Across the world, public media is at the crossroads. According to the State Media Monitor, a project that covers 157 countries, “84 percent of 595 state and public media outlets worldwide now lack editorial independence”. The perils and pitfalls of this situation have been featured in a new op-ed authored by Marius Dragomir, the Director of…
This report is part of the Media Influence Matrix project initiated by the Center for Media, Data and Society (CMDS) and run as part of the Media & Power Research Consortium. The country reports in the Media Influence Matrix series aim to research the changing landscape of: government and policy space, with a focus on the changes in…
Media Influence Matrix 2020 Slovaks consume news more frequently and in bigger amounts than ever before. They have access to a plethora of publications, news portals, radio and television stations. However, much of that is in the hands of a few powerful financial corporations, closely linked with political groups. Policymakers and regulators lack vision and…
Media Influence Matrix 2020 Slovakia has been a fast adopter of new technologies. During the past decade, internet and mobile penetration in the country has exploded, significantly changing news consumption and access to information. The country has a mobile penetration of over 130%, one of the highest in Europe, as many Slovaks use more than…
Media Influence Matrix 2020 Thanks to the Constitution, Slovaks enjoy freedom of speech. Press publishing is not restricted in any way and censorship is forbidden in Slovakia. However, the Slovak media regulation remains a heavily politicized process that affects the environment in which journalists and media outlets operate, according to the report. “All of the…
Media Influence Matrix 2020 News consumption in Slovakia is high compared to other countries in Europe. More than two-thirds of Slovaks read news portals, newspapers or news magazines in 2017. Slovaks are also avid consumers of television, which remains the most dominant news medium in the country, but radio is also popular. At the same…
Before the Slovak presidential elections last March, the website Zem a Vek published an edited picture featuring Zuzana Čaputová, later elected the country’s president, with a hooked nose and bigger lips, clearly an attempt to make her look more Jewish, as stereotypes go. The picture was taken from the DennikN, a Slovak news portal, and…
Slovakia in Media Influence Matrix Slovaks have access to a plethora of news platforms, but many of them are in the hands of powerful financial corporations, closely linked with political groups. Powerful financial groups such as Penta Investments and J&T, and a handful of magnates including Ivan Kmotrik and Andrej Babis (who is also Czech…
The Slovak news media sector remains captured by powerful financial groups and oligarchs. Blame it on regulation (partly). Thanks to the Constitution, Slovaks enjoy freedom of speech. Press publishing is not restricted in any way and censorship is forbidden in Slovakia. However, the Slovak media regulation remains a heavily politicized process that affects the environment…