Freedom of the Media

Freedom of the Media

Rome [ENA] The https://www.osce.org/ OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today met with the Director General of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), Noel Curran, https://www.ebu.ch/home and EBU experts in Geneva to discuss political and public support for public service media across the OSCE region, stressing the important role they can play in consolidating democracy.

Universality, independence, excellence, diversity and accountability are more and more standards Freedom of the Media must pursue with the aim of empowering societies and democracies across the globe. Today, investigative reporters are targeted for bringing to light unflattering information about those in power. War correspondents face constant physical danger when they are in the field. Therefore now, more than ever, this problem requires the attention of international organizations, governments and media companies. “States have a responsibility to ensure independent and adequately funded public media that inform the population and contribute to access to culture and education,” said Désir, “Their mission is an essential component of

democracy." The Representative stressed that public service media can play a vital role in society by providing quality information, promoting a plurality of views and strengthening investigative journalism. “The role of public service media in providing reliable information is even more important in the age of fake news and manipulation of information,” he added. “I see too many cases of political interference or underfunding of public service media, which are detrimental to their mission ".

In 2018, the Representative intervened in a number of cases of threats to independence and financial sustainability of public service media in several OSCE participating States. The OSCE media freedom representative regularly provides legal reviews and assistance to the States on legislation and reforms of public service media. The Representative and EBU Director General agreed on closer co-operation on the safety of journalists and in responding to legislation and reforms that affect public media and media freedom.

“It is important that public service media are supported in adapting to the digital media landscape and to changes in how the audiences consume media. They need to adapt to the trend towards online, on-demand content and reach young audiences,” declared Désir. During his visit, the Representative and his team also had the opportunity to meet with news, legal and broadcasting experts at the new EBU facilities.