World Press Freedom Day

  Media freedom in Albania suffered in 2021 due to concerns over the further solidification of government control over the flow of information. 14 alerts were recorded with 24 individuals or media entities affected. The independence of the system for media regulation also came under threat, while the establishment of a new government agency which would centralise control over public relations and government information raised further worries about media’s access to information . The MapMF documented a few cases of heavy-handed police action in 2021. In July, journalist Ergys Gjencaj from televi‐ sion channel News 24 was tackled to the ground and detained for an hour after he tried to film an anti-drug operation by police near the Military Academy in Tirana. The police also roughly pushed Gjencaj’s colleague Klodiana Lala and obstructed both from filming. In a serious case in November, reporter Anila Hoxha from Top Channel and her colleague Endrit Aga of A2CNN TV had their lives ...

  2021 was a pivotal year for media freedom in Poland , as the government continued its multi-pronged efforts to weaken critical and independent media. The MapMF re‐corded 24 violations of media freedom , including 42 attacked persons or entities related to the media. The major flashpoint was the effort by the Law and Justice (PiS) party to pass a controversial media ownership law that would have forced the sale of U.S owned TVN, the country’s largest broadcaster and a long critic of the ruling party. The bill was eventually vetoed by President Duda following inter‐ national condemnation and high-level U.S pressure, puncturing PiS’ legislative plans. However, new SLAPP lawsuits and seri‐ ous criminal sanctions and a media black‐ out caused by a government-imposed state of emergency at the Belarusian bor‐ der posed serious challenges.  Systematic legal harassment of independent media in Poland continued in 2021, as PiS officials and their allies continued efforts to bury criti...

  Serbia is the candidate country with the second highest number of alerts , following Turkey. In total, 35 attacks affecting 55 persons or entities related to media were registered in the reporting period. As evidenced by the MFRR fact-finding mission organised in January and February 2021, media professionals continue to operate in a highly polarised environment. The data confirms the findings of the mission report , published in April 2021. Verbal attacks, intimidation, online harassment, and legal threats are the main issues affecting journalists in the country.  The country's political and ethnic polarisation is reflected in attacks against journalists who critically report on the ruling Serbian Progessive Party (SNS or President Vucic’s family .arious cases show that radical nationalism endangers the safety of journalist s. Pro-government media were the source of – or incited – attacks against journalists in five cases, for instance by discrediting critical media out...