The challenges facing discerning citizenship in a convergent media environment were highlighted by EBU President Jean-Paul Philippot when the High Level Group on Media Freedom and Pluralism met in Brussels.

The group was established by European Commission Vice-President Neelie Kroes to make concrete recommendations on the subject to the European Union.

Mr Philippot said there was a need to maintain high quality journalism in the online environment: 'Public opinion cannot rely on blogs and tweets alone. It needs the point of reference for information provided by public service media (PSM)."
The EBU delegation, jointly led by Director General Ingrid Deltenre, emphasised that adequate funding and safeguards from political interference are crucial to the contribution PSM make to media freedom and pluralism in Europe.
Ms Deltenre presented the declaration unanimously endorsed by EBU Members at the June General Assembly in Strasbourg, identifying the values that unite Europe's biggest union of broadcasters.*

Her suggestion to use media pluralism monitoring indicators adapted to the specific situation of each EU Member State was also favourably received. The EBU was also questioned about its views on the role PSM play in promoting media pluralism,  preserving independence, identifying the risks of media concentration, and whether action at EU level is required.

The Group has met with a broad range of media sector stakeholders and will report to the Commission before the end of the year. A draft policy document is expected to follow.

The European Parliament will present an Own-Initiative report on media freedom standard-setting in October.

Read more about Empowering Society – A Declaration on the Core Values of Public Service Media