Palgrave Macmillan has published Media Pluralism and Diversity, edited by Miklos Sukosd, Robert Picard and Peggy Valcke, and based on a former research project done by CMDS. In the western world, a diverse and pluralistic media landscape is deemed essential for democracy. But how universal is media pluralism as a concept underpinning media policies?

Sejal Parmar, core faculty member of CMDS and Assistant Professor of Law at CEU's Department of Legal Studies has contributed to the Council of Europe's new book, Journalism at Risk, in which ten experts from different backgrounds examine the role of journalism in democratic societies. Is journalism under threat? The image of journalists, as helmeted war correspondents protected by bullet-proof vests and armed only with cameras and microphones, springs to mind. Physical threats are only the most visible dangers, however. Journalists and journalism itself are facing other threats such as censorship, political and economic pressure, intimidation, job insecurity and attacks on the protection of journalists’ sources. Social media and digital photography mean that anyone can now publish information, which is also upsetting the ethics of journalism.