European broadcasters face political 'counter-reformation'

Broadcasting across Europe, particularly in the east but also in Italy, is undergoing a "counter-reformation" - a backsliding towards overt political control after the post-Cold War period, when leaders relaxed their grip on TV and radio, warns a new report.

In a survey of the European broadcasting landscape presented in Brussels on Wednesday (18 March), the Open Society Institute found that many public broadcasters are heading into the economic crisis deeply underfunded and unable to m...