By: Ya'el McLoud
Table of Contents
Introduction
Literature Review
Background
How Sweden, Hungary, and Ecuador differ in their media landscapes
Comparative Analysis
Conclusion
Bibliography
Introduction
“Three Estates in Parliament; but in the Reporter’ Gallery yonder, there sat a Fourth Estate more important than they all.” – Edmund Burke
Journalism is often referred to as the fourth estate because it is as inherent to democracy as the governing branches. Journalism, specifically watchdog journalism, holds people in power accountable through reporting back to the public. Because of this aspect of reporting back to the people, the public perception of journalistic institutions affects how well these institutions can work as the fourth estate, and therefore how strong a democracy is. When there is corruption, a lack of independence, or bias within journalistic institutions, this affects how people in democracies of different stages can work within their states. Journalism’s influence, whether negative or positive, permeates every level of culture, politics, and society in a democratic state.
Journalism is a foundational aspect of democracy; it is one of the most important checks on government because it allows the public to evaluate more clearly what their elected officials are doing and hold them accountable. Because of this dynamic of checks and balances within democracies, the health of journalistic institutions is a good indicator of the strength of a democracy. To better analyze public perceptions’ effect on journalistic institutions’ ability to work as the fourth estate I will identify three levels of strength in democracies and see how public perception and journalistic institutions work within those states as checks at each level. Those classifications will be regressive, progressive, and stable democracies.
These classifications are derived from the Freedom House’s report and classification of “free,” “partly free,” and “not free,” states. Freedom House has an extensive methodology for analyzing political and civil liberties based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.[1] Regressive democracies within this rubric can be identified as democratic states that have lost their free status and slid into the “partly free” classification. To juxtapose this, progressive democracies are states that recently went from a “partly free” to “free” classification. Finally, stable democracies are states that have maintained the same high score in a “free” classification for many years.
Within this paper’s scope, I will be focusing on Sweden as a stable democracy, which has maintained a perfect 100/100 score since 2017.[2] Ecuador will represent a progressive state, as the state earned its “free” status as of 2022.[3] Finally, Hungary will be analyzed as a regressive democracy as it lost its “free” status and was relegated to “partly free” in 2020 and has not since regained its “free” designation.[4]
To clearly see the effect that public perception has on the health of journalistic institutions and how that affects democracies, I will analyze journalistic institutions in Ecuador, Hungary, and Sweden and the efficacy of journalism’s role as watchdogs within these democratic states. There are many aspects of journalism that can influence public perception such as news literacy, social media use, cultural norms, and concerns regarding access. But much like governing bodies, journalism is only as effective as the public trusts the institutions. In this paper, I will focus on watchdog journalism and analyze how news literacy, independent news media, and quality of news coverage, including editorial or sensationalized news versus hard news coverage, have affected people’s ability to achieve a democratic process within their state. Furthermore, I hope to explore how public perception of journalism within democratic states of different levels of health affects the strength of those democracies in a more comprehensive manner.
[1] “Freedom and the Media Research Methodology.” Freedom House, https://freedomhouse.org/freedom-and-media-research-methodology. Accessed 15 Dec. 2022. [2] https://freedomhouse.org/country/sweden/freedom-world/2022 [3] “Ecuador: Freedom in the World 2022 Country Report.” Freedom House, https://freedomhouse.org/country/ecuador/freedom-world/2022. Accessed 15 Dec. 2022. [4]“Hungary: Freedom in the World 2022 Country Report.” Freedom House, https://freedomhouse.org/country/hungary/freedom-world/2022. Accessed 15 Dec. 2022.
Literature Review
Extensive quantitative and qualitative studies on journalism’s efficacy as the fourth estate exist, but very few take a comparative approach to applied cases of journalism’s ability to act as a check within democracies that are experiencing different levels of strength. Furthermore, while there is a depth of literature on journalistic beliefs regarding public opinion, there is little research on how public opinion affects journalism’s ability to function as the fourth estate. One article from Journalism Studies reveals how journalists can be affected by public perception. “Participatory journalism’s roots are grounded in democratic norms, but journalists have struggled to adopt new practices without sacrificing important values like objectivity and independence.”[5] Wolfgang reflects on the struggle between the public’s control over journalism and trained journalists’ need to create and disperse objective, truthful, content as a public service role.
There are also many books and articles on the importance of journalism as a democratic institution arguing that it should legally be elevated within the domestic and international political sphere. In Wiebke Lamer’s book “Press Freedom as an International Human Right,” Lamer argues that journalism and freedom of the press are so inherent to democracies and are so effective at reporting human rights abuses that they should be elevated to a human right.[6]
Similarly, Chris Wiersma argues that journalism and freedom of the press should be expanded under the European Court of Human Rights[7]. Wiersma also implies that there are judicial and public limitations imposed on journalists based on the perception of “good or bad” newsgathering tactics and that this has a negative effect on their ability to work as a check on the government and act as watchdogs[8]. Freedom of expression is explicitly protected under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. While freedom of expression implies journalism and access to journalism in all of its forms, the existence of journalistic institutions is not, of itself, cited as a human right.
Scholars like Lamer take great issue with this lack of distinction. “It is the press that has the facilities to shine the light on those in power. The individual right to freedom of expression, on the other hand, does not automatically grant access to public institutions.” [9] Again, Lamer explores the lack of power granted to one of the greatest democratic institutions which has worked tirelessly in every political system to give information and power back to people.
The fact of the matter is that belief in the integrity of a system is in large part what gives that system its power. When journalistic institutions are not operating in an ethical, independent, and objective manner, then the public may see fit to cast them aside in favor of media sources like social media and editorial pieces.
One of the limitations of my work may be the fact that there are so few similar pieces of work. While there is a depth of scholarly literature on journalism and democracy, there is a dearth of scholarly work on how public perception of journalism affects journalists’ ability to work in a watchdog public service role. This is what distinguishes my work and research from that other scholarly work.
There is a covenant of sorts between watchdog journalism and the public. When that covenant, based on accountability and non-biased, objective reporting is damaged through restrictions or a lack of standards, then one of the most inherent and important checks on government may falter in its ability to act as the fourth estate and, through its weakness, damage a democratic state as a whole.
[5] Wolfgang, J. David. “Commenters as Political Actors Infringing on the Field of Journalism.” Journalism studies (London, England) 20, no. 8 (2019): 1149–1166. [6] Lamer, Wiebke. Press Freedom as an International Human Right. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2018. [7] Wiersma, Chris. “Scoping the Journalists’ Freedom to Conduct Newsgathering at the European Court of Human Rights: A Step Toward a More Human Rights-Based Approach to the Coverage of ECHR Article 10?” Communication law and policy 26, no. 4 (2021): 507–557. [8] Wiersma, Chris. “Scoping the Journalists’ Freedom to Conduct Newsgathering at the European Court of Human Rights: A Step Toward a More Human Rights-Based Approach to the Coverage of ECHR Article 10?” Communication law and policy 26, no. 4 (2021): 507–557. [9] Lamer, Wiebke. Press Freedom as an International Human Right. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2018. pp. 22-23.
Background
When considering how journalism is inherent to democracy, it is important to analyze journalism’s efficacy as the fourth estate historically and at present. It is also necessary to explore how the public gathers and interprets news and information. In this section, I will look at the history of journalistic institutions, their rights, and their protections; this will include an analysis of the limitations of current human rights protections for press freedom and journalists. Then I will analyze how international standards of practice for journalism are remarkably similar across the world.
To look at the beginning of the relationship between a free press and democratic states, it is most prudent to look at the American and French revolutions. Press freedom allowed the dissemination of political information such as the Federalist Papers to the public. This was in part when the founding fathers and other democratic revolutionists began to wield the press as a weapon to unite people toward a communal goal. “A free press is central to the relationship between governing authorities and people.”[10] The press’s contribution to the community led the founding fathers to lean on press freedom and the British monarchy to censor newspapers. Virginia was the first state to formally protect press freedom, led by James Madison who wrote “The freedom of the Press is one of the greatest bulwarks of liberty, and can never be restrained but by despotic governments.”[11] This system of beliefs that rallied around the liberty given to the masses through the press was then ratified in the United States Constitution in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights. Other democratic countries were not far behind the new United States in recognizing the inherent power and liberty of the press.
Sweden was the first country to officially protect freedom of the press in their constitution in 1766. [12] The country slowly evolved from an absolute monarchy to the current constitutional monarchy where the monarchy is now figureheads. Sweden is now in the top three countries in the world for press freedom[13] and ranked in the top two countries for democratic strength.[14]
Freedom of the press has been challenged since the first newspapers began to be distributed in mass. Because of these challenges and because of its importance to democracies and citizens when the UN ratified the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, Article 19 outlined the protection of freedom of opinion and “to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” [15] The main issue with Article 19, however, is it does not distinguish freedom of opinion/expression from freedom of the press. The most necessary and profound check on government is not explicitly included in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), nor is it included in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966 (ICCPR). While both the UDHR and ICCPR state in their preambles that their goal is to defend people’s political and civil rights, one of the best protections of those rights and greatest protectors against human rights abuses, press freedom, is not mentioned explicitly but rather falls into an inferred category. The importance of explicit protection for journalism is nicely illustrated by the Arab Spring, which began largely on social media platforms where the masses have complete control. However, it was not until formal news outlets such as Al-Jazeera started reporting that the movement began to mobilize millions.[16]
While individual democracies seem to know that freedom of the press as oversight is important, there strangely is still a lack of regard for freedom of the press in the international arena. This is especially concerning because journalists oftentimes are the people who go into areas that are experiencing human rights violations and document these violations. Furthermore, laws and standards in the international and domestic spheres indicate how vital freedom of the press, as distinct from freedom of expression, is to democracies and people’s rights. Constitutions throughout the democratic world have specific protections for freedom of speech and freedom of the press as separate entities. Organizations like Freedom House have separate indicators for freedom of the press and freedom of speech and expression. Many other widely respected democratic watchdog groups like the Global State of Democracy Initiative look at indicators for both freedoms of expression separate from freedom of the press. Again, it appears as if the UN, which is the most prominent international governing body, is one of the only institutions to not explicitly outline protections for freedom of the press or respect it for what it does. Freedom of the press is the best tool democracies have to communicate with the public and it is the best way for the public to hold their elected officials accountable for their actions.
Finally, it is vital to look at why it is reasonable to compare different countries when it comes to journalistic institutions. The ideals and methods of journalists are widely standardized. The journalistic ideals of objectivity, accountability, transparency, and truth carry throughout many different cultures. Organizations like the International Federation of Journalists have established a reach in every part of the world, working with standards that promote truth, fact-checking, and accountability work with public officials. But the most glaring evidence that the ethics and vision of news is standardized is the fact that newspapers in every country widely have the same goals, subjects, and similar coverage and language. To see this clearly within the scope of this paper I looked at major newspapers in Ecuador, Hungary, and Sweden. Each one of the newspapers analyzed showcased the same news qualities in their front-page stories. Ecuador’s newspaper El Comercio’s first headline revealed the news on an ongoing case where a police officer was being charged with femicide. The work highlighted how the police would be charged and the ongoing process that the judicial branch would be taking in building a case against him.[17] In Hungary, The Budapest Times revealed coverage of the assembly’s 2023 budget and coverage for the upcoming 2024 election.[18] One of Sweden’s top newspapers, Dagens Nyheter front-page story was on security in Ukraine and what that means now for Russians and Ukrainians.[19] This is not just simply cherry-picked political news from each website, each online newspaper for each country’s top story on a random day was a political accountability story. Values for what is news and how news should be reported are universal in that journalists seek out stories people need to know to work better in democracies.
[10] Lamer, Wiebke. Press Freedom as an International Human Right. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2018. pp. 10. [11]Editors, History com. “Freedom of the Press.” HISTORY, https://www.history.com/topics/united-states-constitution/freedom-of-the-press. Accessed 15 Dec. 2022. [12]A Brief History of Press Freedom | Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/story/250-years-of-press-freedom. Accessed 15 Dec. 2022.
[13] Sweden | RSF. https://rsf.org/en/country/sweden. Accessed 15 Dec. 2022.
[14]“Sweden: Freedom in the World 2022 Country Report.” Freedom House, https://freedomhouse.org/country/sweden/freedom-world/2022. Accessed 15 Dec. 2022.
[15]Nations, United. “Universal Declaration of Human Rights.” United Nations, United Nations, https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights. Accessed 15 Dec. 2022.
[16] Lamer, Wiebke. Press Freedom as an International Human Right. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2018. pp. 23.
[17] Juez Dicta Medidas Sustitutivas Contra Subteniente de Policía En El Caso María Belén Bernal - El Comercio. https://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/seguridad/juez-prision-preventiva-subteniente-bernal.html. Accessed 15 Dec. 2022.
[18] “Hungary Archives.” The Budapest Times, https://www.budapesttimes.hu/category/hungary/. Accessed 15 Dec. 2022.
[19] Winiarski, Michael. “Michael Winiarski: Säkerhetsgarantier för Ukraina har visat sig vara värdelösa.” DN.SE, 15 Dec. 2022, https://www.dn.se/varlden/michael-winiarski-sakerhetsgarantier-for-ukraina-har-visat-sig-vara-vardelosa/.
How Sweden, Ecuador, and Hungary differ in their media landscapes
Hungary:
When it comes to media landscapes there are a handful of criteria that indicate the state’s media is a healthy environment that supports a thriving democracy. Freedom House measures free and independent media by looking at both state- and self-censorship, any pressure or surveillance that journalists face, policies in place that restrict or attack journalists for watchdog journalism, how varied the ownership of the media is, whether they act independently from their owners, and gender-specific issues female journalists face.[20] All of these factor into the analysis of the political, civil, economic, and social barriers a media landscape may pose to press freedom. This analysis is particularly important because in the last decade press freedom has reached its lowest point in 13 years. Currently, only 13% of the world’s population enjoys full press freedom.[21] However, it is important to note that this statistic may be slightly misleading because states like China, which contain almost 20% of the world’s population, are notoriously not-free environments for the press.[22] Many other countries, such as Hungary, face challenges to freedom of the press.
Hungary, a backsliding democracy, has limited press freedom with policy changes, state censorship, and compounding control over independent news platforms.[23] As well as being considered a regressive democracy as it lost its free status, Hungary has largely consolidated 500 national and local media under the KESMA foundation which is state-owned and controlled.[24] Further, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), has labeled the current Prime Minister Viktor Orban a “press freedom predator,”[25] this ominous term was earned due to control over the media landscape and the unfair economic and legal measures he has taken against independent media. Orban has also been accused of using Pegasus spyware against journalists.[26] All of these factors and more have led to its designation as a regressive democracy.
There are still some independent watchdog organizations in Hungary. In particular, Atlátszó has been operating as a non-profit for 11 years and follows all traditional watchdog news standards, with transparency and accountability at the forefront of their mission.[27] In fact, the name Atlátszó means ‘transparent.’[28] Atlátszó was chosen as part of an anti-corruption group which was a condition of Hungary continuing to receive EU funds due to their troubling democratic backsliding. Atlátszó has no advertising funds and has been a key component of holding the government accountable for the way it spends EU funds, and was one of the highest sought sites during the COVID-19 pandemic, with its readership jumping 133%. Atlátszó is highly read. One case study reported around 15% of Hungary’s daily internet users visited the website at least once a month.[29]
The government banned medical professionals from speaking to the press during the COVID-19 pandemic. Atlátszó, however, was able to receive leaks and published accurate data on COVID rates. With new policies in place regarding “fake news” Atlátszó must be very careful with what they publish. “The Hungarian government passed new legislation that reporters say is being used to deny journalists access to information and could see them jailed for up to five years if convicted.”[30] This has increased self-censorship which is another of the indicators carefully watched by Freedom House and other democratic NGOs.
Governmental policy in Hungary has increased the danger to journalists for reporting on sensitive issues or performing watchdog journalism. According to the 2022 Freedom House report, journalists are reporting increased rates of self-censorship with around 13.8% of journalists saying that they avoided writing certain stories for fear of retaliation.[31] Furthermore, censorship laws during COVID-19 included vague language that allowed the government to punish journalists that report on news that could be deemed as scaremongering or relating to homosexual or transsexual people.[32] Vague language within policies such as these allows the government to take a wide interpretation of news coverage they deem damaging. This is in part why organizations like Atlátszó are being very careful with what information they publish.
More and more previously independent Hungarian news outlets are being bought by pro-government entities with a corresponding increase in pro-government editorials.[33] All of these factors have contributed to Hungary’s regressive democratic standing. Hungary lost its “free” status with the Freedom House and has dropped from 92/180 in 2021 to 85/180 in 2022 according to RSF, which tracks the safety of journalists and overall press freedom strength in every country in the world.[34] Furthermore, public opinion and trust in Hungary’s news outlets have been declining. Hungarians seem to have a fairly similar level of news literacy as the rest of the EU, but Hungarians report they are encountering fake news “often” or “very often” is 6-12% more than the rest of the EU.[35] Hungarians also have very low trust in news overall, at around 30%.[36] This is concerning because when there is a valid lack of trust in the news media, people cannot make informed decisions and may feel less like they can hold their government accountable in elections when they do not have the right information or all of the information.
So, what does this all mean for Hungary and for other regressive democracies? Mounting economic and political obstacles for Hungarian news sources paired with the extreme state control over pro-government media paints a rather dreary picture of their democracy. Public trust is on the decline for news sources. When the best check on democracy is attacked in this manner, how do people continue to hold their elected officials accountable? Hungary has had a history of lacking government transparency since before it lost its status as a “free” democracy; in large part due to a lack of transparency surrounding the spending of funds, specifically EU funds, and some reports that public funds were going to organizations run by the president’s allies.[37] The government also only provides funding to institutions that publish favorable reports of the government. Overall, the Hungarian government has created an environment in which it is not economically or legally feasible to perform watchdog journalism or hold it accountable for spending or legislation. Public opinion also reflects this mistrust, while the majority of EU countries reported their most trusted source of news to be Public television and radio stations, Hungarians reported that their most trusted news sources were people, friends, and social media.[38] This is concerning because trust in their most trusted source is only 24%, according to a survey conducted by the Reuters Institute.[39] Hungarians also do not believe that their voice counts in their country. Between 20 and 35% of Hungarians either “tend to disagree” or “totally disagree” with the statement that their voice matters in their country.[40] This illustrates that when there is a lack of journalistic objectivity and transparency in a country then people will believe that they have less voice and say in their country and less power within their democracy.
[20] “Freedom and the Media Research Methodology.” Freedom House, https://freedomhouse.org/freedom-and-media-research-methodology. Accessed 15 Dec. 2022. [21] “Press Freedom’s Dark Horizon.” Freedom House, https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2017/press-freedoms-dark-horizon. Accessed 15 Dec. 2022. [22] World Population Clock: 8 Billion People (LIVE, 2022) - Worldometer. https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/. Accessed 15 Dec. 2022. [23] “Press Freedom’s Dark Horizon.” Freedom House, https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2017/press-freedoms-dark-horizon. Accessed 15 Dec. 2022. [24] Hungary | RSF. https://rsf.org/en/country/hungary. Accessed 15 Dec. 2022. [25] Hungary | RSF. https://rsf.org/en/country/hungary. Accessed 15 Dec. 2022. [26] Hungary: RSF Warns against New Draconian Measures of Prime Minister Viktor Orban Who Remains Careless about Press Freedom Concerns | RSF. https://rsf.org/en/hungary-rsf-warns-against-new-draconian-measures-prime-minister-viktor-orban-who-remains-careless. Accessed 15 Dec. 2022. [27] “About Us.” English, https://english.atlatszo.hu/about-us/. Accessed 15 Dec. 2022. [28] Kelly, Tara. “Why Átlátszó Tried to Forecast, and Not Just Visualize, COVID-19 Cases in Hungary.” Poynter, 15 July 2020, https://www.poynter.org/business-work/2020/why-atlatszo-tried-to-forecast-and-not-just-visualize-covid-19-cases-in-hungary/. [29] Kelly, Tara. “Why Átlátszó Tried to Forecast, and Not Just Visualize, COVID-19 Cases in Hungary.” Poynter, 15 July 2020, https://www.poynter.org/business-work/2020/why-atlatszo-tried-to-forecast-and-not-just-visualize-covid-19-cases-in-hungary/. [30] Kelly, Tara. “Why Átlátszó Tried to Forecast, and Not Just Visualize, COVID-19 Cases in Hungary.” Poynter, 15 July 2020, https://www.poynter.org/business-work/2020/why-atlatszo-tried-to-forecast-and-not-just-visualize-covid-19-cases-in-hungary/. [31]https://freedomhouse.org/country/hungary/freedom-net/2022 [32]“Hungary: Freedom in the World 2022 Country Report.” Freedom House, https://freedomhouse.org/country/hungary/freedom-world/2022. Accessed 15 Dec. 2022. [33]“Hungary: Freedom in the World 2022 Country Report.” Freedom House, https://freedomhouse.org/country/hungary/freedom-world/2022. Accessed 15 Dec. 2022. [34] Hungary | RSF. https://rsf.org/en/country/hungary. Accessed 15 Dec. 2022. [35]Media_&_News_Survey_2022_FL011EP_factsheet_hu_en.pdf [36] Bogner, Eva. “Hungary.” Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/digital-news-report/2021/hungary. Accessed 15 Dec. 2022. [37]“Hungary: Freedom in the World 2019 Country Report.” Freedom House, https://freedomhouse.org/country/hungary/freedom-world/2019. Accessed 15 Dec. 2022. [38]file:///C:/Users/yaelm/Downloads/Media_&_News_Survey_2022_FL011EP_report_en.pdf [39] Bogner, Eva. “Hungary.” Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/digital-news-report/2021/hungary. Accessed 15 Dec. 2022. [40]EP_Eurobarometer_96.2_Autumn_2021_Report_en.pdf
Sweden:
In stark contrast to Hungary, Sweden has the highest rate of agreement of all nations with the statement “my voice counts in our country” at 64%.[41] Furthermore, 86% of Swedish respondents said that they are satisfied with the way their democracy works, as of 2021.[42] Sweden has many independent news organizations. Unfortunately, they are controlled by a limited number of individuals, but news organizations still operate with high levels of independence and objectivity. Sweden offers many legal protections to journalists through their Freedom of Press and Freedom of Expression acts.
These protections are also available to internet sites that register as press sites.[43] Among Swedish households, 50% subscribe to newspapers. The Swedish government subsidizes all newspapers regardless of political affiliation in order to protect the press from economic downturns.[44] All of these factors are especially impressive when considering that 85% of the world experienced a decline in press freedom between 2017 and 2021.[45] Overwhelmingly, Sweden has tools that promote healthy civic spaces and is one of the strongest democracies in the world. Not only does the government offer great levels of transparency, but the press is also able to report in several different minority languages, giving broader access to all citizens.
It is important to mention that the RSF one of the foremost press freedom watchdog groups in the world did report that in 2022 the Swedish Democrat political party blocked access to journalists on their election night.[46] The Swedish Democrats are the second-largest political party in Sweden and leaders of the party have been known to speak out against journalists and the media. This party’s fast rise to power came about due to the increase in Muslim refugees, their platform is largely built on ‘alternative news,’ populism, and anti-immigration policies. As this political party rises to power in the parliament it will be very important that they do not continue to undermine traditional news sources, as that could hurt the overall well-being of Sweden’s democracy.[47] Fortunately, with Sweden’s robust media, high levels of trust, and high levels of confidence with their democracy, Sweden for now will remain to be a highly stable democracy in which freedom of the press is rigorously protected.
[41]EP_Eurobarometer_96.2_Autumn_2021_Report_en.pdf [42]EP_Eurobarometer_96.2_Autumn_2021_Report_en.pdf [43]“Sweden.” Media Landscapes, https://medialandscapes.org/country/sweden/policies/regulatory-authorities. Accessed 15 Dec. 2022. [44] Bogner, Eva. “Hungary.” Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/digital- news-report/2021/hungary. Accessed 15 Dec. 2022. [45] Journalism as a Public Good | World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development: 2021/2022 Online Report. https://www.unesco.org/reports/world-media-trends/2021/en/journalism-public-good. Accessed 15 Dec. 2022. [46]Sweden: RSF Asks the Country’s Second Biggest Party to Stop Undermining Press Freedom and Right to Information | RSF. https://rsf.org/en/sweden-rsf-asks-country-s-second-biggest-party-stop-undermining-press-freedom-and-right-information. Accessed 15 Dec. 2022. [47] Tomson, Danielle Lee. “The Rise of Sweden Democrats: Islam, Populism and the End of Swedish Exceptionalism.” Brookings, 25 Mar. 2020, https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-rise-of-sweden-democrats-and-the-end-of-swedish-exceptionalism/.
Ecuador:
Ecuador has had a highly contentious relationship between the executive branch and the legislative since at least 2007 when former-President Rafael Correa took office and began his decade-long war with the independent press. However, once Correa left office in 2017, the relationship between the government and the press began to slowly be repaired. In Ecuador, freedom of the press is especially important because the judiciary, the other significant check on the government in a democracy is quite weak. In its 2022 Freedom House report rule of law received only 8/16 points on checkpoints such as “Is there an independent judiciary?”[48] While the press is the best way for the public to hold the government accountable the best way for governments to check their own power is through the judiciary. So, when the judiciary is weakened it is even more vital for the press to be protected and act as a watchdog.
Ecuador was able to increase its freedom score from 67/100 to 71/100 in just a year, but this reflected years of work in areas like press freedom.[49] This can be seen in the evaluation and report by other organizations like RSF, Ecuador went from 96/180 in 2021 to 68/180 in 2022.[50] In one survey conducted by Latinobarometro it revealed in 2020 that 39% of respondents had little trust in the media; but to put this in context confidence in the national government was even lower at 34-55% of the respondents saying they had little to no trust in the national government.[51] This in part indicates how necessary every check on government is, transparency and accountability are vital components to any democratic government but the press is in large part what allows for that relationship with the public.
One of the biggest challenges currently to freedom of the press in Ecuador is The Organic Law on Communication, passed under former-President Correa in 2013, this law was widely seen “as the most serious setback for freedom of the press and expression in Latin America’s recent history.”[52] This law allowed for discrimination against journalists which was deemed anti-government by the oversight committee that was created by the law simultaneously. Fines were given out to independent newspapers for “not following government orders.”[53] However, the new administration has taken great strides in addressing this bill completely overhauling it.[54]
Ecuador’s media landscape is now defined by its attempts at progress, reforming The Organic Law on Communication and exercising less oversight with government and privately owned media companies. It still has lots of work to do for the safety of journalists who have been physically threatened or killed more frequently since 2019.[55] But with its recent moves in strengthening its democracy and allowing the press to operate more independently with less intimidation from the government, Ecuador is looking like many other progressive democracies.
[48]“Ecuador: Freedom in the World 2022 Country Report.” Freedom House, https://freedomhouse.org/country/ecuador/freedom-world/2022. Accessed 15 Dec. 2022. [49] “Ecuador: Freedom in the World 2022 Country Report.” Freedom House, https://freedomhouse.org/country/ecuador/freedom-world/2022. Accessed 15 Dec. 2022. [50] Ecuador | RSF. https://rsf.org/en/country/ecuador. Accessed 15 Dec. 2022. [51] Latinobarometro. https://www.latinobarometro.org/lat.jsp. Accessed 15 Dec. 2022. [52]https://freedomhouse.org/country/ecuador/freedom-net/2022 [53] Higuera, Silvia. “With a New Communication Bill, Ecuador Seeks to Completely Abandon the Legacy of Its Restrictive Predecessor.” LatAm Journalism Review by the Knight Center, 15 Sept. 2021, https://latamjournalismreview.org/articles/with-a-new-communication-law-ecuador-seeks-to-completely-abandon-the-legacy-of-its-restrictive-predecessor/. [54] Higuera, Silvia. “With a New Communication Bill, Ecuador Seeks to Completely Abandon the Legacy of Its Restrictive Predecessor.” LatAm Journalism Review by the Knight Center, 15 Sept. 2021, https://latamjournalismreview.org/articles/with-a-new-communication-law-ecuador-seeks-to-completely-abandon-the-legacy-of-its-restrictive-predecessor/. [55] Ecuador | RSF. https://rsf.org/en/country/ecuador. Accessed 15 Dec. 2022.
Comparative analysis:
Democratic growth has largely become stagnant and freedom of the press has experienced declines over the past eight years.[56] Freedom of the press is the best check that people have for their governments, but when a government attacks the integrity and independence of news organizations, public opinion and trust will decrease further weakening democratic institutions. To more clearly see the effect that public opinion, freedom of the press, and democratic institutions have on each other it is useful to compare three countries of varying democratic strengths. A regressive, progressive, and stable democracy.
Hungary has been defined by the consolidation of its news organizations and its declining trust in traditional forms of news. Ecuador has had a tumultuous past but is one of the few democracies to be making active strides to further protect its press which has been under attack since 2007. Finally, Sweden an incredibly stable democracy has faced challenges with a new political power rising to power and attacking its news agencies. How do each of these democratic states handle the best check on government differently, and what do they do the same?
In Ecuador and in Hungary the main problem began with the Presidents being actively unfriendly to the press, and undermining their integrity. Ecuador the progressive democracy was able to remove former-President Correa through an election in favor for a more favorable president to civil and political liberties. This allowed Ecuador to advance as a democracy in some regard but especially with freedom of the press. However, the executive branch is still attempting to have some oversight with popular newspapers, which has been widely condemned.[57] Regardless, Ecuador is starting on the path to a stronger democracy with a healthy independent free press, this is particularly important in Ecuador because their judiciary is weak and in large part unable to check the executive or legislative branch effectively.[58] Hungary in stark contrast has elected a leader, Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who is extremely unfriendly towards press freedom. Orban has enacted legislation that allows for fines and prison time if independent newspapers publish something deemed “fake news” or “scaremongering.” [59] While there are outlets still operating independently as accountability and transparency organizations, around 80% of news outlets are now actively pro-government media outlets.[60]
Hungary and Sweden both guarantee press freedom in their constitutions. However, Sweden has made freedom of expression clear and distinct from freedom of the press which allows for greater individual protections and protections for the press.[61] The connection between a country's status as regressive, progressive, or stable and the way that their freedom of the press operates is quite obvious. Hungary a regressive democracy is working to have more authority and control over freedom of the press and making it challenging through taxation, licensing, and legislation to work as independent from the pro-government message they wish the press to give. Meanwhile, public opinion and trust in Hungarian democratic institutes are declining, further damaging the independent press’s ability to work as a watchdog on the government.[62] When the masses lose trust in their news institutions it leads to a breaking in the democratic covenant between media and the public that allows for the media and people to have power over their government.
Ecuador as a progressive democracy has many of the same faults as Hungary but is working to address them, as this happens other checks on government are simultaneously becoming more independent as well. This allows people to have more trust in their government and in their news institutions. Ecuador’s current and former presidents both worked to repair the relationship between the government and the press, this will lead to more trust in the news organizations and then more oversight by the people of the government leading to a stronger democracy.
Sweden stands as the difference and example of a stable democracy within this comparison. Freedom of the press and freedom of expression are protected as distinct entities which allow for the press to have greater rights and abilities to act in the public interest. Going forward it will have to be careful, but the culture and tradition of press freedom are incredibly strong within this country. There are many independent media forms and trust in media is one of the highest in the world. However, with the rise of the right-wing Swedish Democrats, it will be important that the tradition continues to be protected and that a culture of undermining the press is not protected or established by the harmful rhetoric of the party.
[56] McMann, Kelly M., and Daniel Tisch. Democratic Institutions and Practices and the Impact on Covid-19 Outcomes: Global State of Democracy 2021 Thematic Paper. International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, 2021. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.31752/idea.2021.86. [57]“Ecuador: Freedom in the World 2022 Country Report.” Freedom House, https://freedomhouse.org/country/ecuador/freedom-world/2022. Accessed 15 Dec. 2022. [58]“Ecuador: Freedom in the World 2022 Country Report.” Freedom House, https://freedomhouse.org/country/ecuador/freedom-world/2022. Accessed 15 Dec. 2022. [59] Hungary | RSF. https://rsf.org/en/country/hungary. Accessed 15 Dec. 2022. [60] Kelly, Tara. “Why Átlátszó Tried to Forecast, and Not Just Visualize, COVID-19 Cases in Hungary.” Poynter, 15 July 2020, https://www.poynter.org/business-work/2020/why-atlatszo-tried-to-forecast-and-not-just-visualize-covid-19-cases-in-hungary/. [61]“Sweden: Freedom in the World 2022 Country Report.” Freedom House, https://freedomhouse.org/country/sweden/freedom-world/2022. Accessed 15 Dec. 2022. [62]EP_Eurobarometer_96.2_Autumn_2021_Report_en.pdf
Conclusion:
With democracy’s growth stagnating, and in some states backsliding, it is more important than ever to realize the power and special public importance of a free press. “Its role is to protect the masses from the age-old reality that power corrupts and the conviction that those in charge of running the government consequently require an outside checking mechanism that holds them accountable to the public whose interests they are representing.”[63] Powers’ ability to corrupt clearly shows in both the regressive and progressive democracy, where the executive, legislative, and judicial branches moved to crush freedom of the press through legal and economic avenues. While Hungary continues to worsen it is incredibly important now to have the international community clarify and elevate freedom of the press from freedom of expression. Freedom of the press must be elevated to a human right in order to protect the sovereignty of people within democracies and in other more authoritarian states.
Further, it is necessary that people across the world are taught to be news literate and that every country protects freedom of the press within their constitution. Strong democratic states like Sweden protect the freedom of the press meticulously through legal, economic, and cultural avenues. It is vital that the public understand that the press is an entity that can protect them regardless of what the government is doing and give them more power and a voice. In order to do this, states must be willing to give economic support through subsidiaries and educate their citizenry as to how news can be read and understood as a right and as a source of accountability. It is vital more now than ever that NGOs and states work together to ensure freedom of the press is elevated above harm so that news agencies can work independently in every state as a voice to the public to hold governments accountable within their positions of power.
[63]Lamer, Wiebke. Press Freedom as an International Human Right. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2018. Pp. 41
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