Media independence: a common good under threat in pursuit of a European public sphere

Islands of democratic resistance, a counterbalance to the imposed uniform narratives, places where alternative voices can be heard: every day the independent media helps to foster a space for debates that are as diverse as they are beneficial. The assaults that the independent media faces from all four corners of Europe – from the concentration of ownership in the sector, to the stranglehold of certain political regimes and the crushing weight of social media with its unrelenting power – mean that supporting and linking them is more crucial than ever.

European Lab Brussels has been following the growth of the European independent media since its inception, and will this year showcase a two-day programme devoted entirely to the scene. Thought out in collaboration with Bozar and Sphera Network, part of Nuits sonores and European Lab Brussels, the forum offers two full days that will be a reminder of how crucial it is for the cause of independent media to join forces with that of independent cultural structures, which are subject to the same pressures, such as the appetite of large private groups, the excess power of the Big Tech and political meddling.

In the 1960s, the communication theorist Marshall McLuhan wrote “The medium is the message”. How should we read this phrase in light of the contemporary European media landscape? What should we think of discourses spread by the media when they are influenced by the forces that are most invested in obscuring information and the most cynical interests, whose activism ferments into seeding extreme polarisation and radicalising schisms, and undermines every theory of social reconstruction, reconciliation or collective engagement on a daily basis? When the content produced and disseminated on the platforms has the sole purpose of capturing our attention? Or when ever-increasing numbers of press outlets are being bought up by a handful of captains of industry, thereby threatening the emergence of new voices, the plurality of ideas and the diversity of viewpoints? To tackle these challenges, there is an urgent need to strengthen the network of active stakeholders, to rethink the alliances between independent ecosystems and tools of public service and the common good, and to call for an essential rebalancing of the power in favour of diversity and the general interest.

This decentralisation of narratives and approaches is at the heart of the latest incarnation of European Lab Brussels. It shines a light on the role played by the independent media ecosystems in fostering the social and democratic debates of our times by considering issues of inclusivity, the importance of pan-European collaboration and resistance to the tech giants. Together with the European networks Sphera and Reset!, it affirms the need to cultivate a less centralised focus. This is an invitation to reflect on the new models that emerging press outlets are inventing; to explore the narratives being conveyed by writing from Eastern Europe; to make way for new generations of journalists who hold the same desire: to collectively shape the future of a fairer and more balanced European public sphere – with total independence.