The Impact of Media Concentration on Professional ... - OSCE

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<strong>of</strong> Homeland Security, WAN and the World Editors Forumwrote that “the treatment she was subjected to fell far belowinternational standards”. 6Yet it does not need physical violence or overly zealousimmigration <strong>of</strong>ficers to put the Freedom <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Media</strong> and thepr<strong>of</strong>ession <strong>of</strong> journalism at risk. Due to the international financialcrash following the burst <strong>of</strong> the DotCom-bubble and theloss <strong>of</strong> advertisement revenue to the internet, print media acrossEurope are facing growing economic difficulties. In almost everycountry print media titles are threatened with closure. <strong>Concentration</strong>is picking up speed, creating new problems for mediapluralism and diversity.Let there be no doubt, a free and independent press isnever accommodating. It is neither an accomplice <strong>of</strong> those inpower nor is it their hangman. Pr<strong>of</strong>essional journalists shouldnot be guided by personal ideological beliefs or political affiliation.<strong>The</strong>y ought to be critical observers, diligent reporters andan indispensable link between all levels <strong>of</strong> society. In short:pr<strong>of</strong>essional journalists belong to the salt <strong>of</strong> democracy!Yet, instead <strong>of</strong> being nourished, protected and well takencare <strong>of</strong>, pr<strong>of</strong>essional journalism is increasingly seen as a nuisanceto be kept – by any means – on the shortest possible leash.Democracy will not be defended by simply signing up tocarefully edited proclamations, international treaties or evenuniversal charters. <strong>The</strong> defence <strong>of</strong> democracy is a never endingtask: 24-7-365!One <strong>of</strong> these tasks is the defense <strong>of</strong> free and independentmedia and pr<strong>of</strong>essional journalism.1.2 International Legal FrameworkWith the tragedy <strong>of</strong> World War II and totalitarian dictatorship allacross Europe still fresh in mind, the international community18 THE IMPACT OF MEDIA CONCENTRATION ON PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISM
determined Freedom <strong>of</strong> Expression and the liberty to voice,regardless <strong>of</strong> the consequences, one’s personal opinion, as fundamentalhuman rights.Art. 19 <strong>of</strong> the United Nations’ Universal Declaration onHuman Rights rules that “Everyone has the right to freedom <strong>of</strong>opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to holdopinions without interference and to seek, receive and impartinformation and ideas through any media and regardless <strong>of</strong>frontiers”. 7<strong>The</strong> European Convention on Human Rights followed suitstating in Art. 10.1 that “Everyone has the right to freedom <strong>of</strong>expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinionsand to receive and impart information and ideas without interferenceby public authority and regardless <strong>of</strong> frontiers.” 8As this provision, like all the others <strong>of</strong> the Convention, isbinding on all Member States <strong>of</strong> the Council <strong>of</strong> Europe, it islegally enforceable. Legal complaints about infringements <strong>of</strong> Art.10.1 and other individual rights guaranteed by the Convention,after exhausting domestic remedies, can be lodged with the EuropeanCourt <strong>of</strong> Human Rights.<strong>The</strong> 43 members <strong>of</strong> the Council <strong>of</strong> Europe are also committedto working for a strengthening <strong>of</strong> freedom <strong>of</strong> expressionand information and the free flow <strong>of</strong> information and ideasacross borders. 9It has been a long journey since the participant States <strong>of</strong>the Helsinki Conference solemnly declared their intention to“respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, includingthe freedom <strong>of</strong> thought, conscience, religion or belief, for all6 WAN Press Release, 28 October 2003.7 Adopted and proclaimed by the General Assembly Resolution 217 A (III), (10December 1948).8 Council <strong>of</strong> Europe, Rome, (4 November 1950).9 <strong>The</strong> Council <strong>of</strong> Europe, 800 million Europeans (Strasbourg, April 2003).JOHANNES VON DOHNANYI 19
Page 3 and 4: REPRESENTATIVE ON FREEDOM OF THE ME
Page 5 and 6: ContentsPrefaceby Freimut Duve 9Int
Page 7: 6. Conclusions 187AnnexQuestionnair
Page 10 and 11: advertisement is very insecure, mak
Page 12 and 13: industrial lobbying groups still di
Page 15 and 16: 1. The Imp
Page 17: sidents” had been imprisoned. “
Page 21 and 22: co-operate fully with the OSCE Repr
Page 23 and 24: Such independence, however, comes a
Page 25 and 26: and mirror of the
Page 27 and 28: 30 million rely exclusively on info
Page 29 and 30: Unchecked, concentration will reduc
Page 31 and 32: protected, a certain level
Page 33 and 34: indication of the
Page 35 and 36: time, as the concept of</st
Page 37 and 38: It appears, however, that this posi
Page 39 and 40: 1.7 New Threats on the Horizon1.7.1
Page 41 and 42: owns or controls not only the three
Page 43 and 44: Target countries sometimes interpre
Page 45 and 46: independence proposed by the OSCE R
Page 47 and 48: groups to grow. And there is the in
Page 49 and 50: areas of Central a
Page 51 and 52: Directly or indirectly Mr. Silvio B
Page 53 and 54: Yet this simple notion appears to b
Page 55 and 56: newspaper firms. Using the argument
Page 57 and 58: a contribution to democratization a
Page 59: tation of this for
Page 62 and 63: This limitation in no way indicates
Page 64 and 65: press is ridiculous. Journalists co
Page 66 and 67: But these progressive aspects <stro
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Nevertheless, the loss of</
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may well be true for journalists fr
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Is there a works council at your ne
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will go to television, this being t
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Economic revenue (%) Fig. 61234510,
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Good relations with the business co
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Further, how can a newspaper, whose
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Service for civil society (%) Fig.
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The Norwegian medi
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Have you ever been put under pressu
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Do you feel threatened in your posi
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4. Number of Title
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5. Country Reports5.1 Germany5.1.1
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Süddeutsche Zeitung (463,000), Lei
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publisher, the Axel Springer Verlag
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A three directional strategy is wha
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5.1.2 Survey ResultsBacked by tradi
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Cross-ownership has also increased
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Page 107 and 108:
Page 109 and 110:
Understandably all German journalis
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As also seen in Germany, the data p
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5.2.2 Survey ResultsFinland compete
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Newspaper chains were the logical r
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5.3 United Kingdom5.3.1 Country Rep
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• Daily Mail and General Trust: D
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Is there a works council at your ne
Page 125 and 126:
Page 127 and 128:
Page 129 and 130:
Do you feel free to voice and write
Page 131:
Page 134 and 135:
Newspaper reach (%)All Adults 30.1M
Page 136 and 137:
As regards ownership concentration,
Page 138 and 139:
Financial BackgroundDespite the pre
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5.4.2 Survey resultsIf Finnish jour
Page 142 and 143:
of those mini-comp
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for example, is very clear on this
Page 146 and 147:
Page 148 and 149:
5.5.2 Survey ResultsAn anonymous It
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portfolio. In addition, as democrat
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Mr. Berlusconi’s TV advertisement
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5.6 Lithuania5.6.1 Country ReportCa
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is quite remarkable. The</s
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Lithuania is a small country with a
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Another tendency is that newspapers
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Only in 2003, the daily newspaper L
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October 22 2003 was an historic dat
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5.7.2 Survey ResultsSince the end <
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y a mostly anonymous to the general
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On a daily, practical basis there
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Newspaper reach (%)All Adults 15Sou
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so-called “human interest” stor
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indicated that Rodipet applies a di
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5.8.2 Survey ResultsAlthough a smal
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12345Objectivity (%) Fig. 57,114,32
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Strengthening of d
Page 186 and 187:
Page 188 and 189:
emerging CEE countries with regard
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- Create in all OSCE participating
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Organization for Security and Co-op
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1. In which country are you working
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17. Who defines the editorial line
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29. How would you describe the situ
Page 201 and 202:
- This common code of</stro
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Personal and business interestsIt i
Page 205:
Orkla Media’s
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www.osce.org/fomJohannes von Dohnan
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