Defending the right to freedom of information and promoting the transnational public debate on violations registered in the European Union as well as in the enlargement and Eastern Partnership countries are the objectives of the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom - ECPMF , of which OBC Transeuropa is one of the founding members.

The services OBCT provides to ECPMF include the development and curation of the Resource Centre on Media Freedom in Europe and an ongoing work of information and in-depth analysis on key issues for European democracy, in network with numerous media partners in Italy and South-Eastern Europe.

OBCT news on media and journalism

Intimidated, attacked and barred from entering the country: press freedom organizations urge for protection of journalists’ rights in Georgia

| 31/10/2024

International community must place effective pressure on Georgia to uphold press freedom and secure a safe environment for journalists

MEDIA Addressing Key Challenges to Media Freedom in Albania and Serbia

Serena EpisSukanya Sengupta | 30/10/2024

To contribute to the European Commission’s Rule of Law monitoring, OBCT, in partnership with SCiDEV and IJAS, produced two Shadow Reports outlining the challenges and gaps in media freedom in Albania and Serbia. The main findings were presented during a webinar

ANALYSIS SLAPP in Croatia, a plague

Zagreb | Giovanni Vale | 21/10/2024

Over a thousand lawsuits filed between 2016 and 2023 against journalists and media outlets, nearly half of which are SLAPPs, or strategic lawsuits against public participation. These are frivolous lawsuits that aim to silence freedom of expression

Tribute to Daphne Caruana Galizia and all courageous journalists threatened for their work

| 16/10/2024

On 16 October at 12 pm in front of the Residence Palais, seven years after the tragic death of the Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, Media Freedom Rapid Response, journalists and representatives of media freedom community will come together to commemorate her brilliant work and dedication

Serbian judge’s lawsuits set to chill press freedom

| 15/10/2024

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) expresses grave concern regarding the legal threats facing the Serbian investigative news organization KRIK and its journalists. These abusive legal actions include demands for imprisonment and bans from journalism. We stand with the journalists on trial, and urge Serbia to implement anti-SLAPP safeguards to protect independent media

Ukraine: MFRR and partners mourn death and demand justice for Victoria Roshchyna

| 14/10/2024

Ukrainian journalist died in unclear circumstances in Russian custody

INTERVIEW Islands of integrity: the struggle of independent media in Albania

Luisa ChiodiSukanya Sengupta | 14/10/2024

Lufti Dervishi, a founding member of the Albanian Center for Quality Journalism, emphasises the challenges that Albanian journalism faces today. The media are entangled in corruption, self-censorship, and state-sponsored disinformation. However, not everything is negative, and there is still reason for hope

Media Freedom in the Western Balkans: Challenges in the Framework of EU Enlargement

As political interference and threats to journalists grow, the EU's new legislative measures, including the anti-SLAPP directive and the European Media Freedom Act, aim to safeguard press freedom in member and candidate countries. A recent webinar highlighted the struggle for media independence in Albania and Serbia amid their EU accession efforts

 

Albania: Smear campaigns against independent media and civil society organizations must stop

| 8/10/2024

SafeJournalists Network and organizations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) strongly condemn the attacks on the Council of Media Ethics of Albania (KSHM) and the think tank - Center Science and Innovation for Development (SCiDEV) that has issued a shadow report on media freedom in Albania, as well as on researcher Blerjana Bino

Croatia: Major challenges ahead to improve media freedom

| 25/9/2024

The international media freedom mission to Croatia has highlighted several significant concerns regarding media law reform, transparency of state advertising, and the safety of journalists including SLAPPs. While some promising initiatives have been noted, the path is still long ahead for Croatia to ensure a free and independent media landscape

Press freedom on trial in Greece: support Alterthess' appeal

19/9/2024

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) consortium expresses its full support for Greek journalist Stavroula Poulimeni and media outlet Alterthess ahead of their appeal on 19 September 2024

Call for independent investigation into Emilia Șercan case

17/9/2024

OBCT joins free expression organisations and media outlets in urging Romanian authorities to ensure that the legal cases concerning investigative journalist Emilia Șercan are handled independently and swiftly, following recent court decisions that exposed prosecutorial mishandling of the investigations

MFRR Monitoring Report: January - June 2024

| 10/9/2024

In the first six months of 2024, the Media Freedom Rapid Response recorded 756 media freedom alerts across Europe

Romanian Court reopens investigation into smear campaign against journalist Emilia Șercan

9/9/2024

Court's decision acknowledges earlier failures to provide justice to Șercan

Croatia: International mission to assess media freedom challenges

| 9/9/2024

On 9 September, the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) will begin a press freedom mission to Croatia. The delegation will meet online with government representatives, journalists and journalistic associations, civil society, and renowned media experts to discuss the most pressing challenges to media freedom and pluralism in the country

MEDIA Croatia, media under attack

Zagreb | Giovanni Vale | 10/9/2024

Media campaigns and even kidnapping threats to marginalise and silence an inconvenient media outlet: this is what is happening in Croatia to the maritime affairs website "morski.hr", an episode that reopens concerns about freedom of the press in the country

The Media Freedom Resource Centre   is an open online platform that facilitates quick and systematic access to an ever-growing collection of resources on media freedom and pluralism, such as region-wide and country-specific publication and practical tools for journalists, practitioners, policy makers. Whether you are journalist, a media expert or an organisation, use this crowd-sourcing platform to share and disseminate your materials!


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Building on a previous Wiki GLAM initiative, Wiki4MediaFreedom  aims at boosting the availability of accurate knowledge on media freedom and pluralism in Europe on Wikipedia. People who are willing to contribute, learn and help disseminate in languages other than English relevant information on these topics are very welcome to join!

Through a partnership between Index on Censorship, European Federation of Journalists and Reporters Without Borders Mapping Media Freedom  monitors and visualises the state of media freedom in Europe by crowdsourcing reports of violations and limitations from journalists and press freedom watchdogs. Get involved!

24 Vesti  Macedonia- The first Macedonian all news TV channel and on-line news provider
All the news      
Beta  Serbia- One of the main Serbian press agencies 
All the news
Bianet  Turkey- Independent press agency, with a special focus on civil society
All the news
Courrier des Balkans  France- The main French on-line news provider on South East Europe
All the news
Dilema Veche  Romania- Romania's main weekly, focusing on culture and social issues. It has both a paper and on-line version
All the news
H-Alter  Croatia- Independent on-line news provider, with a special focus on civil society
All the news
MediaCentar  Bosnia Herzegovina- Supporting the development of independent and professional journalism in Bosnia and Herzegovina
All the news
Mediapool  Bulgaria- Created in 2001, it is the oldest Bulgarian on-line news provider
All the news
Kosovo 2.0  Kosovo- is an online magazine which, since 2010, involves talented young media professionals in Kosovo. All content is published in Albanian, English and Serbian. It has 14.200 fans in Facebook and 4.900 Twitter followers
All the news
Radio Popolare  Italy- Broadcasting from Milan, Popolare is both a radio and a network of 17 of the Italian main radio stations covering among other Rome, Florence, Turin, Venice
All the news
Radio Študent  Slovenia - One of Europe's oldest and strongest independent and non-commercial urban radio stations
All the news
Shqiptarja  Albania- Independent media-group based in Tirana
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Athens Live  Greece- Independent media, on-the-ground source for stories, news, and images from Athens and throughout Greece.
All the news
Vijesti  Montenegro- The main daily newspaper in Montenegro. It has both a paper and an on-line version. It started its publications in 1997 
All the news

 

Former partner of the network (2015-2016): The Press Project  Greece- Daily on-line news provider on Greece. Specialized in features and analyses
All the news

The project European Centre for Press and Media Freedom is co-funded by the European Commission