Problems of European values in media policy

Abstract

Using critical and analytical method, this article explores the status and challenges of the fundamental values in the single European approach to media policy. The aim of the research is to discuss the functionality of defined values: freedom of expression, media pluralism and public interest 30 years after the adoption of the first common regulations in a media field. In the first part of the paper the European values are perceived as (1) conceptual heritage and (2) postulated norms of public policy. The second part of the research focuses on the problems of implementing defined values in (1) commercial media and (2) public media service sector. We conclude that normative values that have been rooted in the contemporary European media policy lose their authority facing the challenges of economic and political interests. Two main causes of this process are: institutional deficit of European media policy and divergent goals of its actors, at European institutions as well as in national arenas.