Second pilot test implementation (19 countries):
Data Collection

The CMPF launched the second implementation of the Media Pluralism Monitor 2015 (MPM2015) in April 2015, and the data collection by local teams ended in July 2015. Prior to the launch of the pilot-implementation in 19 EU countries, which were not tested in the first pilot test implementation in 2014, the CMPF fine-tuned the research tool by analysing the shortcomings of the first implementation, improving the internet indicators, updating the user guide (glossary, descriptions, suggestions of datasets etc.), and strengthening the MPM in order to improve overall reliability and validity of data collection and findings.

Following the fine-tuning of the research tool and the establishment of the local networks, 18 country teams have been collecting data on media pluralism in their respective countries (the CMPF is collecting data on Malta).

Now that the data has been collected, it will be centrally verified by the CMPF team, and over the next few months necessary changes will be made to the datasets - in collaboration with the local teams - to ensure the comparability, validity and reliability of the findings.

Furthermore, in July 2015 a sample of answers and evaluations provided by the country teams is being reviewed by a group of experts from each country. The purpose of the review is to ensure objectivity of measurement of more sensitive indicators.

More info at: http://monitor.cmpf.eui.eu/

Workshop with students from McGill University, Canada

4 June 2015, Florence EUI

Students from McGill University (Montreal, Canada), led by Professor Richard Schultz, visited the CMPF as part of their Florence course on ‘Media regulation in the age of the Internet’. During their visit, the CMPF team presented the Project for the Update and the Pilot Test Implementation of the Media Pluralism Monitor 2015, and organized a workshop on measuring media pluralism and media freedom.

Summer School for Journalists and Media Practitioners: ‘Freedom and Pluralism of Traditional and New Media’

25 – 29 May 2015, Florence EUI

The 4th edition of the CMPF’s Summer School for Journalists and Media Practitioners gathered 26 young media professionals from 18 European countries in Florence for a week of debates about issues such as freedom of expression, media economy, social and political impacts of journalism, internet freedom, digital and investigative journalism etc.
The Summer School placed particular focus on media freedom and pluralism measurement from both theoretical and empirical perspectives. As part of this discussion, the CMPF team presented the Media Pluralism Monitor 2015, and participants contributed to the discussions on this research tool by sharing their experiences, ideas and points of view on the topic.
The Summer School programme consisted of keynote presentations by distinguished experts and follow-up interactive small group discussions and Q&A sessions. In addition, participants presented short case-studies on media pluralism in their respective countries, thereby also contributing to a better understanding of cross-national similarities and differences in issues related to media pluralism and freedom.
The students were asked to produce a short essay on media pluralism in their countries, according to the MPM indicators. The best articles are published here.

More info at: http://cmpf.eui.eu/training/summer-school-2015.aspx

Training: Meeting with the Media Pluralism Monitor Country Teams

10 April 2015, Florence EUI

Following the first phase of the Media Pluralism Monitor 2015 project, which was devoted to the fine-tuning of the indicators on the basis of the previous project (MPM2014), and after establishing a network of country teams which would implement the monitor in 19 EU countries, the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom organized a training meeting with local teams.
During the meeting, CMPF Director Pier Luigi Parcu presented the Project for the Update and the Pilot Test Implementation of the Media Pluralism Monitor, and the members of the CMPF team explained the logic of the MPM2015 indicators and the methodology of the tool. The aim of the training meeting was to ensure that the variables measuring media pluralism risks are applied with clarity and consistency. The local teams started collecting data and implementing the MPM2015 in mid-April 2015. 

Seminar: The "Fourth Estate" in the "State of Surveillance" CMPF sessions at ‘The State of the Union’

7 May 2015, Florence EUI

The State of the Union conference, organised by the European University Institute (EUI), is an annual event for high-level reflection on the European Union. The conference usually brings together leading academics, policy-makers, civil society representatives, business and opinion leaders confronting the future of Europe. Within the framework of the State of the Union, the CMPF organized a seminar to discuss the impact of mass surveillance on freedom of expression and journalism. The publication of the Snowden files by The Guardian has shown how governments are using mass surveillance in a systematic, indiscriminate and unlawful way. In this context, the role of “the fourth estate” as a pillar of democratic societies is dramatically reduced and neutralized: journalists are controlled, their sources can be easily disclosed, and the impact of news of public interest can be silenced. Mass surveillance is, on one hand, eroding the role of the watchdogs and, on the other, highlighting the importance of whistleblowing. Journalists have to cope with digital mass surveillance and find new ways and methods to safeguard their work and function. The aim of the parallel session was to discuss the role of journalism in a mass surveillance scenario and to gather journalists, representatives of European and International institutions, NGOs dealing with freedom of expression to discuss and share policy remedies to safeguard journalism for democracy.

Chair:

Pier Luigi Parcu, Director of the Communications & Media Area of the FSR and Director of the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom, EUI

Speakers:

Guy Berger, Director for Freedom of Expression and Media Development, UNESCO
Lorena Boix Alonso, Head of Unit for Converging Media and Content Unit, DG Connect, European Commission
Mogens Blicher Bjerregård, President of the European Federation of Journalists
Nicklas Lundblad, Senior Director for Public Policy and Government Relations for Europe and the EU, Google
Stefania Maurizi, Journalist, L’Espresso

Read more at https://stateoftheunion.eui.eu/

Conference/Debate: Monitoring Media Freedom and Pluralism in Europe

31 March 2015, Brussels European Parliament

The CMPF Team presented the main results of the pilot-test implementation of the Medial Pluralism Monitor at the European Parliament, Brussels. Pier Luigi Parcu described the MPM project, Elda Brogi presented the main features and the results of the 2014 implementation over a sample of 9 EU countries, Alina Dobreva the fine-tuning logic of the 2015 pilot-test implementation over the remaining 19 EU countries. The event was hosted by Silvia Costa, Chair of Culture and Education Committee and Claude Moraes, Chair of Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee at the European Parliament.
The podcast of the conference debate is available here

Seminar: The Right to be Forgotten

30 March 2015, Florence EUI

The CMPF, together with the Florence School of Regulation, Communications and Media Area and the EUI Law Department, and in cooperation with the KU Leuven /FP7 REVEAL project, hosted a seminar on “The Right to Be Forgotten”.
The discussion focused on three specific challenges stemming from the Court of Justice of the EU ruling of May 13, 2014, that is: (i) how to strike the balance between the right to information and the right to be forgotten,(ii) the extraterritorial application of the principles established by the ruling, and (iii) the intermediary liability. Each of those challenges was introduced by a speaker and debated by all the others. Judge Marko Ilešič, from the Court of Justice, had the opportunity to make comments and remarks on each topic. The discussion was lively and various approaches and points of view were exchanged. The seminar was held under Chatham House Rule.

More info and related working papers at:
http://cmpf.eui.eu/seminars/right-to-be-forgotten.aspx

Call for Papers: Media Ownership and Financing Transparency

The Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (CMPF) at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies (RSCAS) - European University Institute (EUI) is inviting submissions for its working paper series entitled 'Freedom and Pluralism of the Media, Society and Markets'.

Submissions should address novel research in the field of Media Ownership and Financing Transparency, from any relevant discipline (e.g. law, economy, political science, media studies etc.). Papers focusing on these issues in the context of online and digital media are particularly welcome. Some potential questions we are looking to address include, but are not restricted to:

1. Ownership
   Which factors lead to market concentration? How can we measure it? How can we explain it? How, if at all, should we deal with concentrated media markets? Politicians as media owners – risks and challenges? Who is a better master – the state or corporations – and why?
   
   
2. Transparency
   How can the transparency of media ownership be best ensured? What are the most common/original practices in hiding media ownership structures? Who owns the media – do we know? How, if at all, is transparency of media ownership connected to the trust in the media? How, if at all, should we deal with non-transparent media markets?
   
   
3. Digital environment 
   What are the challenges of measuring media concentration in a digital environment? In what ways might the ownership of internet service providers matter? How, if at all, online and digital media affect media concentration? What are the new challenges of researching media ownership in the digital age?
   
   Papers must be submitted by 1st September 2015 to: cmpf@eui.eu