Media is the fourth pillar of democracy. It takes a neutral stance and provides an unbiased perspective to its uninformed citizens. But how far is it from the truth? According to a study conducted by the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (CMPF) on behalf of the European Commission on all 27 members states, media pluralism is perceived to be at risk. For those unaware of the term, media pluralism is the coexistence and analysis of diverse opinions on media platforms.
The research sheds light on the lack of transparency on the influencers or stakeholders who have editorial control, especially in the political arena. In certain parts of Europe, journalists are not watchdogs, but rather mouthpieces of the parties or politicians they support. Hungary is one of those nations that fall under the radar of this media totalitarianism. The resignation of over 70 staff members from a popular privately-owned media outlet, Index, has been depicted as the death of the last of independent news sites in Hungary. Experts consider this incident as a blow to the freedom of expression after the former editor-in-chief, Szabolcs Dull, was fired last month.
The case of Index is one of many incidents. Another media outlet, Origo, was met by the same fate for showcasing anti-establishment views. Outlets like Emerging Europe consider these acts as propaganda to suppress criticism & media plurality and establish an illiberal government. This suffocation of criticism impacted the Press Freedom Index and pushed Hungary down by 34 places and currently stands at 87th place out of 180 countries.
Currently, Poland’s ruling party Law and Justice (PiS), a national conservative right-wing populist political entity, wants to follow the Hungarian model and limit the freedom of press and their access to information. According to certain analysts, though the media is balanced, independent media are facing financial crises due to a lack of advertisers post 2015 when PiS won the elections.
Source: https://www.brusselstimes.com/news/eu-affairs/123494/media-pluralism-under-threat-in-europe/
Bartosz Wieliński, editor-in-chief of one of Poland’s largest independent media, Gazeta Wyborcza states “right after the change of government in 2015, all the subscriptions of state institutions were cancelled, as well as advertising deals from state-owned enterprises, such as PTQ Insurance”.
A lot of deals were cancelled especially by the state-owned enterprises if the content is not favourable towards PiS. Small media and independently owned outlets are finding it hard to survive since laws are being made to split privately-owned news outlets and sell parts of its shares to the government. Even radio broadcasters such as Trojka are victims of censorship.
The song ‘Your pain is better than mine’ which topped the Polish Pop chart, was censored due to anti-government sentiments. The song disappeared from the charts and journalists of the public broadcaster, Trojka, had to resign. The atmosphere of fear is spreading the culture of self-censorship even amongst the most outspoken journalists. Even countries like Bulgaria report a serious risk to media plurality. The deterioration and an overall risk has been identified in terms of media outlet concentration, influencers’ control over editorial content, and independence of public service media governance and its funding.
Vera Jourova, European Commission Vice-President of Value and Transparency states “We need to better protect journalists and to increase transparency and fairness in the online world, especially in the context of political campaigning.”
This culture of bias and leaning towards a particular party or an ideology is not new for the media industry. There are plenty of media outlets in the world that are bound by the interests of its stakeholders, who heavily influence the content it disseminates to the general public. A study shows that the general public is aware of the ideologies a particular media outlet favours and many readers consume news based on confirmation bias.
But owning media outlets and suppressing criticism or alternative ideologies by an illiberal government, showcases intolerance towards freedom of expression. Countries like Hungary and Poland are converting their journalists from watchdogs to lap dogs, making them a mere puppet whose strings are owned by those in power and restricting them from accessing any kind of information.
Every country needs free media to exchange ideas and provide constructive criticism that can improve the current state of governance. A free press is the best aid of the general public in making wise decisions, especially when it comes to electing a leader that can elevate their nations towards greatness.
T.K. Kartik
Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication
MBA in Public Relations
https://sofiaglobe.com/2020/07/23/media-pluralism-in-europe-new-study-shows-risks-across-the-board/
cover image source: https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/different-multicolored-microphones_4267654.htm
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