How can politics support investigative and quality journalism?

A free, diverse and responsible press is a core element of any functioning democracy. But covering a potentially interesting story is risky and costly, both for the media organisation and often for the journalists themselves. Even in democratic societies, the personal risks can be very high. We want to debate the state of media freedom in Europe and its importance for democracy, with a particular focus on the financing of investigative journalism.

The Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament has recently commissioned a study from experts at the University of Hamburg who are working on a research report to review the different models of financing investigative journalism. These models range along a continuum from receiving government funds to private funds and are evaluated using a set of criteria including independence, quality, market structure, production processes, sustainability and competitiveness. This study will be presented and discussed during this session.

Organised and co-financed by the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament.