Introduction
In the past, the media were the central institutions through which public debate was conducted; they were typically constructs organized around nodes of editorial control which had linear relationships with their audiences, reaching them through a one-to-many distribution model. The advent of the internet, followed by social media, facilitated the emergence of a many-to-many, multidirectional and multi-media ecosystem. Familiar forms of media have adapted and evolved, and now jostle for attention and relevance in a much more crowded, noisy and competitive online public arena. While they are still relevant actors in public debate, the media are no longer the central power brokers they used to be. Online platforms, especially those in dominant positions, have emerged as the new gate-keepers of online public debate, through organizational rather than editorial control.
This knowledge package charts the accelerated evolution of the media and the emergence of the new online actors, as well as the laws and policies that seek to govern the new information and communication paradigms. It will show how the principles of the past still hold sway, but have undergone ‘adaptive replication’, to make them fit for present – and future – purposes. Key to this enquiry are the identity, roles, freedoms, duties and responsibilities, technical features of the media. Another key focus is the relationship between the media and an array of other actors in the multi-media ecosystem.
This knowledge package has a central place in the entire curriculum. It builds on the foundations laid in KP1 – Freedom of expression: scope and limits, by examining in more detail the roles played by the media in democratic societies. Media freedom and media pluralism are close cousins and this knowledge package paves the way for further exploration of media pluralism in KP4. Similarly, the present discussion of the complex, partly fragmented and partly overlapping, law and policy frameworks governing the media feeds into the more detailed analysis of new technologies and regulatory approaches in KP6.
Intended learning outcomes
After studying the materials in this knowledge package, you should be able to:
- Conceptualize the media, drawing on insights from different disciplines such as law, communications science and (social) media studies;
- Explain the relationship between freedom of expression and media freedom;
- Synthesize the main principles that shape the European Court of Human Rights’ approach to media freedom;
- Give a critical analysis of how the Court applies and/or adapts its key principles to the digital age;
- Position the European Media Freedom Act in relation to other relevant European regulatory and policy instruments and jurisprudence;
- Identify (general) shortcomings in the existing European framework for media regulation.
Contents and structure
The blogpost explains the importance of the media as institutional public watchdogs. The media are very influential actors in public debate, as we already saw in the blogpost in KP1. The public watchdog role of the media pleads for their freedom, but their power and influence call for (some) regulation. But who are the media in today’s multi-media ecosystem? We need to be able to delineate ‘the media’ in order to discuss how far their freedom should stretch and what level and type of regulation is necessary and proportionate. The blogpost grapples with these questions and explores how freedoms, duties and responsibilities are addressed in regulatory practice. It also positions media in the complex system of multi-media regulation.
The infographic, From medium to multi-media freedoms, presents a selection of the European Court of Human Rights’ case-law on media freedom. The selection is organized loosely around the different types of media that featured in the selected cases: the (printed) press; audiovisual media; and online media. Finally, there is a broader, catch-all category of cases that don’t necessarily involve specific media, but in which the Court has identified principles that affect media freedom in different ways. The infographic has an overtly didactic purpose: it offers a selection of key cases, but does not spell out what the central principles identified in those cases are. It thus promotes ‘active learning’: users can actively seek to identify the central principles themselves.
The video gives an overview of the new regulatory kid on the block: the European Media Freedom Act. This EU-regulation was formally adopted in 2024 and it has filled a significant space in the broader regulatory and policy framework for media regulation at the European level. The video does some scene-setting by describing the political context in which the EMFA was drafted. It sets out the main goals and key focuses of the regulation.
The workbook contains various questions to help you check whether you have understood the key concepts, principles, theories and regulatory and policy instruments set out in this knowledge package. You can use the exercises to engage more actively with the subject matter.
In the reading list you will find a selection of books, articles and other resources – mostly open access – that may be useful to learn more about one or more of the topics covered that have sparked your interest.