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Why we tell stories: Reports by journalists from Southeast Europe

Christoph Plate et al.

Sofia: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS), Media Programme Southeast Europe (2026), 149 pp.

"We asked 17 journalists in twelve countries in South East Europe and beyond to write personal testimonies about why they are in journalism in these difficult times. These are media people of all ages and backgrounds, young budding writers, greyhaired seniors, war correspondents, television anchors ... more

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Threats, Disinformation, and Regulations in the European Digital Environment

Katerina Turková, Veronika Macková (eds.)

New York: Bloomsbury Academic (2026), xii, 252 pp.

"In this edited volume, contributors explore the various threats-both security- and (dis)information-related-that are present within the European digital environment, along with the subsequent regulations imposed across the region in response to these threats. Due to the fluctuating evolution of EU- ... more

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Elgar Companion to Building Durable Peace

Paul R. Williams, Ryan Jane Westlake (eds.)

Edward Elgar Publishing (2026), 472 pp.

"This timely Companion explores how peace is negotiated, implemented and sustained in the world’s most challenging conflict zones. Experts who have helped shape negotiations, post-conflict institutions and accountability mechanisms in peace processes across the globe, provide insights through firs ... more

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The Routledge International Handbook of Trauma-Responsive Peacebuilding
Deep Insights

Sara Clarke-Habibi, Cordula Reimann (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge (2026), xxxii, 541 pp.

"This comprehensive handbook offers a multidisciplinary exploration of research and practice at the intersection of trauma and peacebuilding. Highlighting case studies from diverse conflict contexts around the globe, the book offers conceptual reflections and practical illustrations of trauma-sensit ... more

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Perpetrators in Documentaries on Genocide

Julian Koch

Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press (2026), 268 pp.

"Perpetrators in Documentaries on Genocide is a wide-ranging comparative study that analyses how numerous genocides and their perpetrators have been presented in documentary film. Spanning seven 20th-century genocides across three continents and combining interviews with filmmakers, distant reading, ... more

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Oral Histories of Genocide in Bosnia, Indonesia, and Rwanda: Symbolic Violence and Social Death

Erin Jessee, Annie Pohlman

Oxford: Oxford University Press (2026), 408 pp.

"Grounded in extensive oral historical, archival, and ethnographic research in the aftermaths of the Bosnian (1992-95), Indonesian (1965-66), and Rwandan (1994) genocides, this book investigates the symbolic meanings associated with spectacular forms of torture, murder, and mutilation that perpetrat ... more

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Disinformation: A Multi-Disciplinary Analysis
Deep Insights

Lisa Ginsborg, Paula Gori (eds.)

Cham: Springer (2026), xvi, 654 pp.

"This volume provides a multidisciplinary analysis of disinformation and strategies for tackling it. Authored by a diverse group of scholars and experts, chapters in this volume are divided into three thematic sections. The first section delves into disinformation from various disciplinary perspecti ... more

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Handbook of Global Oral History
Deep Insights

Mark Cave, Selma Leydesdorff (eds.)

Leiden: Brill (2026), x, 699 pp.

"The Handbook of Global Oral History inspires the reader to be more open in their conception of what oral history is and how it is applied within a variety of disciplines to unlock meaning in human experience. The book brings together scholars from around the world in the areas ranging from memory s ... more

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Changing Media Landscape, Same Persistent Problems. The Future of the Media in Albania – Facts and Trends

Ilda Londo

Sarajevo; Tirana; Ljubljana: Mediacentar; Albanian Media Institute; Peace Institute; South East European Network for Professionalization of Media (SEENPM) (2025), 33 pp.

"Analysis of media in Albania and mapping of main trends through credible, regular, and complete data is a problematic endeavour. However, the data available show that it is safe to say that challenges for professional journalism remain formidable in Albania. Full formality of the media market has n ... more

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Precarity and Political Pressure: Addressing Challenges Underming Media Freedom in Croatia

Article 19 Europe (2025), 20 pp.

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Media Bias, Legislative Challenges, and the Fight for Freedom. The Future of the Media in Serbia – Facts and Trends

Valentina Sigeti, Teodora Koledin

Sarajevo; Novi Sad; Ljubljana: Mediacentar; Novi Sad School of Journalism; Peace Institute; South East European Network for Professionalization of Media (SEENPM) (2025), 50 pp.

"Alongside the rise of new technologies and the evolving global conditions in the media industry, journalism and media in Serbia will face numerous challenges, particularly in the areas of basic media freedom and journalist protection, based on the findings of this research: • There is no reliable ... data on the number of journalists in Serbia, or how many of them are women or members of marginalized groups. • Media ownership in Serbia is highly concentrated, particularly in the television broadcasting sector, which affects media reporting. Channels with national frequencies often align their narratives with the government’s or ruling party’s agenda. • The state and ruling party demonstrate tendencies to control the media. This is evident in the newly updated law that allows business companies engaged in electronic communications, such as the state-owned Telekom, to own media outlets. Additionally, findings indicate that some media owners at the local level are connected to the ruling party. • Media financing is often misused to encourage biased reporting. Public calls for funding are corrupted by GONGO media organizations, which prioritize funding pro-government outlets; state advertising is not regulated by law, and the media community was left out of the discussion on new advertising laws; despite receiving the majority of its budget from citizens’ subscriptions, the national public broadcaster RTS is still perceived as one of the most progovernment outlets in the country; foreign donors, including the EU, US and UK, provide significant financial support for media projects in Serbia, but there is no transparent data on the total amount of money donated. • National minorities are represented through media outlets funded by National Councils of National Minorities. However, journalists from some of these media outlets work under political pressures and engage in self-censorship. National minorities living in the northern province of Serbia, Vojvodina, are also served by the provincial public broadcaster RTV. RTS does not provide content in the languages of the Bosnian, Vlach and Bulgarian communities in Serbia’s eastern and western regions. Romani and Albanian communities are represented on RTS, but the amount of content is minimal. • Television is the most commonly used source of news and information, with citizens watching up to eight hours of television daily. The most-watched TV news programmes are central-informative political shows on channels with national frequencies, which are widely considered pro-government. • Only 30% of Serbian citizens trust the media. Social media is the least trusted media type, while television is the most trusted." (Executive summary) more

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Story Work for a Just Future: Exploring the Plurality of Knowledge and Method within the Digital Storytelling Community

Antonia Liguori, Philippa Rappoport, Daniela Gachago (eds.)

Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press (2025), xiii, 227 pp.

"[...] new digital formats require people to craft their stories in new ways while capturing the emotion, nuance, and themes of what they remember and what they believe to be significant. They must learn through reflection, questioning, consideration, trial, revision, and feedback—and chapters in ... the book highlight efforts like workshopping at Berkeley’s StoryCenter, the Smithsonian’s Learning Lab, and elsewhere to give people a facility with digital technology to enable them to tell their stories. This is quite a transformation when one considers that for most of recent history the ability to disseminate stories was in the hands of those who controlled the means of story production—publishers, radio stations, and music, television, and movie companies. Now, with widespread digital access, anyone can, at least theoretically, become their own publisher, their own media company, their own distribution center. The locus of creativity and production does not have to be a Hollywood lot or a music studio—it can be, as illustrated herein, a community center, kitchen table, shelter, clinic, library, or school. The democratization of the production process means access to and participation in a much larger civic space. The purpose of Digital Storytelling exemplified in this collection of case studies and examples is not propagandistic or about spreading misinformation and distrust that nefariously aim to destabilize and even undermine societies. Nor is it about somehow imitating human storytelling by using artificial intelligence to entertain and intrigue audiences. Rather it is about encouraging people to tell their story and thus participate in the civic life of their community, group, nation, and the world. It is about their active, vital role in contributing to a larger good that they may enhance, enlarge, or elucidate by fashioning their experiences and lessons into a receivable format. As is apparent throughout the volume’s project descriptions and free-flowing conversations, Digital Storytelling is young enough that it retains an emergent quality characteristic of a growing form of cultural creativity and expression. Given that digital media will be with us for a long time, one would expect Digital Storytelling to branch out in an increasing diversity of ways, forms, and contexts. And as it grows and diversifies, one would expect its challenges—matters of storyteller privacy and discretion, thresholds of individual and community participation in securing resources and facilities, the underpreparation of participants and the overfacilitation of guides and mentors, limits of copyright and the fair use of digital components, the ethics of dissemination and reactions to reception—to also be addressed in a variety of ways." (Foreword, pages vii-viii) more

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Our Media, Our Democracy, Our Future. The Future of the Media in the Western Balkans and Turkey – Facts and Trends. Regional Overview
Deep Insights

Sanela Hodžic, Sandra B. Hrvatin

Sarajevo; Ljubljana: Mediacentar; Peace Institute; South East European Network for Professionalization of Media (SEENPM) (2025), 57 pp.

"The results of the research conducted in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Turkey suggest that the key determinants for the future of our media and democracies are the following: • The poor socio-economic status of journalists and their exposure to ... pressure and attacks, coupled with modest support mechanisms, cripple the ability of journalists to promote the public interest, report on key issues of public interest, and hold power to account. In the most extreme cases, the pressure involves imprisonment, interrogation, surveillance, and lawsuits aimed at silencing journalists. • The lack of consistent monitoring and registration of cases of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) in the region, with dozens of lawsuits against journalists filed by political officials and their affiliates. • A growing number or media outlets, but a declining number of journalism students, highlighting concerns about the future shrinking of staff numbers in media newsrooms and about the growing automatization of journalism. The most drastic drop was in North Macedonia, with the number of journalism students in 2023 amounting to only 11% of the number from ten years ago and 50% of the number from 2000. • The number of media outlets is growing, mostly in the online sector, while print media outlets are becoming increasingly endemic. • A worrying trend of overt concentration of media ownership in the hands of a few media conglomerates, often tied to national or foreign governments, that takes a toll on media freedom and pluralism. • The dominant instrumentalization (through ownership and funding) of media (including private and public) for particular political and/or business interests limits the space for editorial independence and integrity. • Non-profit media are still a rarity in the region, with only a few non-profit radio broadcasters in some countries, and an unknown number of online platforms of civil society organizations with a community-focused mission. • Lack of transparency of the media sector, particularly a lack of accessible and reliable information concerning the media industry and the media market. • Advertising is the main source of revenues in the media sector, with the total revenues ranging between EUR 12 million in Montenegro and over EUR 4 billion in Turkey. • Although it is declining, the TV sector is still dominant in terms of its share of advertising revenues, while social media’s share is increasing, and in Turkey it amounts to as much as 45.7% of advertising revenues. • The tech giants such as Google and Meta are an increasingly dominant competitor for media outlets in the region, jeopardizing the future sustainability of national and local media outlets and potentially curbing political pluralism in public communication. • Public funding for the media, including funding of public broadcasters (declining in four out of seven countries), grants, and subsidies for media outlets and government advertising, amounts to several to dozens of millions of euros per country, taking up an important share of media revenues, but without proactive transparency, effective guarantees of editorial independence, well-defined purpose and evaluation, the opportunities to make public funding for the media an important instrument of media democratization remain under-used. • The representation of different age, gender, ethnic, religious, and other groups in media content and in the newsrooms’ staff is limited. In multiethnic communities some policies promote ethnic diversity of media content, while other identity axes are largely neglected and pluralism in public communication is very limited. Women are an important, and in many countries even dominant, workforce in the media, but remain underrepresented in managerial posts." (Executive summary) more

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Deprived Media Market, Lw Ethical Standards, Need for Effective Legislation. The Future of the Media in North Macedonia – Facts and Trends

Vesna Nikodinoska, Tamara Chausidis

Sarajevo; Skopje; Ljubljana: Mediacentar; Macedonian Institute for Media; Peace Institute; South East European Network for Professionalization of Media (SEENPM) (2025), 41 pp.

"The following conclusions can be drawn from the data analysis: • The socio-economic status of journalists should be continuously advanced via improvement of working conditions in newsrooms and greater acknowledgement of labour rights on the part of media owners and the state. • Rapid technologi ... cal and information changes impose the need for adapting the ethical and professional standards to the new digital environment, as well as creating specific guidelines for the media and journalists in terms of the use of artificial intelligence. • The interest of young people in studies in journalism, communications, and media is drastically decreasing due to the weak link between studies with the labour market, the poor economic situation in media, and the inherent risks to this profession. It is necessary to modernize the study programmes and curricula which should be in line with the newly emerging environment, as well as making it possible to interlink with the media industry. • Disinformation and non-compliance with ethical standards are often evident in online media, thus there is already a wide discussion in the media community about the legal definition of the status and functioning of the online media. • Ownership transparency in broadcast media is at a high level, which is not the case in internet media, as the latter are outside the legal scope. The legal solution for pluralism in media ownership does not correspond to the new digital environment, therefore changes are needed that will enable development of the media market and industry consolidation. • Funds from the state budget for paid political advertising during elections and public interest campaigns have increased in recent years and represent a significant source of funding for many media outlets. The above increases media dependence on state funds, as well as the possibility of corruption and media clientelism. • Professional media organizations and the civil sector support the idea of establishing a fund for the development of media pluralism, to serve as an independent mechanism for developing projects and contents of public interest. Such approach will encourage diversity, quality, and independence in the media industry. • In the media landscape, there are not enough media and/or programmes that represent ethnic groups, marginalized groups, and persons with disabilities, while non-profit media is one of the most underdeveloped segments therein. Trust in institutions, including in the media, is very low, due to the high level of systemic corruption, disinformation, non-transparency, and weak effectiveness of institutions. • Media literacy is included in formal education as a systemic approach to teaching, but awareness of its importance should be promoted more among all age groups and segments of society. • Transparent and efficient policies, comprehensive analyses, and overarching strategies are needed to cover all segments of the media market, including the digital sphere. The limited media market adversely affects the economic situation of the media, resulting in a lack of evident development of pluralism, diversity, and independence of the media in the audiovisual media sphere." (Executive summary, pages 4-5) more

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Euromedia Ownership Monitor (EurOMo)

Euromedia Research Group (EMRG) (2025)

"The Euromedia Ownership Monitor (EurOMo) has a single mission: enhance transparency of news media ownership and control in European Union countries. It monitors media ownership and control by publishing: databases with information on ownership and control of the most relevant news media in all EU c ... more

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Eroding Media Freedoms, Eroding Democracy. The Future of the Media in Bosnia and Herzegovina – Facts and Trends

Anida Sokol

Sarajevo; Ljubljana: Mediacentar; Peace Institute; South East European Network for Professionalization of Media (SEENPM) (2025), 37 pp.

"Significant changes in journalism and the media have been unfolding in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), yet these shifts have not been accompanied by adequate policies or interventions. This report outlines key trends affecting journalism, media usage, and democracy, highlighting issues crucial for th ... e future of the profession: • The number of journalism students has significantly decreased over the past decade, a trend which could lead to a shortage of qualified professionals in the long run. • Although unemployment among journalists has declined in recent years, 2023 saw a considerable number of journalists lose their jobs due to the non-renewal of fixed-term contracts or being deemed surplus labour. Unionizing remains unpopular among journalists in the country and without protection mechanisms, journalism in BiH risks becoming even more unstable. • Reports of attacks and violations of journalists’ rights have increased in recent years, reflecting a decline in BiH’s rankings on media freedom indexes. • Despite rapid technological advancements, including the emergence of generative artificial intelligence, the media lack guidelines for their use or studies addressing potential abuses in the media. This absence of regulation and oversight increases the risk of misuse and potential harm. • While regulatory and self-regulatory mechanisms exist, they fail to tackle a core issue in the media: biased reporting, which risks becoming normalized in journalistic practices. • The digital era has brought a proliferation of media outlets, including new television channels. The growth of media outlets does not necessarily improve media pluralism, but could lead to smaller newsrooms, increased workloads of journalists and less quality journalistic content. • Print media has been on the decline, and the country’s major political weekly magazines have ceased publication. Without strategic interventions, print media operations will be difficult to sustain in the future. • Media ownership transparency remains unregulated further aggravating media capture. Media outlets are predominantly owned by companies or individuals with business interests beyond the media sector. • The advertising market has grown slightly in recent years, likely influenced by inflation. However, it remains insufficient to support the growing number of media outlets, posing challenges to financial sustainability. • Television still dominates advertising revenue, but online media’s share is steadily increasing, signalling that digital marketing will become increasingly dominant in the coming years. • Public budgets and donor support remain important for sustaining media operations. Without proper regulation, financing from public budgets, however, bring risks to media independence. • Media primarily serve the interests of the three major ethnic groups, excluding minorities from decision-making roles and positions in mainstream outlets, limiting media pluralism." (Executive summary) more

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Fact-Checking Organisations in the Balkans after US Funding Cuts

Manuela Anastasova

Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS), Media Programme South East Europe (2025), 6 pp.

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Challenges and Developments in Public Service Journalism

Alessandro D'Arma, Maria Michalis, Gregory Ferrell Lowe, Michael-Bernhard Zita (eds.)

London: University of Westminster (2025), xi, 297 pp.

"Challenges and Developments in Public Service Journalism, the 11th RIPE Reader, examines the role of public service journalism, as well as the opportunities and challenges of delivering it in today's increasingly complex and competitive digital media environment. The volume is organised in three pa ... more

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The Expanding Media Landscape, Decline in Journalists' Safety, and Low Media Literacy. The Future of the Media in Kosovo – Facts and Trends

Jeton Mehmeti

Sarajevo; Pristina; Ljubljana: Mediacentar; Press Council of Kosovo; Peace Institute; South East European Network for Professionalization of Media (SEENPM) (2025), 32 pp.

"Kosovo enjoys a relatively good legal framework when it comes to the protection of freedom of expression and freedom of the media. Laws concerning protection of journalism sources, protection of whistleblowers, and access to public information appear to be in line with European standards. The overa ... more

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Contesting Copyright: A History of Intellectual Property in East Central Europe and the Balkans
Deep Insights

Augusta Dimou

New York: Central European University Press (2025), xxi, 481 pp.

"The creative sector, including the cultural industry, is key for today’s economy. Copyright has the capacity to x the roles and tasks of the actors involved and determine the direction of cash ows within this sector. The study of the evolution of copyright helps understand and adjust the regulati ... more

The Routledge International Handbook of Trauma-Responsive Peacebuilding Deep Insights

Disinformation: A Multi-Disciplinary Analysis Deep Insights

Handbook of Global Oral History Deep Insights

Our Media, Our Democracy, Our Future. The Future of the Media in the Western Balkans and Turkey – Facts and Trends. Regional Overview Deep Insights

Contesting Copyright: A History of Intellectual Property in East Central Europe and the Balkans Deep Insights

The Routledge International Handbook of Trauma-Responsive Peacebuilding
Deep Insights

Disinformation: A Multi-Disciplinary Analysis
Deep Insights

Handbook of Global Oral History
Deep Insights

Our Media, Our Democracy, Our Future. The Future of the Media in the Western Balkans and Turkey – Facts and Trends. Regional Overview
Deep Insights

Contesting Copyright: A History of Intellectual Property in East Central Europe and the Balkans
Deep Insights