The original version of this article was published in Italian by the same author on 14 March 2025.
Released in March, the latest annual report on press freedom in Europe was sponsored by the Council of Europe and supported by 15 specialised bodies.
The Council of Europe is an international intergovernmental organization for the protection of human rights. It comprises 46 countries in continental Europe among which was, until 2022, Russia. It is not one of the organs of the European Union, although all 27 EU member states are members.
Titled “Confronting political pressure, disinformation and the erosion of media independence,” the research highlights key challenges to media autonomy and the political impact of information in 2024.
Italy also ends up on the radar for two main reasons: the strategic use of defamation and the further deterioration of RAI’s independence from politics.
The report opens with some recommendations, based on the research conducted and addressed to the Council of Europe, the European Commission and individual Council member states.
According to the report, there is a need for greater vigilance in the process of adaptation of various countries to European standards, recommending above all to take care of the training and protection, both physical and digital, of journalists.
A paragraph is devoted to the legal regulation of defamation. It calls for more protection of journalists from these charges and, conversely, not to protect public figures to the bitter end.
And it is precisely in this that Italy seems to be deficient.
The Palace of Europe, headquarters of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
Hybrid war
The Safety of Journalists platform, created in 2014 through a memorandum between the 15 partner associations and the Council of Europe, allows the organizations themselves to report abuses of press freedom that have occurred in member countries, after verifying the facts and reliability of individual cases.
Compared to the previous year, attacks on the physical safety of journalists increased in 2024, with 483 reports.
On the other hand, those related to detention decreased, which were concentrated in the war zones of Ukraine and then Russia, Turkey, Serbia and Georgia.
Regarding the ongoing Gaza conflict, intimidating actions toward journalists were found in Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom.
The war, the report confirms, has become hybrid and is also being fought with the weapons of information: manipulation of public opinion through censorship and conspiracy have had their effects in the elections in Romania, leading first to the cancellation of the elections and then to the exclusion of the ultra-nationalist candidate Calin Georgescu.
Threats and attacks on newspapers and reporters know no boundaries: China, Russia, and Iran-but not only them-have resorted to repression of critical journalists in other countries as well.
Photo: Canva.
Italy, good but not great
In the research, there is a section titled “Countries in focus,” dedicated to those countries where some negative trends were observed that, according to the study, should be monitored in the coming months.
The states in focus are Slovakia, Georgia and Italy, precisely.
Although the situation is better than in the other two states, according to the research, the beautiful country is the European Union country where the situation deteriorated the most during 2024.
The report’s first reference is to political interference on RAI.
In this regard, the cancellation of journalist Roberto Saviano’s program in 2023 is mentioned as an example.
In addition, according to the Council of Europe, the reduction of the budget available to the public service also contributes to undermining its independence.
Through the platform, four cases of physical aggression and three of verbal intimidation aimed at journalists have been reported in Italy, a small number compared to the amount of defamation complaints, which is instead growing.
In addition to the political influence on RAI – particularly the failure of authorities to respond on top management appointments – it is the political use of defamation that is the most alarming cause for concern, not only for Italy but for all of Europe.
Italy, however, is also on the list of best practices.
In fact, both the system for protecting journalists -especially those who cover organized crime- created in 2017 and the quarterly report that our Ministry of the Interior independently compiles to monitor “Acts of intimidation against journalists” are praised, both of which are considered examples for other states to follow.
RAI headquarters on Viale Mazzini in Rome. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
Journalism in the EU
In a speech to the OSCE, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Guardian journalist Carole Cadwalladr highlighted the impacts of growing tensions between media and government in the United States on the European continent.
Specifically, she alerted about the influence of platforms such as X on the outcome of elections in European countries as well, with consequences that should not be underestimated on the degree of freedom and security in EU countries.
There are many insights induced by the report, which focuses not only on investigative journalism in autocracies and dictatorships.
In fact, it highlights some common problems among European democracies. For example, the intermingling of political activity and media ownership, a recurring feature in Italy as well.
Another cause for concern for the future revolves around the economic sustainability of the new crop of young journalists.
The increasing “uberization” of this profession and the precariousness of contracts, make the up-and-coming – but not only – very fragile and often unable to carry out the profession with continuity and independence.
It should certainly be a worry of the countries of the European Union to enable journalists to make their own ethical and deontological choices in complete freedom.
But the Council of Europe has 46 member countries, so it is difficult to imagine that, in the short term, all of them can conform to the EU’s legislative standards. Standards that, in any case, are not yet sufficient to solve many of the problems of the profession.
