Interview: Romanian media face crisis of confidence

KAS expert Christian Spahr: "Only 20 percent believe in independence of media"

The head of Media Program South East Europe of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) discusses trends in the Romanian media landscape and comments upon two new KAS studies in an interview for the radio show "Medienmagazin" of the German public broadcaster "Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg" (rbb).

Only one in five Romanians believes the media are free

Opinion poll commissioned by the KAS Media Program

The majority of Romanians (52 percent) does not consider that the media are independent. One in four is undecided, and only 20 percent express a belief in independent journalism. This is the result of an opinion poll commissioned by the KAS Media Program. This also shows that daily newspapers have only limited remaining significance. The Internet is increasingly more important for political information.

Serbian Access to Information Law scores high

But journalists ask for better application

The Serbian Access to Information Law tops an international ranking and sets a high standard. The Media Program South East Europe of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung wanted to know, which experiences Serbian journalists have in practice when requesting information from public authorities.

Albania thrives, situation in Bulgaria deteriorates

KAS Media Program about the latest Press Freedom Ranking of "Reporters Without Borders"

The latest ranking by “Reporters Without Borders” (RWB) shows both positive and negative developments in South Eastern Europe. The country making best progress is Albania. The strongest deterioration of media freedom was observed in Bulgaria. Romania achieved the overall best score in the region (rank 45 of 180 worldwide), Macedonia the worst (123). More information in the press release:

Only one in seven Bulgarians thinks the media are free

Study commissioned by the KAS Media Program

60 percent of the inhabitants of Bulgaria deny that the media are independent. Many are undecided, only 14 percent explicitly believe that reporting is free. This is the result of a study commissioned by the KAS Media Program. It also shows that daily papers have almost entirely lost their significance for Bulgarians.

Interview: Internet promotes civil society

Christian Spahr, head of KAS Media Program South East Europe emphasized the role of the internet for the development of the civil society in a scientific interview.

"It is in Europe’s best interest to integrate the South East European countries as fast as possible"

"Inforadio" interview with media expert Christian Spahr

The European Union’s accomplishments are more than just open borders. They are also visible at a societal level, for instance in form of a balanced media landscape that checks and explains politics, Christian Spahr explains in an interview with the German radio broadcast "Inforadio". The head of the Media Program South East Europe of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung views his task as accompanying the transitions in the countries of South East Europe, bringing together experts and sharing German experiences through dialogue.

Interview: Medien in Bulgarien – Defizite und Chancen

Christian Spahr im Gespräch mit Radio Bulgarien

Der Leiter des KAS-Medienprogramms Südosteuropa fasst im Gespräch mit dem bulgarischen Auslandsrundfunk Tendenzen aus der Berichterstattung vor den Parlamentswahlen 2013 zusammen.

Studio Talk: More Quality for Bulgarian Media

Bulgarian media, over all, did not have particular preferences for certain candidates during the parliamentary election campaign - which was a positive aspect. However, the coverage of the campaign was polarized and factual political issues were dealt with superficially. Better conditions seem to be necessary for more quality in political journalism.

Mediale Strohfeuer

Politische Berichterstattung vor den bulgarischen Wahlen

Der politische Journalismus in Bulgarien war bis zum Rücktritt der Regierung Borissow erstaunlich übersichtlich – viele sehr positive und wenige sehr negative Nennungen der Spitzenpolitiker, aber wenig Zwischentöne. Auch bei den Demonstrationen im Februar und im Wahlkampf haben die Medien ihr Potential als Hilfe zur Meinungsbildung nicht ausgeschöpft.