Public Service Media (PSM) in Europe are under unprecedented attacks: from Finland to Italy, by way of France, Slovakia, Lithuania and Czech Republic – you name it. On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day (#WPFD2026), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) advocates for public service media as critical democratic infrastructure emphasising that their quality, independence, and robust funding are indispensable for fostering informed and pluralistic debates.
It is a domino effect that has been unfolding before our eyes for several years now: European governments are trying to weaken, undermine or exert greater political control over public service media. Almost everywhere, it is the same rhetoric influenced in the first place by populists and extremists who claim that public service media are left-wing, too expensive and no longer relevant to a general public. In effect since August 2025, the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), which specifically aims to protect and strengthen public broadcasters and their journalists, seems more relevant than ever. But it has yet to prove its worth.
“It is crucial to emphasize that there is no answer to populism, no defense of truth, and no inclusive public debate without journalism. But even within public service media, especially among management, there is often a failure to grasp a key truth: without strong, professional, independent journalism – there is no public service,” said EFJ President Maja Sever, journalist at Croatia’s public service media HRT.
According to data from the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), real-terms funding for public service media in the 27 EU member states decreased by 7.4 percent over the past decade. Budget cuts, end of TV licence fees, decline of advertising revenues, governance restructuring: in many countries, journalists are asked to do more with less.
In France, France Télévisions is facing unprecedented reduced state funding, leading to staff reductions, programme production and creation cuts, and fears of political influence over editorial content, as funding becomes the subject of growing debate. In recent months, a commission of inquiry into the “neutrality, operation and funding of public broadcasting” was initiated by the far-right under suspicion of left-wing bias and lack of neutrality, in an attempt to discredit and erode trust in the public broadcaster. One year ahead of the presidential election, the weakening of France’s public service media appears as the wrong answer.
In Lithuania, LRT is currently facing a major crisis after an audit on its “political neutrality” and funding led to proposals for legislative reforms, including a freeze on LRT’s annual budget for the next three years and change of specific rules governing the dismissal of the Director General.
In theCzech Republic, a new government bill proposes to fundamentally change the funding model of Czech Television (ČT) and Czech Radio (ČRo) without proper consultation, opening the doors for legal uncertainty, external pressure, and the weakening of editorial autonomy.
In Italy, RAI is plagued by the continued government influence over the management, politicised appointments, and the resulting cancellation of shows and exodus of journalists. Over the past year, RAI has also had to contend with further budget cuts, as well as a bill currently under consideration in Parliament aimed at reforming its governance structure.
At the border of the European Union, in the United Kingdom, the BBC has announced its largest round of job cuts in 15 years, while in Bosnia and Herzegovina, BHRT is in existential financial crisis due to a dysfunctional funding model and accumulated debts.
On a more positive note, it is encouraging to see in those widespread public demonstrations in support of public service media in these countries, with so many citizens standing up to defend their public service media against attempts to undermine it. In Switzerland, citizens recently backed a strong independent, high-quality public broadcasting system by rejecting the “SBC Initiative” which sought to reduce the annual media licence fee for the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC).
Public service media must certainly undertake significant reforms to adapt to new information habits and cope with a political environment that is hostile to criticism. The focus should instead be on strengthening professional ethics and transparency, investing in quality information and audience engagement, investigative programmes and pluralistic content, driven by a commitment to act in full transparency and accountability to the public.
That’s the only way public service media will remain an indispensable part of critical infrastructure in an information ecosystem dominated by a few digital monopolies that are (co)responsible for the decline of journalism and journalists.
“Strengthening the role of public service media must be at the top of every democratic leader’s political agenda. It should also feature prominently among every citizen’s priorities as a public good that belongs to all, in an information landscape driven by the attention economy, which tends to give prominence to clickbait, propaganda, and disinformation,” said EFJ Director Renate Schroeder.
On World Press Freedom Day, the EFJ celebrates the indispensable role of public service media as a critical democratic infrastructure, as well as the professionalism of journalists who work there, in an era dominated by social media, where dis- and misinformation spreads unchecked, and rigorous, independent journalism is an increasingly rare good.
Source: EFJ
