Politische Diskurse und investigativer Journalismus in Südosteuropa. (German)

Political Debate and Investigative Journalism in Southeast Europe. (English)

Moldova ranks number 118 in the Freedom House global press freedom ranking of 2011, sharing the place with Georgia and Malawi. Turkey is listed number 112, together with Bangladesh and Congo. Bulgaria finds itself ranked place 77, Serbia place 72. The assessment conducted by Reporters without Borders barely differs. In the four Southeast European states - Bulgaria being a European Union member since 2007 - the media is considered to be partly free, if at all. Analysing the recent case law of the European Court of Human Rights holding violations of media freedom, which is protected under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the stories behind these rankings come to light. The Strasbourg Court proves to be the ultimate guarantor of the essential freedoms of expression and the media that constitute any democratic society. Nevertheless its jurisdiction needs to be critically reviewed: The Court tends to interpret political debates too narrow and occasionally demands a professional media conduct that cannot be guaranteed under the limitations that investigative journalism in the afore-mentioned countries faces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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