After the kitchen talk: Captured, Contested or Reclaimed? The Battle for Media in Central and Eastern Europe

In July, n-ost invited speakers from Hungary, Poland and Czechia to assess the state of the media in the Visegrad Group countries. Currently, we are observing that they are on entirely different political trajectories: there is hope of overcoming authoritarianism in Hungary, sluggish reform after regime change in Poland, the Czech media 'role model' being under threat, and democratic backsliding in Slovakia. The discussion aimed to identify the connections, as well as the distinct challenges, of private and public service media across the region.

Attila Mong, Europe Representative of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), guided the conversation between the audience and our speakers: Helena Truchla, Germany correspondent for Česká televize (Czech Television) and Mateusz Obremski, journalist for Polska Agencja Prasowa (Polish Press Agency).

Topics included the obstacles to reforming public service media and journalists' working conditions. Furthermore, the discussion revolved around the role that constitutional safeguards, institutions, and electoral systems play in protecting media freedom. Finally, the speakers assessed what cornerstones are needed to ensure the continuation of investigative journalism and cross-border journalistic collaboration in the case of government change.