The International Press Institute (IPI) and the Media and Journalism Research Center (MJRC) today release the Overview of the Media Capture Monitoring Report series: European Media Freedom Act: Solution to capture or just fine print?

The Overview provides a comparative assessment of media capture across seven EU Member States and the legal frameworks in place to protect media pluralism and editorial independence.  

It draws on the country reports on Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Finland to also assess the degree to which the legal frameworks align with the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), with which Member States need to be in compliance by August 2025. 

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The reports focus on the four key elements of media capture 

  • Independence of media regulators
  • Independence of public service media
  • Misuse of state funds to influence media output
  • Media pluralism and political/ state influence over news media

These issues are primarily addressed by EMFA through Article 5, on the independent functioning of public media, Article 6 on media ownership and editorial independence, Article 22 on media pluralism, and Article 25 on the fair distribution of state advertising,

These reports will be updated annually to measure the progress and impact of EMFA on combating media capture across Europe. 

The Overview highlights common risks, including political interference in public media, opaque media ownership structures, and unfair state funding practices. It also identifies positive reforms, and assesses their effectiveness in addressing long-standing challenges to media pluralism. 

Key findings

  • Public Service Media continue to be at risk: In several countries, public service media remain vulnerable to political influence, with governance structures failing to ensure editorial independence and a plurality of views. Hungary represents the most extreme case with public media effectively serving as government mouthpieces. The recent change in legal status of the Slovakian public broadcaster from RTVS to STVR enabled the government to replace the management with their own appointees. All countries should do more to reinforce political independence and guarantee adequate financing of the public media.  
  • Regulatory independence undermined: Media regulatory bodies are increasingly politicised and at risk of falling under government control. The record varies but Poland and Hungary have the most politicised regulators, while many others are subject to political interference. All countries should review their appointments process to ensure regulators are run by competent and politically neutral experts.
  • Misuse of state funds: State advertising is frequently allocated in a non-transparent and discriminatory manner, often favoring pro-government media outlets. The degree of the problem varies, but none of the countries studied have adequate measures in place to protect against the abuse of state funds. 
  • Media market concentration: Ownership of major media outlets is often overly concentrated among politically connected business elites. This is particularly evident in Hungary, where control over media by government allies dominates the media landscape. Media pluralism tests for mergers, conducted by politically independent regulators, are essential to preserve the diversity of news sources and opinions. 

A call for compliance

This Overview report, together with the country-specific reports, provide an important resource for media rights organizations and policy-makers working to uphold press freedom across the European Union.

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The publication underscores the urgent need for EU Member States to align their media policies with the EMFA and to implement robust safeguards against media capture. As the EU moves towards enforcing new media freedom standards, the findings of these reports will act as a benchmark for assessing national compliance and advocating for meaningful reforms.

IPI and MJRC urge policymakers, civil society organizations, and media professionals to use this resource to push for greater transparency, stronger regulatory independence, and enhanced protections for editorial freedom.

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