Posted on 12 September 2019
Media pluralism is essential to democracy and the European Commission 2019-2024 intends to use the Media Pluralism Monitor (MPM) to help safeguard it. The MPM is a project of the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (CMPF), directed by Professor Pier Luigi Parcu, at the EUI’s Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies.
In a mission letter on the 10th of September 2019, President-elect Ursula Von der Leyen instructed Věra Jourová, Vice-President-designate for Values and Transparency, to use the MPM 'to identify risks to plurality in the media sector'.
Dr Elda Brogi, the MPM’s scientific coordinator said: 'Von der Leyen’s instructions show the relevance of EUI research in contributing to a more democratic Union. The Media Pluralism Monitor is a research tool that was designed to identify potential risks to media pluralism in the European Union and inform actions to protect it.
In its fourth report, the 2017 Media Pluralism Monitor, the CMPF reported general stagnation or deterioration in all of the four major areas encompassed by the monitor: basic protection, market plurality, political independence and social inclusiveness.
The CMPF carries out regular monitoring in all EU Member States and in selected candidate countries. The CMPF Team is currently implementing the MPM 2020 in the 28 EU Member States, Turkey and Albania. The MPM tool has been revised to better reflect the risks related to information pluralism online.
The CMPF's 2019 summer school for journalists and media practitioners dealt with 'political campaigns in the age of data, algorithms, and artificial intelligence'.