An Autocrat’s Guide to Destroying Local Media, Part 1
It’s a playbook that’s been used by illiberal governments across Central and Eastern Europe: muzzling the media until it resembles little more than propaganda. But how exactly does one go about dismantling the free press, in a democratic country within the European Union?
In Part 1 of this two-part special, Viktória Serdült, Dimitar Ganev and our producer Wojciech Oleksiak ask: how the hell did we get here? And how did the local press become such a powerful political weapon?
This series was funded by Journalism Fund Europe, the Allianz Foundation, and supporters of The Europeans.
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Reporters:
Viktória Serdült, Dimitar Ganev and Wojciech Oleksiak
Writers:
Wojciech Oleksiak and Dimitar Ganev
Production, scoring, sound design and mixing:
Wojciech Oleksiak
Editors:
Adam Zulawski and Katy Lee
Editorial support:
Katz Laszlo and Dominic Kraemer
Director of recording sessions:
Dominic Kraemer
Thanks for talking to us: Vesislava Antonova, Ervin Gűth, Antal Józing, Zuzanna Nowicka, Venelina Popova, Anna Wójcik, Spas Spassov, Marek Twaróg, Ágnes Urbán, and Cezary Węgliński.
Artwork: RTiiiKA
