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This in-depth article by EUobserver journalist Leigh Phillips comments on a draft report of the European Parliament’s Culture Committee about concentration and media pluralism in the EU. It was adopted by the Committee on June 3rd and the report will now be submitted to the plenary assembly within the next few weeks. As stated by Phillips, its main recommendation is for the European Commission and EU member states to apply competition law to the media to ensure media pluralism. Its other major recommendations include the creation of media pluralism ombudspersons… Lire la suite »The European Parliament to Advocate Media Pluralism and Blogging Transparency

Sweden is considered as a leader of the information society. The country boasts one of the best broadband networks in the world, 80% of households have an internet connection and it is heading towards progressive policies on file-sharing (thanks to rightholders in particular). In addition, Sweden has taken the transparency lead in the European Union as it has successfully convinced its partners to implement principles of government openness in the functioning of EU institutions since it entered the EU in 1995. A law passed on Wednesday, however, appears as a… Lire la suite »Sweden and the Information Society: A Step Backward

Here is a short review of a conference entitled “The Media Under Control” that took place at Sciences Po last thursday. The first speaker was Hervé Bourges, former director of the public TV network (France Television) among many other things. He gave an interesting account of the way French politicians, ever since De Gaulle’s presidency in the 1950’s, have exerted a strong control over the media (all State-owned) until the complete deregulation in 1986. Then came Alain Finkielkraut, a rather conservative philosopher, who spoke not about the control of politicians… Lire la suite »The Media Under Control ?