Innovation was at the heart of the third edition of the European News Media Forum (ENMF), organised by the European Commission on Thursday 10 November. It was a reminder that without a viable economic model, innovative practices remain out of reach.
The conference opened with a pre-recorded warning from Commission Vice-President Věra Jourová: “Media freedom is not only under threat in war zones.” She said that the Media Freedom Act (MFA) is therefore not intended to regulate content, but to protect the media by “fixing the environment where journalists work” (see EUROPE 13023/1).
However, she recognised that the economic viability of the news media remains a key issue (see EUROPE 13030/27). Although the MFA does not specifically address this issue, the Vice-President recalled the implementation of the action plan to support the recovery and transformation of the media (see EUROPE 12615/2) as well as the launch of the ‘European Newsroom’ (see EUROPE 13015/26).
While MEP Ramona Strugariu (Renew Europe, Romanian), present at the opening session of the ENMF, welcomed the Commission’s measures, she pleaded for more permanent initiatives and for funds for the media not to be left to national governments. “We have repeatedly asked for adequate funding, because in order to support innovation, media need reliable and sustainable funding with guarantees on editorial independence”, she said, pointing out that the media suffered an 80% drop in advertising revenue during the pandemic.
The European Media Forum is an annual meeting of players involved in European media (press, television, radio, etc.) and institutional actors to discuss a major issue in the sector. Following the 2021 edition which was dedicated to security and to the transformation of the industry in 2020, the speakers looked at innovation in all its forms. (Original version in French by Hélène Seynaeve)