Media Pluralism in the Digital Era: Legal, Economic, Social, and Political Lessons Learnt from Europe

Bringing together scholars, journalists, and researchers from 27 European countries, this book provides a comparative and longitudinal analysis of the evolution of conditions and standards relevant for sustainable, free, and plural media and journalism in Europe in the last ten years.

Approaching the challenging and ever-changing concept of media pluralism from various complementary and sometimes conflicting angles, combining legal, economic, social, and political perspectives, chapters provide a holistic account of the concept of media pluralism, a key condition for a well-functioning democracy. This book draws on data from the Media Pluralism Monitor project, a scientific tool designed and implemented on a regular basis to document the health of media ecosystems, to provide insights into central dimensions of media systems across the EU and candidate countries. These include:

• the fundamental protection of freedom of expression and safety of journalists and the independence of media authorities;
• market plurality, transparency of ownership, media concentration, media viability, competition enforcement, and digital platforms’ dominance;
• disinformation, media literacy, and digital challenges;
• political independence, conflicts of interest, editorial autonomy, and the independence of public service media;
• social inclusiveness, including access to media and representation of women and community media.

Offering a comprehensive overview of key areas of EU media policy, causes and solutions for the media economic struggle, and innovative examples of business models for journalism in the digital age, this book is recommended reading for advanced students and researchers of media policy and regulation, as well as policymakers.

Elda Brogi is part-time Professor at the European University Institute and Scientific Coordinator of the EUI’s Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (CMPF). She has worked at the CMPF since its establishment and initiated and developed the implementation of the Media Pluralism Monitor. Her main interests span constitutional, European, media and internet law. She holds a Ph.D. in Public Law and Constitutional Law from the University La Sapienza, Rome. She teaches Communication Law at the University of Florence.

Iva Nenadic is Assistant Professor at the University of Zagreb’s Faculty of Political Science and a Research Fellow at the European University Institute’s Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom. She has been a part of the central team for the Media Pluralism Monitor, overseeing methodological improvements and regular implementations since 2016. From 2016 to 2023, she led the implementation of the MPM in the area of Political Independence. She specialises in researching the intersection of technology and journalism, media policy and regulation, platform governance, as well as topics like computational propaganda and disinformation.

Pier Luigi Parcu, is part-time Professor at the European University Institute since 2010. He is the founder and the Director of the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom whose flagship project is the Media Pluralism Monitor. He is also the Director of the Centre for a Digital Society. In the field of media, his research focuses on the democratic and economic challenges associated with digital platforms, as part of his broader interest in innovation dynamics in the digital economy and in emerging technologies.