As politics in Eastern Europe becomes increasingly volatile during the super election year, press freedom is at grave risk. Throughout the pre- and post-election periods, independent media face numerous threats, including verbal and physical assaults, cyber attacks, smear campaigns, and vexatious lawsuits.
As the dust settles on the European Parliament elections, and Central and Eastern Europe gears up for more elections on local and national levels, we analyze the state of press freedom in Poland, Slovakia and Bulgaria with the leading journalists from these countries and members of IPI’s Central Europe Independent Media Network. We also delve into the media environments in the pre- and post-election periods and examine the major challenges journalists face when covering elections.
Guests: Patrycja Maciejewicz, head of Business Desk at Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland; Peter Hanak, journalist at Aktuality, Slovakia; and Angel Petrov, international correspondent at Dnevnik, Bulgaria.
Producer and Host: Teona Sekhniashvili, Europe Network and Press Freedom Coordinator at International Press Institute (IPI)
Editor: Javier Luque, Head of Digital Communications at International Press Institute (IPI)
Other episodes in this series:
Earth Day reflections: Italy’s climate reporting dilemma
Media Freedom in Focus: Untangling media capture in Greece
MFRR in Focus: Aftermath of Finland’s unprecedented state secrets conviction
MFRR in Focus: Opposition wins Poland election
MFRR In Focus: Media in Slovakia brace for populist PM’s return
MFRR Podcast: Navigating Hungary’s new Sovereignty Protection Act
Related links:
IPI’s Central Europe Independent Media Network
IPI condemns shooting of Slovak PM, expresses concerns over backlash against media
Poland: Recommendations for democratic reform for press freedom and public media
Media freedom groups call on Slovakia’s Parliament to reject public broadcasting bill
Bulgaria Minister urged to drop defamation lawsuit
This podcast series is part of the MFRR in Focus project sponsored by Media Freedom Rapid Response, which tracks, monitors and responds to violations of press and media freedom in EU Member States and Candidate Countries. The MFRR is organised by a consortium led by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) including ARTICLE 19 Europe, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), Free Press Unlimited (FPU), International Press Institute (IPI) and CCI/Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT).
For more in-depth podcast episodes about the state of press freedom in Europe, visit the MFRR website or search MFRR In Focus on your podcasts apps. The MFRR is co-funded by the European Commission.
