Journalists’ professional autonomy and journalism ethics Journalists’ professional autonomy and journalism ethics

European Media Policies Revisited: Valuing & Reclaiming Free and Independent Media in Contemporary Democratic Systems (MEDIADEM)

Evangelia Psychogiopoulou, Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP, Athens, Greece)

University of Jyväskylä, 14 June 2012

The project

MEDIADEM is a European research project on media policies for

free and independent media. The project examines the configuration of state media policies that target or

conversely constrain the development of free and independent media. 14 countries: Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany,

Greece, Italy, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey and the UK Analysis across media sectors and various types of media services, including

‘new’ media services, with due account taken of the domestic socio-political context and external regulatory pressures (European Union, Council of Europe).

Project duration: April 2010-March 2013

Funded by the 7th Framework Programme of the EU

The consortium

The project is an interdisciplinary effort of 14 institutional partners: Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB, Belgium, Pierre-François Docquir) Centre for Liberal Strategies (CLS, Bulgaria, Daniel Smilov) Institute for International Relations (IMO, Croatia, Nada Švob-Đokić ) University of Copenhagen (UCPH, Denmark, Henrik Søndergaard ) University of Tartu (UT, Estonia, Halliki Harro-Loit) University of Jyväskylä (JYU, Finland, Heikki Kuutti) University of Bielefeld (UNIBI, Germany, Christoph Gusy ) Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP, Greece, Evangelia

Psychogiopoulou). European University Institute (EUI, Italy, Fabrizio Cafaggi) Hertie School of Governance (HERTIE, Germany/Romania, Alina Mungiu-Pippidi) School of Communication and Media (SKAMBA, Slovakia, Andrej Skolkay) University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM, Spain, Juan Luis Manfredi) Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV, Turkey, Dilek Kurban) University of Edinburgh (UEDIN, UK, Rachael Craufurd Smith).

Research questions

How are media policies formulated and implemented?

What factors affect the formulation and implementation of media policies?

Do the policies conducted promote free and independent media?

What are ‘free and independent’ media?

What policy processes and regulatory tools can promote free and

independent media?

Scope of media policy for MEDIADEM research

Media policy: An increasingly elusive field to demarcate due to technological convergence and the ensuing blurring of public/private communication

Media policy traditionally focused on ‘mass media’ as media of ‘public communication’ Is such a focus pertinent and valid nowadays?

Despite variation in analysis, MEDIADEM considers that media policy is generally concerned with the conduct of media systems: media market and media behaviour

MEDIADEM then narrows down the focus of interest on: media as agents of information and debate that facilitate public discourse in a functioning democracy

Media policy: understood as the whole range of policy approaches, strategies and tools that are employed (or not employed) to shape the media in a way that promotes their role as facilitators and carriers of public discourse.

Media policy

Media policy formulation and implementation as disinterested processes consisting of bureaucratic and technical procedures?

Focus on the contribution of the various policy actors in policy formulation and implementation

particularly appropriate given the substantial increase in the number of policy participants, the venues in which decisions are made and the processes through which decisions are taken.

Media freedom and independence

Media freedom: a corollary to freedom of expression and the right to seek, receive and impart information as safeguarded inter alia by Art. 10 ECHR

Negative duty of non-interference

Positive duty to create an enabling environment for the exercise of the freedom of expression and the right to information

Art. 10(2) ECHR: legitimate restrictions, limited to the pursuit of the public interest in a functioning democracy

Neither the media, nor those individuals who own or work for the media enjoy an absolute right to freedom of expression.

Media freedom and independence

Simplistic categorisations that see state influence as problematic and market driven media as independent are outdated.

The constraints that the media face vary and may stem from: Ownership Finance The media’s need for constant access to information Legal/Judicial restrictions on media publishing

Online environment: Same pressures though their nature and intensity may vary depending on the

type of online media service: public service/commercial/non-commercial Additional pressures involving intermediaries/auxiliaries

Work plan

Phase 1: State of the art (completed, October 2010) Collection of background information on the 14 media policies and landscapes under

study; the media-related action of the European Union and the Council of Europe; reaching a common understanding of key research concepts

Phase 2: Country case-studies (completed, December 2011) Empirical research in the 14 countries under study based on desk research and semi-

structured interviews with policy actors

Phase 3: Comparative analysis (Ongoing, to be finalised in July 2012) Among the topics of focus: Journalists’ professional autonomy as a factor supportive of

freedom of expression and the right to information

Phase 4: Policy development (Ongoing, to be finalised in September 2012) Formulation of concrete policy recommendations for state and non-state actors involved

in media policy-making, the European Union and the Council of Europe for the promotion of free and independent media

More information & links

Project website: www.mediadem.eliamep.gr

Project findings: http://www.mediadem.eliamep.gr/findings/

Follow MEDIADEM on twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/MEDIADEM

Thank you!