alongside ongoing monitoring, revealed a state of emergency – one that demands urgent attention and action from national authorities and the EU. Although the media freedom crisis has persisted for years, the reporting of the deadly collapse of the Novi Sad canopy railway has led to…

Outdated media laws, compromised public media independence, SLAPPs, as well as mounting economic, political, and physical pressures are undermining journalism and media freedom in Croatia, as outlined in the latest Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) report. Media freedom in Croatia is marred by institutional and legal challenges that successive governments have failed to address, exacerbating the erosion of media pluralism, hostility against journalists, and precarious working conditions. This environment fosters censorship and restricts access to vital public information. The outdated Media Act is ill-suited to tackle the challenges of today’s digitalised media landscape, while overly broad criminal provisions on defamation…

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) published its annual Monitoring Report analysing the press freedom situation in 35 European countries, including the 27 EU Member States and nine countries with EU candidate status. Between January and December 2024, Mapping Media Freedom documented 1,548 press freedom violations targeting 2,567 media-related persons or entities – an alarming increase compared to the 1,153 violations recorded in 2023. Smear campaigns, websites disguised as legitimate news outlets, and obstruction and attacks during reporting are just a few of the major issues media workers faced in 2024. Journalists also faced verbal attacks, physical assault, attacks against…

The Council of Europe’s European Audiovisual Observatory (EAO) published a report analysing the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) ahead of the entry into force of several articles in February 2025. The report highlights both the weaknesses and the strengths of the EMFA, whose application could vary depending on the will of national governments. Although the EMFA has many loopholes, it is the first legal document capable of protecting media freedom and the work of journalists in general.In this article, we have summarised the main points raised by this report. The institutional framework Chapter IV of the EMFA introduces the institutional…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) today, in calling for more ambitious media reforms as it published its report “Depoliticizing Poland’s Media Landscape: Assessing the Progress of Media Reform in 2024”. The report is based on the media freedom mission to Poland, 16-17 September, where MFRR members met with a range of government and media stakeholders to discuss the challenges facing media and media reform progress since the 2023 elections.  Key mission findings include: The media freedom situation in Poland has improved substantially with improved independence of public media, a drop in vexatious…

To mark the publication of the book entitled “Media pluralism in the digital era: Legal, Economic, Social, and Political Lessons Learnt from Europe”, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) interviewed Iva Nenadic, Research Fellow at the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (CMPF) at the European University Institute. Co-edited with Elda Brogi and Pier Luigi Parcu, this book draws from over a decade of research through the Media Pluralism Monitor (MPM) and provides essential insights into the evolving media landscape across Europe. Could you tell us about your role at the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (CMPF)…

The partners from the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) consortium today publish the latest edition of its Monitoring Report which documents and analyses all press freedom violations recorded on its platform Mapping Media Freedom in European Member States and candidate countries from January to June 2024. The report was produced by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), and the International Press Institute (IPI). The latest Monitoring Report explores in detail the 756 media freedom violations recorded by the MFRR partners in the first half of 2024. These violations affected 1,212 media-related…

Media freedom in Italy has been steadily declining in recent years, marked by unprecedented attacks and violations often initiated by public officials in an attempt to silence critical voices. Political interference in public media and the systematic use of legal intimidation against journalists by political actors have long defined the media-politics relationship in Italy. However, these dynamics have reached alarming levels over the past two years. In the lead-up to the 2024 EU elections, amidst a rapidly deteriorating context, the partner organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) conducted an urgent mission to Rome, Italy, on May 16-17, 2024.…

Amidst Romania’s Super Election Year, the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners unveil their latest mission report, delving into the pressing issues surrounding media freedom in the country. To engage on this crucial topic, join our webinar today, 4 April, at 2 PM CET. Romania faces a year of intense political campaigning as the country organises European and local elections in June, presidential elections in September, and parliamentary elections in December.  Against this backdrop, the MFRR partners conducted an online fact-finding mission in Romania to assess the state of media freedom in the country. Meetings with Romania-based journalists, regulators, civil…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) released its new report “Sustainable journalism, from local to global: Good practices in Europe”, authored by media expert Marc Gruber. The study analyses the local media landscape in Europe and highlights good practices of local and cross-border investigative journalism considered as sustainable business models.  The report shows that local journalism is an essential part of our well-informed society, in particular when it has a cross-border dimension and is carried out in partnership with similar or larger media in other countries. Local news can resonate more widely, either nationally or internationally, on matters of public…

The partners from the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR)  publish the latest edition of its Monitoring Report which documents press freedom violations from January to December 2023. The latest Monitoring Report – produced by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), the International Press Institute (IPI), and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) as part of the MFRR – gathers and analyses all media freedom violations recorded on Mapping Media Freedom throughout the year 2023.   War in Ukraine The 2023 report opens with a thematic chapter on the ongoing war in Ukraine and its repercussions for press…

A new study released by the European Commission on “Public financing of news media in the EU”, calls for transparency, independence and pluralism from EU Member States in funding news media, both public and private. The study builds on the particular context of recent reforms regarding the financial directions taken by the Member States in supporting news media to adapt to the changes in media consumption and cope with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.  Those evolutions need attention at the European level to guarantee the efficient functioning of democracy and media freedom, the report says. It confirms that the…

The Safety of Journalists Toolbox presents national instruments and initiatives from across the OSCE region and makes them accessible to interested stakeholders. It is a practical instrument to showcase existing measures on the safety of journalists from across the entire OSCE region and thereby encourage further action. The Toolbox is the result of the work carried out in the framework of the OSCE RFoM project on the Safety of Journalists | OSCE and builds upon longstanding OSCE commitments. It provides an accessible and user-friendly set of tools to guide not only participating States, but also media outlets, journalists and civil…