Independent Media: A Continent at the Crossroads

Wherever far-right regimes come to power in Europe, their primary target is the media independence. This is evident in Slovakia, where a public audiovisual law threatens to turn public radio and television, RTVS, into a tool for “propaganda.” In Hungary, approximately 500 national and local media outlets have been consolidated into a foundation aimed at “promoting Hungarian national consciousness,” under the aegis of Viktor Orbán. In Italy, the government no longer hides its interference in controlling public media's directions. Week by week, such examples are multiplying, from the West to the East of the continent. This situation highlights the chronic fragility of independent and public service media ecosystems. While the European Union is legislating on these issues, as seen with the adoption of the Media Freedom Act, is it already too late? How are independent media impacted by these regimes coming to power? And how are they fighting against these trends? And what roles can European networks like Sphera or Reset! play in response to these dynamics?

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This discussion is part of the Reset! Live Podcast series