The Trump playbook: a precedent for PSM in Europe?

– By Charlotte Pion, Journalist & Researcher, and Jamie Tahana, News & Advocacy Coordinator

In July, when Reporters Without Borders (RSF) published a report detailing the erosion of public media across Europe, its chief executive, Thibaut Bruttin, had a warning to make. “The election of President Donald Trump, who is threatening to dismantle his country’s international public broadcasting, has reinforced the offensive waged by political forces against public radio and television,” he wrote. “The takeover, defunding and closure of these media outlets are increasingly common components of the political programs of those inspired by Trump’s policies.”

In the US, the Trump administration has stripped billions of dollars from public media, a move that will drastically alter the country’s media landscape.

Read more: Statement on the defunding of US public media

Some public radio stations are already starting to go off air in the wake of the decision to eliminate funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the organisation which distributes federal funds to local and national public media. The CPB will soon shut down completely, but this week saw many of the CPB staff leave, with just a small team staying on to oversee the closure.

There was also the March decision to cut funding for the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) – the organisation which funds international media including Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, and Radio Free Asia – as well as reduce funding for USAID, which supported media freedom and development programmes overseas.

The White House said the defunding of public media was about removing perceived liberal bias. The president had in the past called NPR and PBS “radical left monsters”, while the White House dismissed CPB programming as “woke propaganda disguised as ‘news’.”

That language is a distinct echo of rhetoric that has been long used against public media worldwide. But in the wake of the dismantling of American public media, industry leaders have grown concerned that it could set a precedent and grant legitimacy for those who wish to further erode public media in Europe. Populism is on the rise across the European Union, and these parties are fuelling a debate over the usefulness and necessity of public broadcasting.

Tadeusz Kowalski, a Member of the Polish National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT), told PMA that there is a lot of criticism from politicians towards media “especially in countries where they are not subordinated to them.” He explained that increasingly, a phenomenon of the “hypocrisy of media freedom” can be observed in Europe. “Many right-wing activists are talking about media freedom and freedom of speech. But for them, media freedom is a certain tool to [spread] disinformation, propaganda and a tool to manipulate and polarise society and maintain these divisions.”

European public media has already faced countless pressures, hobbled by years of cuts, reforms, and efforts to undermine it as part of a trend that in its report, RSF said amounted to “a series of crises on multiple fronts”. Much of this predates the Trump administration, and the rise of sentiment against public media in Europe has been homegrown just as much as it has come from abroad.

“Public media organisations are … becoming pawns in a political game. Reforms to their governance can raise the spectre of authoritarianism, and legitimate budgetary constraints in a difficult economy can conceal the politicisation and instrumentalisation of public funding” – Thibaut Bruttin, Director of Reporters Without Borders

Still, there is a trend of the European right being influenced by decisions in the United States, RSF said. Instead of a gradual erosion, as has been the experience across much of Europe, the US-style wholesale gutting of public media could be further inspiration.

After the US announced its cuts, the director general of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), Noel Curran, called it a “significant threat” to the integrity and viability of public media. “Whether in Europe or in the US, it is imperative to recognise the vital role that public service media plays in fostering informed citizenship and cultural enrichment,” Curran said in a statement.

Erosion and political control

There are many examples across Europe’s four corners of concern about the future of public media.

In Slovakia, the government of Robert Fico radically changed the country’s public broadcaster, first by switching its funding mechanism to come directly from the state, then by creating a new entity altogether. Re-organisations aren’t necessarily a tool of state control, but the new management board at STVR has had several government-aligned figures appointed to it.

In neighbouring Hungary, a firm grip on public media has further tightened under Victor Orbán’s Fidesz party, which has made a brand of its hostility to the press, while building a media empire through acquisitions of friendly outlets, and cracking down on the rest. The public broadcaster, Magyar Televízió, has been enveloped by a series of intricate sets of legislation resulting in political capture.

In Italy, Rai’s editorial independence has been under pressure since the arrival of Giorgia Meloni’s government. Rai has seen a series of strategic political appointments to its board, a tightening of its budget and the cancellation of current affairs shows. Rai executives have always denied any political interference.

Meanwhile in Belgium, concerns for the future of public broadcasting have grown since the 2024 elections. Recent budget cuts to both the VRT and RTBF forced the two broadcasters to enact austerity plans. In the French-speaking region, a recent dispute between the president of the conservative party, George-Louis Bouchez, and RTBF journalists further heightened tensions, with Bouchez making no secret of his animosity towards RTBF, questioning its usefulness in society and drastically cutting its budget.

These are just four countries where there have been worrying and direct threats to public media. But a parlous trend is being seen across much of Europe, from cuts in Austria and Switzerland, through to nationalist parties in France and the UK vowing to end public media altogether.

Impact in the EU

Turning points for public broadcasters are often brought by elections. The future of Czech Television (ČT) and Czech Radio (ČRo) has become an election issue, with the populist frontrunner, Andrej Babiš (ANO) an avowed opponent of public media.

If successful in October’s election, Babiš plans to abolish the Czech licence fee, merge the two public media entities, and change the financing and governance mechanisms, raising fears about the potential erosion of independence.

In its report, RSF’s Bruttin said “Public media organisations are … becoming pawns in a political game. Reforms to their governance can raise the spectre of authoritarianism, and legitimate budgetary constraints in a difficult economy can conceal the politicisation and instrumentalisation of public funding”

However, history has shown that Babiš and his intentions to get a hold of ČT and ČRo may face a powerful hurdle – the Czech people. In 2001, the power struggle over ČT that triggered mass protests showed how seriously Czech people took their public broadcaster’s independence. Further efforts to interfere in ČT in 2021 were similarly met with continent-wide outrage and resistance. Recent research has shown most people consider the public broadcasters to be necessary to Czech society, viewing them as important social institutions.

“If Slovenia gets a new prime minister with Trump-like attitude towards media and PSM – like we already had from 2020 until 2022 – this could enhance current financial problems and problems with political dependencies under the current government to unimagined new heights” – Dr Marko Milosavljević, University of Ljubljana

Additionally, ČRo’s Director General René Zavoral rejected Babiš’ proposal. “My goal is to preserve an independent, separate Czech Radio financed by radio fees.”

“This system is functional, fair and transparent, ensuring independence from political and economic power,” he said.

In Slovenia, meanwhile, uncertainty plagues RTV Slovenija, whose future could unravel depending on the outcome of the 2026 elections. After a 2022 referendum aimed at depoliticising the public broadcaster, reconstruction efforts , while after three years of negotiations, amendments to the RTV Slovenija Act remains at a standstill. The Ministry of Culture’s proposal to adjust the licence fee to inflation has been dropped, leaving its funding in the dark. Beside a one-off increase in August 2024, the contribution to public media has not been adapted since 2012, putting RTV Slovenija in a financially weak position.

Media expert Dr Marko Milosavljević told PMA that RTV Slovenija’s efforts to persuade the government to increase its funding has so far been unsuccessful, creating a risk that it “opens the gates to the government financial pressure on the PSM in Slovenia and to decrease its critical watchdog role”.

A recent petition from the right-wing party Resni.ca called for the abolition of the licence fee altogether. If the reforms are not adopted before next April’s elections, then Milosavljević said it could “open the gates for further instability of the PSM under the next government.

“If Slovenia gets a new prime minister with Trump-like attitude towards media and PSM – like we already had from 2020 until 2022 – this could enhance current financial problems and problems with political dependencies under the current government to unimagined new heights”.

Another region where public media are under increasing political and economic pressure is the Germanic countries. In recent months, ORF in Austria, ZDF and ARD in Germany, and SRG SSR in Switzerland have been subject to increased political tension.

Whether through budget cuts or freezes, attempts to attack their funding sources with a view to reducing them, or even reshuffling management to exert power over their independence (as was the case in Austria at the beginning of the year), Germanic public media are now under growing threat.