Media freedom does not only depend on politicians

“World Press Freedom Day”: KAS puts emphasis on the role of media

Press freedom in a country does not only depend on the politics. Christian Spahr, head of the Media Program South East Europe of theKonrad-Adenauer-Stiftung underlines this on the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day on 3rd May.

Democracy needs media pluralism

The EU wide citizens’ initiative for media pluralism was officially launched in Bulgaria with a two-day panel discussion event in Sofia, April 12th-13th.

Silence Or Outrage

How South East Europe’s Media Deal With The Past

Coming to terms with a country’s political past is closely linked to the mass media, as they are the key to changing public opinion. It is only with their support that a general acceptance of democratic structures, not to mention a new perception of history, can be achieved. In South East Europe, this can be seen not only in the way the media deal with the Communist era, but also in their handling of the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s. There is a need to improve both good quality reporting and critical self-reflection on the part of the media.

Studio-Talk: How to assert quality in media?

Good journalism is an important political corrective – this conviction needs to be asserted stronger.

Interview: Press freedom needs diversity

Press freedom does not only depend on politically free space, but also on the internal independence of journalists and on media pluralism.

Free, but Not Independent

The Role of the Media in South East Europe. KAS International Reports 11/2011

Political Communication Management – fundamentals and concepts

New KAS handbook in Serbian language

The book (approximately 360 pages) includes selected contributions of the German language research about conditions, fundamentals and strategic concepts of political communication.

Media and Politics

2009 and 2010 were very eventful years in Bulgarian politics and media. The change of government as well as the transformations on the media market provoked new thoughts on the relationship between media and politics. The research resulted in the anthology “Media and Politics” edited by the Media Program South East Europe of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung and the Media Democracy Foundation. The publication makes clear that media fairly well inform yet they are still far from being a genuine Fourth Estate.

Die Medien in Mazedonien

Zwar garantiert die mazedonische Verfassung Meinungs- und Redefreiheit und die Gesetze des Landes, das mit Macht in EU und NATO drängt, geben auch den Medien Spielraum. Dennoch klagten anlässlich des Welttags der Pressefreiheit im Mai des Jahres zahlreiche Journalisten in Skopje über Missstände – die Abhängigkeit vieler Medien vom Staat, die schlechte Vergütung für Journalisten, Übergriffe auf Reporter. Die Kritik deckt sich mit anderen Erkenntnissen: Dubiose Besitzverhältnisse bei zahlreichen Sendern und Zeitungen des Landes fördern den Opportunismus der Angestellten.

Report on Interethnic Relations in South East Europe

Ms Caroline Hornstein Tomi from the Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar wrote a report on the interethnic relations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia.