On Our Radar

Spain, Argentina & Germany

11 September 2026

On Our Radar this week: RTVE journalists are harassed and assaulted while covering protests in Spain, Argentina’s public media face mounting pressure on two fronts, and the AfD’s historic election result in Saxony-Anhalt puts MDR’s future back in question.

On Our Radar this week…

PMA condemns the recent harassment and physical assault of journalists from Spanish public broadcaster RTVE and other news outlets, who were attacked on 2 September while covering anti-migration demonstrations in Ceuta and Madrid. Reporters were surrounded, insulted, spat on and pushed by far-right protesters, with one reporter describing being encircled by around 20 people who kicked and struck him. RTVE’s union, UGT RTVE, called the attacks “an intolerable attack on democracy”, and PMA echoes this sentiment. This is not an isolated flashpoint: journalists say they have been repeatedly targeted at similar demonstrations in recent weeks and have been accused of serving the government. In turn, they have resorted to concealing microphone equipment and activating self-protection protocols, with RTVE now contracting private security for field crews. UGT RTVE also accused the police of withdrawing its officers when reporters were swarmed, rather than securing their safety, a failure that, if accurate, suggests attacks against journalists will be rewarded with impunity.

Such actions have a chilling effect on journalists as they attempt to do their work. PMA calls on Spanish authorities to investigate these assaults and hold those responsible to account, and to ensure that law enforcement officials prioritise safeguarding journalists’ ability to report. Read more via El País.

Meanwhile, PMA remains concerned by mounting pressure on public media in Argentina. In Buenos Aires, the city government is pressing ahead with the privatisation of its public broadcasting assets, despite a live legal challenge. Having already awarded Canal de la Ciudad’s management to a private media group, the city relaunched a tender for its two public radio stations for a period of five years, with bids due later this month. ENACOM, the national telecoms regulator, warned the process may be unlawful, and an appeals prosecutor recommended overturning the lower court ruling that let it proceed.

Meanwhile, at the national level, Contenidos Públicos – which runs the cultural and educational channels Encuentro, Pakapaka, and DeporTV – is now nearing two years without a salary increase for staff. This is alongside repeated workforce cuts and reports of suspended server maintenance threatening the channels’ broadcast continuity and archives.

As PMA has repeatedly warned since Javier Milei was elected president, treating public media as a target for privatisation and managed decline – whether through a contested tender in the capital or prolonged financial attrition at the national broadcaster – undermines the public’s right to plural, independent information. PMA calls on both the Buenos Aires city government and Argentina’s national authorities to respect due legal process, honour their public media workforces, and ensure these services can continue to fulfil their public interest mandate. Read more via Ámbito.

Finally, PMA is keeping a close watch on Germany, where the AfD’s landslide election result in Saxony-Anhalt has opened up questions around MDR’s future. The AfD’s Saxony-Anhalt leader, Ulrich Siegmund, previously pledged that his first act in office would be to terminate the interstate treaty underpinning MDR’s existence, and replace it with a stripped-down “Grundfunk”, limited to news, sport, and consumer advice. The AfD fell short of the absolute majority it would need to terminate the treaty unilaterally, leaving government formation, and MDR’s fate in the state, unresolved for now.

Even so, the scale of the AfD’s win and the seriousness of its stated intentions, warrant close attention; media law experts have already questioned whether a “basic broadcasting” service of the kind the AfD proposes could meet the German constitution’s requirements for editorial independence and adequate funding, and MDR itself has said it will pursue legal action should the treaty be terminated. PMA has long warned against the use of public media funding and governance as a tool of partisan politics and will continue to monitor developments in Saxony-Anhalt closely. Read more via MDR.

PMA Advocacy Team