I would like to start with the positive. 

The Council of Europe understands the role of public service media in upholding the fundamental right of freedom of expression, through their mandate to inform, educate and entertain every citizen. A recent EBU survey found that public service media are also considered the most trusted source of news in 91% of European markets. On top of that, the Committee of Ministers has a strong track record in its support of the role that public service media play in democracies. So, I’d like to believe that I am among friends here. 

But even so, and despite many resolutions supporting public service media, we keep seeing thinly veiled attempts to turn public service broadcasters into state-controlled media. And this is, sadly, very much the case in Council of Europe Member States where the independent governance and funding of public service media is under constant pressure. At a time of war, polarisation, disinformation, climate change, and socio-economic challenges, independent and trustworthy public service media have never been more important. 

So, the question I’ve been considering in preparation for this talk is: where to go from here? Initially, this took me in many different directions: do I focus on journalist safety? After all, across Europe, public service media employ 45,000 journalists of which 51% are women. And threats to their safety are a top priority. But I think the others here today can (and have) elaborated on that better than I could. 

Then I thought of the online threats to media freedom that algorithms, disinformation and AI pose. These also need urgent safeguards. But then I remembered the title of the Platform for Journalist Safety’s annual report this year, which is Press Freedom in Europe: Time to Turn the Tide. Because we have not gone so far yet that we can’t stop the erosion of media freedom and journalist safety.

The recommendation in that report that I would like to highlight is to ensure editorial independence and institutional autonomy, to provide stable and adequate funding, to enable a governance system with independent supervisory bodies for public service media. Like many of the recommendations, this is a very broad and sweeping statement and can’t necessarily be actioned just like that.

But I don’t want you to leave this meeting empty handed and, if possible, I would like to inspire you with a ‘try this at home’ idea. When you return to your countries, I would like you to watch your public service media news and assess it for yourself, do you trust what is being said? Is it independent, balanced and informative? If not, it is time to start asking questions and using Council of Europe recommendations to support these enquiries. 

We are beyond a time where we can just sit and watch. We need action—action from all of you gathered here today—to ensure that there is media freedom and respect for journalist safety for the generations to come.