Just how serious is the threat to media freedom in parts of Central and Eastern Europe today?
I’m old enough to remember the communist era and information barrier that then existed between what were termed the ‘East’ and ‘West’.
In the former, ‘bad news’ was rarely reported unless, of course, it referred to what were deemed morally corrupt capitalist countries.
The latter, on the other hand, were kept in ignorance about life behind the ‘Iron Curtain’, with only major developments, such as the invasion of Czechoslovakia and rise of Solidarity in Poland, making the headlines.
Much has changed post ’89 and we will never return to those strange and deeply troubling times. However, if you’re like me and follow developments in the CEE region closely, you will not have failed to notice the growing pressure on hard-won media freedoms in a number of countries.
Indeed, one of the first casualties of the conflict in Ukraine in the last few months has been the truth, or more specifically, truthful reporting of what is going on.
Depending on whose media you consume (TV, online, press – not only in Ukraine and Russia but also other parts of CEE and in the West), you will get a different, and partial, interpretation of events.
Maybe this is to be expected in a war situation, though developments such as the new restrictions on media freedom currently being rushed through Ukraine’s parliament are worrying. The problem is, once the conflict is over, they will be difficult to roll back.
Then we have the situation in Hungary – a country fortunately not at war but seemingly intent on moving in a certain direction that runs counter to the vision of the European Union and all that entails.
The current dispute between the government and RTL is just one manifestation of this and the fear is things will get worse before they get better.
Other countries in the region also have their issues, to a greater of lesser extent, with media freedom.
Those who care about and value it should remain vigilant.
