‘Pressures on public media pose existential test for European democracy’ – RSF

As the EU prepares to enforce sweeping new media protections, Reporters Without Borders calls for urgent action to safeguard the independence and future of public broadcasting.

Less than a month before the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) comes into force, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has sounded the alarm over mounting threats to public service media across the continent.

In a report published this week, entitled ‘Pressure on Public Media: A Decisive Test for European Democracies’, the press freedom organisation outlines a continent-wide erosion of editorial independence, politicised governance, and fragile funding structures — all at a time when trust in democratic institutions is under growing strain.

Set to take effect on 8 August, Article 5 of the EMFA mandates that EU member states uphold the editorial and operational autonomy of public service media. But RSF’s latest findings suggest that political interference, economic instability and digital disruption are placing unprecedented pressure on these institutions, turning public broadcasters into “a battleground for political influence,” in the words of RSF Director General Thibaut Bruttin.

“Serve the public or the party? This is one of the biggest challenges facing public media in Europe today,” Bruttin said. “The attacks we are seeing — often financial or political in nature — reflect a broader attempt to manipulate public opinion, and they demand a sharp European awakening.”

Malta is flagged in the report as one of the countries where concerns about the politicisation of public media are acute. RSF highlights that in Malta — along with Hungary, Poland, Greece and Croatia — public broadcasters are frequently accused of omitting sensitive information about government actions or corruption, with a majority of respondents reporting frequent censorship or biased editorial decisions.

Furthermore, Malta is also named among the minority of EU countries where respondents believe that public service media fail to provide adequate political pluralism — a core democratic responsibility under EU law.

One respondent to RSF’s survey also cited Malta as an example where a journalist at a public broadcaster resigned following an incident of political interference, underscoring the real-world consequences of institutional vulnerability.

RSF is calling for a suite of reforms to safeguard the future of public broadcasting in Europe, including:

• Independent, transparent processes for appointing public media leadership, with input from civil society;

• Creation of a European watchdog to monitor internal pluralism;

• Long-term, independent funding assessments and multiannual financing plans;

• New funding mechanisms

• Greater newsroom transparency and public engagement, including a proposed annual “Media Day” on 3 May;

• And the establishment of a pan-European international broadcaster, designed to preserve institutions

As the EMFA becomes binding law, RSF insists that national governments must not only meet its minimum standards, but actively embrace its spirit. Anything less, it argues, risks allowing public media — a cornerstone of democracy — to become yet another casualty in Europe’s increasingly fraught political landscape.

“The creation of tomorrow’s public media is not a luxury,” said Bruttin. “It is a necessity — and it must begin now.”