The AEJ has published surveys of media freedom across Europe since 2007.
The first in November 2007, Goodbye to Freedom? was edited by William Horsley, AEJ media freedom representative, and debated at the AEJ’s 2007 annual Congress in Dublin.
The following year on 28 February 2008, the AEJ published an updated survey entitled Goodbye to Media Freedom? which was presented to the Brussels-based press corps in the Résidence Palace building opposite the European Commission by Horsley.
The survey was further expanded in November 2008 in the Collection of AEJ Reports from AEJ national sections- presented to the 2008 AEJ annual Congress in Linz, Austria, with further presentations made at AEJ annual congresses in 2009 in Maastricht, 2010 in Ordu, Turkey, 2011 in Bucharest, Romania and 2012 in Offida, Italy.
The original survey covered 20 countries in eastern and western Europe and highlighted evidence that media freedom in Europe was threatened by restrictive laws, hidden political and commercial pressures, threats of jail, intimidation and in some cases even murder.
The updates contained new evidence from 15 countries that media freedom was in retreat because of widespread violence, censorship, meddling in broadcasting, commercial pressures and security laws.
AEJ media freedom representative William Horsley charged European governments and EU institutions with complacency and put forward three remedies for repairing the damage done to media freedom and independence. He argued that journalists should inform the public better about the dangers, and return to the “gold standard” of objective reporting and proper scrutiny of the actions of governments.
AEJ Media Freedom reports
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2015
AEJ International on media freedom
AEJ alerts on media freedom
