Dragomir on Media Freedom in Dutch Newspaper NRC

“The main concern about freedom of the press in Eastern Europe is the growing media capture”, says Marius Dragomir, Director of Center for Media, Data and Society in the article “This Is How You Wring the Critical Press in Central Europe” published by Dutch newspaper NRC.

The article covers the struggles of independent media in Hungary, the smear campaigns against journalists, the complete control over public media and how government restricts media freedom through advertising. According to the article, this strategy is replicated in other Eastern member states of the European Union.

“Governments use affiliated oligarchs to take over media and use them as propaganda channels. It leads to a monopoly of information by a small, corrupt elite that uses the media support to secure elections and, indirectly, access to public resources”, says Marius Dragomir in the article.