A presentation from CMPF Director Pier Luigi Parcu, explaining the method behind the Media Pluralism Monitor at the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom.

1. Media Pluralism Monitor (MPM) in
EU 28 and Candidate Countries
- Centre for Media Pluralism and
Media Freedom -
Pier Luigi Parcu, Director CMPF/EUI

2. Objective:
a comprehensive but easily applicable tool to assess
risks for media pluralism in a given country

3. MPM
• co-funded by the European Union
• run by the CMPF at the European University Institute
(EUI)
…research and policy hub in Florence, Italy (EUI) focused on
the protection and promotion of media pluralism and media
freedom on national and EU/international level.
…research and policy hub in Florence, Italy (EUI) focused on
the protection and promotion of media pluralism and media
freedom on national and EU/international level.

4. A short academic history of the MPM
1. 2009: Starting point - Independent Study on Indicators for
Media Pluralism in the Member States – Towards a Risk-Based
Approach by KU Leuven, JIBS, CEU, Ernst&Young
2. Simplification, operationalisation, focus on news and current
affairs, consideration of internet related risks of the MPM by
the CMPF at the EUI (co-founding by the EU)
3. 2014: First Pilot testing in 9 EU countries
4. 2015: Second Pilot testing in 19 EU countries
5. 2016: MPM application in EU28, Montenegro & Turkey
6. 2017: MPM application in EU28, Serbia, FYROM & Turkey….
7. 2018: MPM application + digital enlargement and refinement

5. The CMPF Method to estimate the MPM
• Comprehensive questionnaire:
• 4 areas - 20 indicators - 200 variables (qualitative and
quantitative)
• National expert teams (except for Italy and Malta)
• Primary sources and secondary data (e.g. Eurostat,
GMMP)
• Interviews (e.g. experts in media literacy, for minorities)
• Peer review (Group of Experts in all countries)
• Online platform for data collection
• Algorithm to calculate the risk (balance between legal,
economic and socio-political variables)

6. Risk-based approach
Traffic light concept
Risk can be found:
–High
–Medium
–Low

7. The MPM 4 Areas
• Basic Protection
• Market Plurality
• Political Independence
• Social Inclusiveness

8. MPM2016: Key
findings 1
Basic Protection
Basic protection of media pluralism in EU countries in principle is well
established in the Constitutions and in the laws
Implementation however is far from optimal and risks remain widespread
The journalistic profession is often under-protected and subject to the
pressure of legal, economic and political threats
Market Plurality
Media ownership is highly concentrated in practically all EU countries
Lack of transparency of media ownership is an issue in many countries
Editorial autonomy - one the most vulnerable aspects for an effective and
independent media systems, remains exposed to both commercial and
political influences

9. MPM2016: Key
findings 2
Political Independence
Many of the national media authorities face strong political pressures
(appointment procedures and budgetary allocations)
The independence of PSM in many countries is under important and
continuous threats of government and of political parties
Social Inclusiveness
There are low levels of media and digital literacy in majority of countries
Many of the minorities residing in the EU do not have adequate access to
media
None of the countries scored low risk on the representation of women as
subjects and sources in news

10. MPM2017 for EU28, Serbia,
FYROM & Turkey
...coming soon. Today
preliminary results for Malta...

11. Future of the MPM: expanding the ability to measure
risks in the digital world
MPM NOW
Freedom of expression online
and the role of ISPs
Digital safety of journalists
Market concentration of ISPs
and ICPs
Net neutrality
Media literacy
Online political advertising
during electoral campaigns
NEXT MPM
Algorithm-driven media services
– political & social bias
Filter bubbles
“Fake news”
Concentration of digital
advertising (intermediaries)
Social media and democratic
electoral process
Inclusion in the digital world

12. Many thanks for your attention!
For more results, visualizations and country reports visit:
http://cmpf.eui.eu/media-pluralism-monitor/
Email: cmpf@eui.eu pierluigi.parcu@eui.eu
@CmpfEui @Plparcu