Seriously Balkans - The BiEPAG Talks, episode 19

About this episode

The episode discusses the challenges facing media and press freedom in the Balkans amidst rising political pressures and authoritarianism.

The Predicament of Media and Press Freedom in the Balkans During 2025, press freedom and independent journalism have come under sustained attack. The war in Ukraine, the genocide in Western Asia, and the political rise of extremist parties have all contributed to the erosion of one of the core pillars of democratic societies. In the Balkans, governments with increasingly authoritarian tendencies have for years exerted pressure on non-aligned media, disregarding the very European standards they are expected to uphold as EU candidate states. USAID - the U.S. agency that supported journalists and media organizations worldwide — has been shut down by President Donald Trump. Voice of America has not updated its homepage since March. Radio Free Europe faces a severe funding crisis. N1 and Nova TV continue to operate under intense political pressure. And in July, the region’s largest media outlet, Al Jazeera Balkans, abruptly closed without a clear explanation. So, is media pluralism in the Balkans under attack? And what does escalating political pressure mean for journalists - and for the public? Host: Giorgio Fruscione, BiEPAG member I Italian institute for international political…

People in this episode

Host: Giorgio Fruscione

Guests: Lejla Mazlić, Slobodan Georgiev

Topics covered

• media freedom
• journalism
• political pressure
• Balkans
• democracy
• authoritarianism

Keywords

• press freedom
• independent journalism
• Balkans media
• political pressure
• USAID
• Al Jazeera Balkans
• N1
• Nova TV
• Radio Free Europe

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: USAID, Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, N1, Nova TV, Al Jazeera Balkans

Places: Balkans

More episodes of Seriously Balkans - The BiEPAG Talks

• Mining & Real Estate in the Balkans: Is Corrosive Capital Western now? · May 14, 2026 · 47 min
• A Change in Hungary: What does this mean for relations to the Balkans? · April 28, 2026 · 33 min
• The Student Protest Movement in Serbia: What does the Future hold? · February 27, 2026 · 30 min
• The Western Balkans under Trump · January 19, 2026 · 38 min
• Seriously Balkans - The BiEPAG Talks, episode 20 · December 31, 2025 · 27 min
• Seriously Balkans - The BiEPAG Talks, episode 18 · December 11, 2025 · 38 min