RSF World Press Freedom Index shows independent media stifled

Malta may have risen from 73rd to 67th place in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index, but it remains one of the EU’s lowest-ranked countries for press freedom (23 out of 27).

According to RSF’s latest report, this improvement is partly due to worsening conditions in other European countries, such as Bulgaria and Cyprus, coupled with a troubling new global reality: economic fragility is becoming the most critical threat to press freedom worldwide, surpassing even physical attacks on journalists.

The report notes how concentrated media ownership, influence from advertisers and financial backers, and opaque or insufficient public subsidies are forcing media outlets to choose between protecting their editorial independence and ensuring economic survival.

Malta’s stalled press freedom reforms

“Malta’s score, while up by two points to 63 out of 100, is still well below pre-2017 levels, before the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, a case that continues to cast a long shadow over media freedom and safety,” said Pavol Szalai, RSF’s Head of EU-Balkans Desk.

He added that “the alleged mastermind’s (Yorgen Fenech) release on bail and ongoing restrictions on reporting about the trial further limit press freedom. Although recent developments, such as adopting the European Media Freedom Act and proposed anti-SLAPP measures, have generated some optimism, these reforms remain largely unimplemented and insufficient. RSF notes that real progress will require full justice in Caruana Galizia’s case and the full implementation of recommendations from the public inquiry into her murder”.

In 2022, Malta’s government appointed a Media Experts Committee to guide the implementation of 12 legislative proposals to safeguard press freedom as recommended by the board of the public inquiry into Caruana Galizia’s assassination.

The committee submitted its second report in July 2023 but was only tabled in parliament on 2 October that year, and it has yet to be discussed. Prime Minister Robert Abela also announced that he would publish a White Paper with proposed media laws, but nothing has happened since.

Meanwhile, Malta’s public broadcaster’s independence continues to be all but eroded, access to information in the public interest remains severely limited, and several media organisations are becoming increasingly reliant on arbitrary government funding to survive.

Malta was also one of the countries that wanted to allow legal surveillance of journalists in the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA).

Economic asphyxiation of Europe’s independent press

For the first time since the Index’s inception, the global state of press freedom is classified as a “difficult situation,” driven mainly by news media’s precarious financial conditions.

Although violence against journalists remains visible and alarming, RSF’s report underscores that economic pressures are now a more insidious and widespread problem.

Independent media in Europe and Central Asia are facing an unprecedented economic crisis, intensified by the abrupt suspension of USAID and the growing influence of Russian propaganda.

Budget cuts under the Trump administration, especially the withdrawal of funding for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and USAID, have severely weakened already vulnerable news sectors, particularly in countries dealing with authoritarianism, corruption, and conflict.

The economic crisis is also affecting the EU and Balkan countries, where the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), which could help the news economy, is still pending implementation. Public broadcasters in several countries face existential threats from budget cuts and political control.

Within the EU, opaque state advertising and conflicts of interest continue to undermine media independence in countries like Hungary, Cyprus, Albania, Malta and Greece.

Outlets that resist political pressure often face costly SLAPP lawsuits, as seen in Malta, Croatia and Bulgaria.

Nevertheless, the report notes pockets of hope: Poland appears to be recovering after abusive legal actions were withdrawn, Austria’s media sector is improving economically, and Estonia now ranks second globally for press freedom.

A historic global downturn

For its 2025 report, 160 of the 180 countries (88.9%) evaluated by RSF stated that media outlets experience financial stability “with difficulty” or “not at all.”

Nearly a third of these countries, including the United States, Tunisia, and Argentina, face media shutdowns due to economic challenges. Mass closures of media organisations have occurred in 34 countries, often resulting in journalists seeking exile, particularly in regions like Nicaragua, Belarus, Iran, Myanmar, Sudan, Azerbaijan, and Afghanistan, where economic struggles intensify political repression.

In 46 countries, media ownership is heavily concentrated, sometimes entirely controlled by the state or oligarchs aligned with the government (as seen in Russia, Hungary, Georgia, Tunisia, Peru, and Hong Kong).

Editorial interference remains prevalent in more than half of the countries surveyed, where media owners “always” or “often” restrict editorial independence. It is common to see financing conditioned by political or business interests.

Over 42 countries, accounting for 56.7% of the global population, are designated as “very serious,” with nearly total absence of press freedom (including Palestine, China, North Korea, and Eritrea).

The report notes that Europe remains at the forefront globally, but is also encountering increasing internal divisions and economic strains; even in the EU-Balkans, 70% of countries have seen a decline in economic scores. Norway remains the only country rated “good” across all indicators, leading the Index for the ninth consecutive year.

Stressing the urgency of the crisis, Anne Bocandé, RSF’s Editorial Director, stated, “Without economic independence, there can be no free press. When news media are financially strained, they can fall prey to oligarchs and public authorities who seek to exploit them. The media economy must urgently be restored to a state that is conducive to journalism and ensures the production of reliable information, which is inherently costly.”