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The Index on International Media Freedom Support 2025

Martin Scott, Mel Bunce, Shannon Maguire, Mary Myers

University of East Anglia, Centre for Journalism and Democracy; City St George’s, University of London (2025), 30 pp.

"The Index on International Media Freedom Support (IMFS) evaluates and ranks states based on their support for media freedom beyond their borders. It does this by analysing the contributions that countries have made to international diplomatic, financial and safety / protection initiatives that prom ... ote media freedom. The IMFS Index includes all states that are members of both the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) and the Media Freedom Coalition (MFC) (30 countries). These countries have pledged to promote media freedom internationally, and the IMFS holds them accountable for these commitments. The Index draws on data from the previous calendar year (2024), except for the ODA figures, which are for 2023, due to the time lag in reporting. The IMFS Index is produced by an independent research group and is a joint project between City St George’s, University of London, and the University of East Anglia. The results of the 2025 IMFS Index highlight several well performing states: Lithuania (1st) is the highest ranked country, largely due to its diplomatic efforts, including its leadership of two multilateral initiatives. Sweden (2nd) spent a far higher proportion of its Official Development Assistance (ODA) on media development in 2023 than any other country (0.91%). It is the only country to get close to the benchmark of 1.0%, as recommended by the Forum on Information & Democracy. France (5th) is the only country to award funding to all four qualifying multilateral pooled funds in 2024. Latvia (9th) is the only country to have both an active emergency visa scheme dedicated to supporting journalists at-risk and to support a national initiative that promotes the protection and safety of media workers in exile. The IMFS Index also identifies several less encouraging trends and performances: No country performed consistently well across all three areas of diplomacy, funding and safety / protection. Almost two thirds of the 30 countries qualified for the lowest, bronze category, earning only 10 points or less. This includes four members of the G7: the United Kingdom (equal 12th), the United States (equal 12th), Italy (equal 24th) and Japan (28th). The lowest ranked countries were Japan (28th), Slovenia (equal 29th) and South Korea (equal 29th), due to their relative lack of support for diplomacy, funding and safety / protection. However, South Korea and Japan do provide support for the wider enabling environment for media freedom in their ODA spending, which is not measured by this Index. On average, the 30 states in the IMFS Index allocated just 0.16% of their ODA to media development in 2023. Thirteen countries awarded less than 0.1%, including three – Latvia (9th), Greece (21st), and Slovenia (29th) – which reported giving 0%. Only five countries had an emergency visa scheme for journalists in 2024, and only five hosted an assistance programme for journalists in exile. Twenty-one countries had neither." (Executive summary, pages 3-4) more

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Pakistani Journalism Under Pressure In A Tightly Restricted Political Environment, Safety Threats and Internet Shutdowns: Press Freedom and Media Safety in Pakistan in 2024

Karachi: Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) (2025), 24 pp.

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The Expanding Media Landscape, Decline in Journalists' Safety, and Low Media Literacy. The Future of the Media in Kosovo – Facts and Trends

Jeton Mehmeti

Sarajevo; Pristina; Ljubljana: Mediacentar; Press Council of Kosovo; Peace Institute; South East European Network for Professionalization of Media (SEENPM) (2025), 32 pp.

"Kosovo enjoys a relatively good legal framework when it comes to the protection of freedom of expression and freedom of the media. Laws concerning protection of journalism sources, protection of whistleblowers, and access to public information appear to be in line with European standards. The overa ... more

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Declaration on the necessity of culture and media as a safeguard for our European democracies

Council of the European Union (2025), 4 pp.

"This declaration serves as a reminder that culture, cultural heritage and media policies must be a vital part of the European collaboration and European security in order to protect our democracies. We commit to upholding cultural diversity, artistic freedom and supporting media pluralism and freed ... more

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Free Expression Seen as Important Globally, but Not Everyone Thinks Their Country Has Press, Speech and Internet Freedoms: Made-up news and information seen as pervasive across the globe
Deep Insights

Jacob Poushter, Maria Smerkovich, Moira Fagan, Andrew Prozorovsky

Pew Research Center (2025), 71 pp.

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Vulnerable Media, Struggling Democracy: A Critical Appraisal of Uganda’s Media Legal Framework

African Centre for Media Excellence (ACME) (2025), 38 pp.

"This report presents an in-depth examination of Uganda’s media legal and regulatory framework, with a particular focus on its implications for press freedom, democratic engagement, and the overarching vitality of the media sector. The findings reveal a disconcerting trend: although constitutional ... more

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El periodismo nicaragüense está vivo

Julio López (ed.)

Bogotá: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), FES Comunicación (2025), 73 pp.

"En este libro, 12 periodistas nicaragüenses exiliados relatan sus historias y su pasión por el periodismo. A pesar del dolor, el desarraigo y la separación familiar continúan su labor informativa, denuncian las agresiones contra la prensa y los abusos a los derechos humanos. Además, presenta u ... more

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Europe Press Freedom Report 2024: Confronting Political Pressure, Disinformation, and the Erosion of Media Independence

Jean-Paul Marthoz (coord.)

Strasbourg: Council of Europe; Safety of Journalists Platform (2025), 68 pp.

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Google Scholar (293)

WorldCat (264)

Media Compass: A Companion to International Media Landscapes

Aljosha Karim Schapals, Christian Pentzold (eds.)

Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Blackwell (2025), xxiii, 502 pp.

"In 'Media Compass: A Companion to International Media Landscapes', an international team of prominent scholars examines both long-term media systems and fluctuating trends in media usage around the world. Integrating country-specific summaries and cross-cutting studies of geopolitical regions, this ... more

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Trotz alledem – Kritischer Journalismus

iz3w, issue 406 (2025), pp. D1- D23

"Was wäre eine Welt ohne kritische und linke Medien? Sie treten Staat und Kapital auf die Füße und schauen auf unterbelichtete Themen – auch wenn es weh tut. Doch die Zeitungs- und Zeitschriftenkrise, der digitale Wandel sowie Einschränkungen der Pressefreiheit stellen den kritischen Journali ... more

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Independent Evaluation of the Media Freedom Coalition

Aida Al Kaisy, Daniel Skillings, Ivana Jiménez Barrios

Paris: Aleph Strategies; Media Freedom Coalition (2025), 62 pp.

"The evaluation found that the MFC has made notable contributions to media freedom and journalist safety over the past five years. It has played a role in encouraging some Member States to strengthen their media freedom policies and legislation. The MFC has also influenced state actors through diplo ... matic and advocacy efforts, maintaining high-level political attention on media freedom. Direct interventions, legal guidance, and engagement with embassy networks have contributed to journalist protection efforts at the local level. Furthermore, the MFC has strengthened multi-stakeholder coordination, bringing together governments, civil society, and legal experts. However, the evaluation also identified several areas for improvement. While the MFC provides a platform for dialogue and cooperation, its engagement with members on domestic media freedom policies is voluntary and lacks a structured approach for supporting and tracking commitments. Joint advocacy statements have a greater impact locally than internationally and are often perceived as lacking boldness and clear outcomes. While the MFC has addressed high-profile cases, its focus has sometimes overshadowed broader, systemic media freedom challenges. Engagement with Rights-Holders and organisations working on the ground has been limited, impacting the relevance and sustainability of its strategies. Coordination and collaboration within the MFC are foundational, particularly through diplomatic networks and the development of emergency visa schemes. However, decision-making is often reactive, affecting stakeholder trust. The MFC’s membership is perceived as predominantly Northern-led, and there is potential to leverage its diverse membership more effectively. Knowledge management and information-sharing need strengthening to ensure a deeper understanding of media freedom issues among Member States. The high-level legal expertise of the HLP is underutilised. Clarity around decision-making processes among Member States varies, influencing trust-based collaboration. While engagement at the local level through embassies is effective, it requires more structured guidance and support. Coordination between Member States, the CN, and the HLP remains limited in some areas. In terms of sustainability, the current governance model, particularly the annual rotation of Executive Group co-chairs, can present challenges for knowledge retention and continuity. Funding modalities are complex, leading to perceptions of uneven distribution and impacting trust and coordination. While the MFC has developed working relationships with similar coalitions, more formalised collaboration could maximise resource efficiency. The limited engagement with Rights-Holders influences the visibility and perceived effectiveness of the MFC’s work." (Key findings and conclusions, pages 2-3) more

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Our Media, Our Democracy, Our Future. The Future of the Media in the Western Balkans and Turkey – Facts and Trends. Regional Overview
Deep Insights

Sanela Hodžic, Sandra B. Hrvatin

Sarajevo; Ljubljana: Mediacentar; Peace Institute; South East European Network for Professionalization of Media (SEENPM) (2025), 57 pp.

"The results of the research conducted in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Turkey suggest that the key determinants for the future of our media and democracies are the following: • The poor socio-economic status of journalists and their exposure to ... pressure and attacks, coupled with modest support mechanisms, cripple the ability of journalists to promote the public interest, report on key issues of public interest, and hold power to account. In the most extreme cases, the pressure involves imprisonment, interrogation, surveillance, and lawsuits aimed at silencing journalists. • The lack of consistent monitoring and registration of cases of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) in the region, with dozens of lawsuits against journalists filed by political officials and their affiliates. • A growing number or media outlets, but a declining number of journalism students, highlighting concerns about the future shrinking of staff numbers in media newsrooms and about the growing automatization of journalism. The most drastic drop was in North Macedonia, with the number of journalism students in 2023 amounting to only 11% of the number from ten years ago and 50% of the number from 2000. • The number of media outlets is growing, mostly in the online sector, while print media outlets are becoming increasingly endemic. • A worrying trend of overt concentration of media ownership in the hands of a few media conglomerates, often tied to national or foreign governments, that takes a toll on media freedom and pluralism. • The dominant instrumentalization (through ownership and funding) of media (including private and public) for particular political and/or business interests limits the space for editorial independence and integrity. • Non-profit media are still a rarity in the region, with only a few non-profit radio broadcasters in some countries, and an unknown number of online platforms of civil society organizations with a community-focused mission. • Lack of transparency of the media sector, particularly a lack of accessible and reliable information concerning the media industry and the media market. • Advertising is the main source of revenues in the media sector, with the total revenues ranging between EUR 12 million in Montenegro and over EUR 4 billion in Turkey. • Although it is declining, the TV sector is still dominant in terms of its share of advertising revenues, while social media’s share is increasing, and in Turkey it amounts to as much as 45.7% of advertising revenues. • The tech giants such as Google and Meta are an increasingly dominant competitor for media outlets in the region, jeopardizing the future sustainability of national and local media outlets and potentially curbing political pluralism in public communication. • Public funding for the media, including funding of public broadcasters (declining in four out of seven countries), grants, and subsidies for media outlets and government advertising, amounts to several to dozens of millions of euros per country, taking up an important share of media revenues, but without proactive transparency, effective guarantees of editorial independence, well-defined purpose and evaluation, the opportunities to make public funding for the media an important instrument of media democratization remain under-used. • The representation of different age, gender, ethnic, religious, and other groups in media content and in the newsrooms’ staff is limited. In multiethnic communities some policies promote ethnic diversity of media content, while other identity axes are largely neglected and pluralism in public communication is very limited. Women are an important, and in many countries even dominant, workforce in the media, but remain underrepresented in managerial posts." (Executive summary) more

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Address of the Holy Father Leo XIV to Representatives of the Media

Leo XIV (Pope)

Vatican City: Holy See, May 12 (2025)

"[...] Let me, therefore, reiterate today the Church’s solidarity with journalists who are imprisoned for seeking to report the truth, and with these words I also ask for the release of these imprisoned journalists. The Church recognises in these witnesses – I am thinking of those who report on ... more

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Precarity and Political Pressure: Addressing Challenges Underming Media Freedom in Croatia

Article 19 Europe (2025), 20 pp.

External Link (346)

Google Scholar (280)

WorldCat (322)

Journalism in Transitional Context: Societal Hostility, Self-Censorship and the Expansion of “One Voice Journalism"

Dalia Elsheikh, Daniel Jackson, Nael Jebril

Journalism Practice, volume 19, issue 9 (2025), pp. 1921-1939

"The transformations in the media and political landscapes in Egypt over the last decade and their implications on media pluralism and freedom of expression are well documented. However, less is known about how Egyptian journalists themselves experience these changes; how their relationships with au ... more

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Mapping Media Freedom: Monitoring Report 2024

Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR); European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) (2025), 51 pp.

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Media Capture Monitoring Report: Overview. The European Media Freedom Act: The solution to Capture or Just Fine Print?

Zsuzsa Detreköi, Marius Dragomir

Vienna: International Press Institute (IPI); Media Journalism Research Center (MJRC) (2025), 30 pp.

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Google Scholar (261)

WorldCat (232)

Contemporary Contested Ethiopian Media Practice and Its Influence on Journalists’ Autonomy and Role

Abera Yenework Kebede, Adem Chanie Ali, Mulatu Alemayehu Moges

Journalism Practice, volume 19, issue 11 (2025), pp. 2549-2575

"This study explores contemporary journalists’ autonomy and role in the Ethiopian contested media practice by taking journalists working in Amhara Media Corporation (AMC). A qualitative research approach was used to collect data from journalists and admin staff. For triangulation, this study combi ... more

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“Voices from the Island”: Informational annexation of Crimea and transformations of journalistic practices

Ksenia Ermoshina

Journalism, volume 25, issue 3 (2024), pp. 528–546

"After the annexation of Crimea by Russia in March 2014, the peninsula experienced a progressive transition of telecommunication and broadcasting infrastructure under Russian influence, followed by a wave of repression of Ukrainian media. Between 2014 and 2015, dozens of Ukrainian media organization ... more

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Intimidation, Repression and Censorship: The Status of Access to Information and Freedom of Expression in Afghanistan

Rawadari (2024), 26 pp.

"The Taliban have revoked and suspended laws that included the right to access information and freedom of expression, and currently there is no effective legal mechanism to protect media outlets and journalists against interference and intimidation. This has led to widespread violation of the right ... more

Free Expression Seen as Important Globally, but Not Everyone Thinks Their Country Has Press, Speech and Internet Freedoms: Made-up news and information seen as pervasive across the globe Deep Insights

Our Media, Our Democracy, Our Future. The Future of the Media in the Western Balkans and Turkey – Facts and Trends. Regional Overview Deep Insights

Free Expression Seen as Important Globally, but Not Everyone Thinks Their Country Has Press, Speech and Internet Freedoms: Made-up news and information seen as pervasive across the globe
Deep Insights

Our Media, Our Democracy, Our Future. The Future of the Media in the Western Balkans and Turkey – Facts and Trends. Regional Overview
Deep Insights