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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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State of the Media: Republic of the Marshall Islands

ABC International Development; University of Adelaide; Pacific Media Assistance Scheme (PACMAS) (2025), 37 pp.

"In conclusion, the findings from this report highlighted the continuing prominence of newspapers as a trusted source of information for Marshallese people, the ongoing challenge of reaching remote communities, and a growing interest in establishing a representative media body. While the rise of soc ... more

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State of the Media: Palau

ABC International Development; University of Adelaide; Pacific Media Assistance Scheme (PACMAS) (2025), 31 pp.

"Palau media continues to undergo significant developments as it adjusts to increased digitisation and a move away from traditional print media. Media organisations face challenges in creating financially sustainable business models to support this shift. While media freedom is protected in Palau, o ... more

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Media Bias, Legislative Challenges, and the Fight for Freedom. The Future of the Media in Serbia – Facts and Trends

Valentina Sigeti, Teodora Koledin

Sarajevo; Novi Sad; Ljubljana: Mediacentar; Novi Sad School of Journalism; Peace Institute; South East European Network for Professionalization of Media (SEENPM) (2025), 50 pp.

"Alongside the rise of new technologies and the evolving global conditions in the media industry, journalism and media in Serbia will face numerous challenges, particularly in the areas of basic media freedom and journalist protection, based on the findings of this research: • There is no reliable ... data on the number of journalists in Serbia, or how many of them are women or members of marginalized groups. • Media ownership in Serbia is highly concentrated, particularly in the television broadcasting sector, which affects media reporting. Channels with national frequencies often align their narratives with the government’s or ruling party’s agenda. • The state and ruling party demonstrate tendencies to control the media. This is evident in the newly updated law that allows business companies engaged in electronic communications, such as the state-owned Telekom, to own media outlets. Additionally, findings indicate that some media owners at the local level are connected to the ruling party. • Media financing is often misused to encourage biased reporting. Public calls for funding are corrupted by GONGO media organizations, which prioritize funding pro-government outlets; state advertising is not regulated by law, and the media community was left out of the discussion on new advertising laws; despite receiving the majority of its budget from citizens’ subscriptions, the national public broadcaster RTS is still perceived as one of the most progovernment outlets in the country; foreign donors, including the EU, US and UK, provide significant financial support for media projects in Serbia, but there is no transparent data on the total amount of money donated. • National minorities are represented through media outlets funded by National Councils of National Minorities. However, journalists from some of these media outlets work under political pressures and engage in self-censorship. National minorities living in the northern province of Serbia, Vojvodina, are also served by the provincial public broadcaster RTV. RTS does not provide content in the languages of the Bosnian, Vlach and Bulgarian communities in Serbia’s eastern and western regions. Romani and Albanian communities are represented on RTS, but the amount of content is minimal. • Television is the most commonly used source of news and information, with citizens watching up to eight hours of television daily. The most-watched TV news programmes are central-informative political shows on channels with national frequencies, which are widely considered pro-government. • Only 30% of Serbian citizens trust the media. Social media is the least trusted media type, while television is the most trusted." (Executive summary) more

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Media in Africa: Issues and Critiques

Toks Oyedemi, René A. Smith (eds.)

New York; London: Routledge (2024), 232 pp.

"Featuring contributions from global scholars, that represent both new and established voices on the African continent and the diaspora, this volume explores themes of decolonization, media freedom, media censorship, identity, representation, pluralism, media framing, political economy of the media ... more

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Vibrant Information Barometer: National Report Nepal

Pokharel Umesh, Pandey Lekhanath, Acharya Bhanu Bhakta

IREX; Asia Foundation; USAID (2024), 97 pp.

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Tour d’Horizon de l’Écosystème d’Information en Haïti: Confiance en et couverture de l’information liée à la gouvernance et aux élections

Inernews; Institut Panos et Policité (2024), 28 pp.

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Mutation du paysage médiatique d'Afrique : L’usage des médias numériques augmente, mais les fossés démographiques aussi

Jeffrey Conroy-Krutz, Kelechi Amakoh, Komi Amewunou

Afrobarometer (2024), 20 pp.

"Les données d'Afrobarometer corroborent l'idée que l'utilisation des médias numériques est en pleine explosion sur le continent, bien que les taux d'adoption aient pu ralentir au cours des dernières années. Cependant, ces nouveaux environnements médiatiques sont également source de défis. ... La réduction des obstacles à l'accès et le repli des autorités de régulation pourraient aussi signifier que les informations erronées et les propos incitant à la discorde, y compris les discours de haine et les appels à la violence, se répandent plus rapidement, avec moins souvent la possibilité de vérifier les faits et d'étouffer les propos préjudiciables. En outre, les fractures numériques défavorisant les femmes, les moins instruits, les pauvres, les habitants des zones rurales et les personnes âgées ne disparaissent pas. En réalité, nombre de ces fractures sont plus importantes aujourd'hui qu'elles ne l'étaient il y a près de 10 ans. En dépit de ces évolutions, un média de masse – la radio – continue de dominer le paysage médiatique du continent, son utilisation n'ayant connu qu'un modeste déclin au cours des dernières années. En outre, la radio est à bien des égards le média de masse le plus démocratique, car les clivages démographiques qui marquent l'accès aux médias numériques sont faibles, voire inexistants. Cela dit, nous devons être prudents et noter que la radio a ses propres inconvénients, notamment en ce qui concerne les informations erronées et les propos clivants. En raison des paysages médiatiques en évolution, les publics africains sont confrontés à des enjeux importants sur la manière dont ils interagissent avec les médias et sur la manière dont ils attendent de leurs gouvernements qu'ils traitent les médias. Les données d'Afrobarometer suggèrent que les Africains sont majoritairement favorables à ce que les médias jouent un rôle important dans l'obligation de rendre des comptes aux gouvernements, en particulier en ce qui concerne le fléau de la corruption. En outre, la grande majorité des Africains soutiennent le droit des médias d'informer comme ils l'entendent, sans ingérence gouvernementale. Enfin, une grande majorité de répondants considèrent que leurs médias sont largement libres, bien que les évaluations varient considérablement d'un pays à l'autre." (Conclusion) more

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Africa’s shifting media landscapes: Digital media use grows, but so do demographic divides

Jeffrey Conroy-Krutz, Kelechi Amakoh, Komi Amewunou

Afrobarometer (2024), 19 pp.

"Afrobarometer data support the notion that the use of digital media is exploding across the continent, although rates of uptake may have slowed in recent years. However, these new media environments also pose challenges. Reduced barriers to access and the decline of gatekeepers can also mean that f ... more

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Vibrant Information Barometer: Europe & Eurasia
Deep Insights

Washington, DC: IREX; USAID (2024), 357 pp.

"The 2024 Europe and Eurasia Vibrant Information Barometer (VIBE) covers 18 countries throughout Europe, Eurasia, and Central Asia. With VIBE, IREX strives to capture a modern and evolving media space where people are simultaneously producers, transmitters, consumers, and actors in the information t ... more

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News deserts in Ukraine: Mapping localities without local news

Media Development Foundation (MDF) (2024)

"First of all, following a reform in 2020 that reorganised Ukraine’s districts, merging many of them to form larger ones, the situation on the map is not critical. There are indeed "unhealthy districts", but the overall situation is better than it could be. With the exception of the temporarily oc ... more

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Tunisia Media Landscape Assessment

USAID; Internews (2024), 74 pp.

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Barriers to Press Freedoms in Central America: Literature Review Report

Manuel Alejandro Guerrero

USAID (2024), 40 pp.

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Google Scholar (46)

WorldCat (50)

Journalism Practices in Western and Muslim Majority Countries: Culture Matters

Basyouni Ibrahim Hamada, Abdel-Salam G. Abdel-Salam, Saba Bebawi

International Journal of Press/Politics, volume 30, issue 4 (2024), pp. 1046-1070

"In this article, we suggest that the ideological cultural forces explain the differences in journalism practices in Western and Muslim majority countries (MMC). It is argued that the norms, values, and the deep political culture of the West and MMC have been materialized leading to different types ... more

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An unbroken spirit: Afghanistan exiled media since the Taliban takeover
Deep Insights

Berlin: JX Fund (2024), 44 pp.

"A large portion of independent media has relocated to United States of America, Canada, and European countries such as Germany, France, UK, Ireland after the Taliban took over. The teams of many of these outlets operate in a hybrid model with editorial leadership in exile and staff members and free ... lancers in Afghanistan. Just over half of Afghan exiled media (57%) were founded in Afghanistan before the Taliban took over, but others (42%) were established in exile after August 15, 2021. Exiled media publish their content in multiple languages, including both the official languages of Afghanistan: Pashto and Dari (Farsi). Out of 47 media surveyed, 35 also publish their content in English. Afghan women journalists have founded several media outlets spanning various platforms, including online publications, radio and television channels, social media platforms, and podcasts. Through these outlets, they amplify the voices of Afghan women and shed light on the challenges they face under Taliban rule. In exile, ethnic, religious, linguistic, and political affiliations continue to influence the content and ownership of some media outlets, with direct consequences on their credibility. Afghan exiled media mostly aim for nation-wide coverage (90%). Only 10% of exiled media focus on regional coverage. Media consumption in Afghanistan has shifted towards exiled media. In addition, since the Taliban takeover, audiences increasingly relied on the internet, particularly social media platforms, to access information and entertainment programs. The study reveals that Facebook, X, and YouTube are the most popular social media platforms for exiled media outlets – both for audiences to consume content and interact with publishers. Television still stands as the predominant broadcasting platform in Afghanistan, with urban areas exhibiting a higher prevalence of household TV ownership compared to rural regions. Television coverage extends to nearly 40 percent of Afghanistan’s population. At least 12 Afghan TV exiled projects are accessible via satellite, web, social media, apps and streaming platforms. Fact-checking information coming from on-the-ground sources is becoming harder. The Taliban severely restricted information flows. Most Afghan exiled media rely on citizen journalism and anonymous sources. Lack of financial sustainability is a major concern. Afghan exiled media have lost their previous funding opportunities and need to cover budget gaps from international organizations or other philanthropic sources." (Executive summary, page 3) more

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Kenya Media Landscape Guide

London: CDAC Network; Deutsche Welle DW Akademie (2024), 31 pp.

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The Romanian Media System: Dynamics, Challenges, and Implications for Democracy

Madalina Botan

Media and Communication, volume 12, issue 7847 (2024), 17 pp.

"This article endeavors to delve into the recent transformation of the Romanian media landscape, aiming to offer a nuanced comprehension of the cultural and political dynamics that have influenced journalistic practices. The Romanian media environment has undergone swift changes, transitioning from ... more

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African Media Barometer: Botswana 2023

Windhoek; Gabarone: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) (2024), 63 pp.

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Media Systems and Media Capture in Turkey: A Case Study

Murat Akser, Banu Baybars

Media and Communication, volume 12, issue 7733 (2024), 17 pp.

"This article attempts to explain the current situation of the Turkish media system through the media systems approach as a case study with special attention to the concept of media capture. We propose that the Turkish media system's shift is heavily influenced by media capture. We associate four of ... more

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South African Media and Politics: Is the Three Models Approach Still Valid After Two Decades?

Bernardine Jones, Adrian Hadland

Media and Communication, volume 12, issue 7723 (2024), 12 pp.

"When Hallin and Mancini (2004) produced their watershed three models theory, South Africa was a new democracy barely a decade old. Even then, along with other countries of the Global South, the experience of a young democracy posed certain critical challenges to Hallin and Mancini's understanding o ... more

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

Vibrant Information Barometer: Europe & Eurasia Deep Insights

An unbroken spirit: Afghanistan exiled media since the Taliban takeover 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

Vibrant Information Barometer: Europe & Eurasia
Deep Insights

An unbroken spirit: Afghanistan exiled media since the Taliban takeover
Deep Insights