Freedom of the press

No wonder Greece is tumbling down the world press freedom rankings, when journalists who ask the wrong questions get put under state surveillance.

Turkish Journalists' protest in Istanbul on June 21, 2022. Photo: Ufuk Ceri

The OSCE ambassador underscored that the problem of surveillance and its impact on media freedoms is not just an issue for the Serbian government, but for European countries as well. Those who control information, control the future.

Reporters Without Borders' 2022 World Press Freedom Index, published on Tuesday, says that over the past year there has been a large increase in "polarisation amplified by information chaos" - a phenomenon that has also affected the troubled media environment in the Balkans.

Bulgaria climbs 21 places in the Reporters Without Borders' annual Freedom of Speech Index and now ranks 91st instead of 112, as it was last year, the Association of European Journalists said.

Photo: Unsplash/Matt Chesin

The survey suggests however that there is much less agreement about what constitutes media freedom, and the survey results vary markedly between countries and political party affiliations.

What has changed is both how journalism makes money, and how articles are produced and shared.

Facebook. Photo: Unsplash

In the Balkans, where Facebook is the most-used social network, this tech giant, along with Google, have become a kind of landlord, renting out space to journalists.

European media in general has been facing a dual threat for over a decade. On one side there are the illiberal governments, especially in Central and Southeast Europe, using increasingly sophisticated means to defenestrate the independent media, while on the other side are the tech giants eating into the traditional media's business.

The number of journalists around the world behind bars has reached its highest level in 2021, according to a new study by the non-profit organization Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ), Reuters reported. The report states that as of December 1 this year, 293 reporters are in prison.

Photo: Unsplash/Matt Chesin

EU Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton said the purpose of the Act "will be to ensure the integrity and independence" of the EU media market.