European Media Policies Revisited: Valuing and Reclaiming Free and Independent Media in Contemporary Democratic Systems (April 2010- March 2013)
MEDIADEM is a European research project which seeks to understand and explain the factors that promote or conversely hinder the development of policies supporting free and independent media. The project examines the complex array of policy approaches and the regulatory instruments that govern the media in 12 EU countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Romania, Slovakia, Spain and the UK) and two EU candidate countries (Croatia and Turkey), exploring their effects for media freedom and independence. The selection of these countries testifies to the diversity of European media policy-making and reflects the multiplicity of regulatory, co-regulatory and self-regulatory approaches followed or in need to realise media freedom and independence. Regulation and its design are placed in the domestic socio-political context while external regulatory pressures deriving from the action of the European Union and the Council of Europe in particular, are also analysed in detail.
The projects seeks:
- To understand the nature of media freedom and independence in today’s complex media environment, as well as its importance for democracy
- To explore the formulation and implementation of media policies in 14 countries and identify the factors that exert an influence throughout the process
- To identify the full array of the policy processes and regulatory models and instruments that support media freedom and independence
- To evaluate and explain variable patterns of media policy-making from a cross-country and cross-media comparative perspective in order to identify best practices for the promotion of free and independent media
- To engage directly with the policy community and civil society in order to reflect on appropriate policy responses to the challenge of realising media freedom and independence.
- To develop concrete policy recommendations for state and non state actors, the European Union and the Council of Europe, regarding the development of policies which foster media freedom and independence.
The project is a joint interdisciplinary effort of a team of 14 partners. The MEDIADEM partners were selected from different European countries in order to reflect the diversity of European media regulatory models and the wide range of factors that influence media policy design and implementation. The consortium consists of:
- Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP, Greece)
- University of Edinburgh (UEDIN, UK)
- University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM, Spain)
- University of Bielefeld (UNIBI, Germany)
- Centre for Liberal Strategies (CLS, Bulgaria)
- Hertie School of Governance (HERTIE, Germany)
- School of Communication and Media (SKAMBA, Slovakia)
- University of Tartu (UT, Estonia)
- Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV, Turkey)
- University of Jyväskylä (JYU, Finland)
- Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB, Belgium)
- Institute for International Relations (IMO, Croatia)
- University of Copenhagen (UCPH, Denmark)
- European University Institute (EUI, Italy)
Throughout the project, the consortium seeks to disseminate results as broadly as possible and exchange views and opinions on research findings with policy-makers, media actors and civil society.
More information about the MEDIADEM project, the consortium and the research findings can be found here.
Contact person at ELIAMEP: Dr Evangelia Psychogiopoulou, epsychogiopoulou@eliamep.gr
