How the Media Systems Work in Central and Eastern Europe

Abstract

The chapter provides a comprehensive overview of three decades of media democratic transitions in entire Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Twenty-one post-communist countries in Europe embarked on democratic transformation after the collapse of their respective regimes between 1989 and 1991. Many factors contributed to transformations, such as geographical location, historical experiences and their respective levels of economic and cultural development. Although the concept of CEE emerged from the ruins of European post-communist/post-socialist states, the region is not a monolith with regards to democratic consolidation and European integration. It is quite a varied region with different political standards and levels of economic development. The media systems find themselves operating between a rock and a hard place, or rather between political pressure, leading to politicisation, and economic pressure, leading to commercialisation. These are the two negative tendencies that result in the low quality of the media in CEE countries. Three decades after the collapse of communism, four models of media and politics in the region have emerged in Central Europe: the Hybrid Liberal, the Politicized Media, the Media in Transition and the Authoritarian model.