A LOCKDOWN for INDEPENDENT MEDIA? Effects of the COVID–19 Pandemic on the Press Market and Press Freedom in Central and Southeast Europe

ANALYSIS Correspondents in nine countries – Poland, the Czech DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bul- garia, and North Macedonia – have analysed how the pandemic has affected to their A LOCKDOWN work environment. FOR INDEPENDENT Lockdowns have caused print media sales and advertising MEDIA? revenue to collapse. Media with wealthy benefactors or state support are better Effects of the COVID–19 pandemic placed to survive impending on the media landscape and press freedom economic hardships. in Central and Southeast Europe Working paper Various emergency laws and provisions allowed governments increased control over Vojtěch Berger, Primož Cirman, Boryana Dzhambazova, public information. In several Cristina Lupu, Leonárd Máriás, Jelena Prtorić, Žarka Radoja, cases, these enabled officials Bojan Stojkovski, Karolina Zbytniewska (authors), to evade scrutiny and attack Maxim Edwards (editor) journalists whose reporting June 2020 challenged official statistics and the effectiveness of crisis measures. DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS A LOCKDOWN FOR INDEPENDENT MEDIA? Effects of the COVID–19 pandemic on the press market and press freedom in Central and Southeast Europe Working paper Concept & coordination: Zsolt Bogár (FES) and Dóra Diseri (n-ost) Table of Contents Preface 4 Executive Summary 5 Bulgaria: Press Freedom Doesn’t Come Free 7 by Boryana Dzhambazova Croatia: Judge, Jury, and Editor 10 by Jelena Prtorić Czech Republic: Will Only Big Fish Survive the Coming Storm? 13 by Vojtěch Berger Hungary: Where Journalists are “Scaremongers” or 16 Cheerleaders by Leonárd Máriás North Macedonia: When the Bottom Line Bites 19 by Bojan Stojkovski Poland: No Vaccine for Press Woes 22 by Karolina Zbytniewska Romania: A Matter of Trust 26 by Cristina Lupu Serbia: “The Funniest Virus in the World” 29 by Žarka Radoja Slovenia: Anatomy of a Victory 32 by Primož Cirman About the Authors 35 About the Project Team 35 About the Organisations 36 Imprint 37 3 A LOCKDOWN FOR INDEPENDENT MEDIA? Preface Seldom have questions of life and death (or even “free- press in the pandemic from the perspective of journalists dom or lockdown”) depended on the availability and reli- based in the region: How has the coronavirus crisis affect- ability of correct information as much as now in the battle ed the daily routine of editorial staff? How dangerous are against COVID–19. Wherever there is scant trust in the the economic consequences? Where is access to informa- media and their credibility is doubted from the start, con- tion guaranteed by governments, and where is it under- spiracy theories and uncertainties abound. mined? In most countries the executive has come into its own with Correspondents of the n-ost network in nine countries – the advent of COVID–19: governments have been given Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, robust mandates to manage the crisis. Some have taken Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, and North Macedonia – have advantage of the situation to control the flow of informa- analysed the changes to their work environment and con- tion about the pandemic. This has almost inevitably ducted interviews with the editors of major media compa- brought them into conflict with the self-image and inter- nies. The report features rankings, based on circulation ests of the independent press, whose social mandate is to data where available, of each country’s most prominent monitor governments through independent research and political media outlets (defined as, for example, newspa- analysis. pers primarily known for covering political developments, as opposed to their tabloid or lifestyle competitors). The press researches and communicates facts, presents different points of view and in this way helps orient socie- The result is a collection of country reports which provide ties through the crisis period. Unhindered access to (gov- a close look at the country-specific factors determining ernment) information is an important basis for their re- the media situation in these states. At the same time the porting. When this access is restricted, the role of the report also shines a light on the existing transnational media is undermined. trends and tendencies exacerbated by the pandemic, as well as those it has created anew. In Central, Eastern and Southeast Europe, where independent journalism has long been in decline and media Our review of the situation at this decisive moment in the pluralism is under threat, this danger is particularly acute. crisis aims to contribute to the crucial debate on how to ensure sustainable media pluralism in the region. Even though demand for news and information has soared since the outbreak of the COVID–19 pandemic, there were We wish you an interesting and insightful read! already indications quite early on of a collapse in media marketing and advertising revenues. Fears were soon HANNO GUNDERT voiced that the crisis posed an existential threat to finan- CEO, n-ost cially vulnerable critical media, and that it would further accelerate market concentration among media moguls JÖRG BERGSTERMANN who pursue political interests. Director, FES Budapest The economic consequences of the lockdown are rapidly and perhaps irreversibly endangering the already precari- ous social model of independent journalism in the region. The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) and n-ost consider media pluralism and media freedom to be key building blocks for democracy, and at the same time a prerequisite for any strong and prosperous society. This study therefore offers a snapshot of the situation of the media and the political 4 EFFECTS OF THE COVID–19 PANDEMIC ON THE MEDIA LANDSCAPE AND PRESS FREEDOM IN CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST EUROPE Executive summary As European societies emerge from the first wave of the nesses are on the brink, labour migrants face new obsta- pandemic, observers are taking stock of the immense so- cles accessing job markets, and investors have scaled cial, economic, and political repercussions of COVID–19. down their ambitions. Whether many media outlets will The pandemic may have reaffirmed the crucial role of the survive the coming economic hardships of the press in such times of crisis – informing the public and post-COVID–19 era remains to be seen. holding governments to account at times when the latter demand national unity. However, the crisis has also high- These reports by nine authors, all media professionals lighted enduring systemic threats to the future survival of with years of experience working in their respective coun- the media, from political interference to the gruelling tries identified the following trends since the pandemic search for a sustainable funding model in the digital era. began: These uncertainties unite newsmakers and newsrooms across the world. – Journalists across the region noted a surge of public interest in their work. However, this thirst for new The aim of this report is to reflect on how theCOVID–19 information has not translated into a rise in financial pandemic has affected the press in nine countries across stability for the media providing it. The crisis has Central and Eastern Europe: Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech demonstrated that existing business models are Republic, Hungary, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, vulnerable and funding mechanisms woefully Serbia, and Slovenia. These states mostly shared a similar inadequate. approach to containing the epidemic – so similar, in fact, – The advertising market has nearly collapsed, with that international observers have started to speak of a serious repercussions for all media formats without new “East-West divide” when it comes to COVID–19 in- wealthy benefactors. This potentially makes media fection and death rates. It is a comparison which, with a outlets more dependent on state advertising contracts, few exceptions, is flattering to the continent’s eastern therefore vulnerable to different forms of political half. Thanks to early lockdowns and border closures, cen- pressure. tral and eastern Europe largely avoided repeating the sce- – Media funded by wealthy individuals appear in a narios seen in wealthier countries such as Britain, France, better position to survive, though such ownership Germany, and Italy. models can have negative consequences for editorial independence. For some rulers in the region, the COVID–19 response is – In several countries, government press conferences yet further evidence that it is high time Europe’s West were moved online; questions often had to be provided stops lecturing Europe’s East about good governance. But in advance, and some journalists were refused access. Digital press conferences offered officials new others warn against giving the region’s ways to avoid scrutiny. – Several governments issued decrees which directly or rulers too much credit. indirectly gave officials full control over public information. Emergency laws put journalists at Right-populist governments, regularly shirking accounta- legal risk when reporting critically. bility and transparency, were a feature of central and east- – These decrees impacted the right to freedom of ern Europe well before the model became fashionable information; some doubled the permitted response elsewhere. Although there are low levels of trust in elect- time to requests. ed officials across central and eastern Europe,polling indi- – Authorities took the fight against “fake news” cates that citizens of many of these states place great im- into their own hands, empowering themselves to portance

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