Reading list

Literature and commentary

• Jack M. Balkin, “Free Speech is a Triangle”, 118 Columbia Law Review 2011 (No. 7, 2018).
• Jack M. Balkin, “Old School/New School Speech Regulation”, 127 Harv. L. Rev. 2296 (2014).
• Carl Bernstein, “The Idiot Culture: Reflections of post-Watergate journalism”, The New Republic, 8 June 1992.
• The [Hutchins] Commission on Freedom of the Press, A Free and Responsible Press, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1947. Available via Internet Archive.
• Nick Couldry, “Does ‘the Media’ have a future?”, 24 European Journal of Communication (No. 4, 2009), pp. 437-449 [Pre-publication version].
• Jan van Cuilenburg and Denis McQuail, ‘Media Policy Paradigm Shifts: Towards a New Communications Policy Paradigm’, 18 European Journal of Communication (No. 2, 2003), pp. 181-207. Available via the SAGE website (institutional access) or via CCRVoices archive (free of charge).
• José van Dijck, Thomas Poell and Martijn de Waal, The Platform Society: Public Values in a Connective World (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2018). Available via Oxford Scholarship Online.
• Christian Fuchs, Social Media: A Critical Introduction (3^rd Edition) (London, etc., SAGE 2021), Preface and Chapter 1, ‘What is a critical introduction to social media?’.
• Tarleton Gillespie, Custodians of the Internet Platforms, Content Moderation, and the Hidden Decisions That Shape Social Media (New Haven, Connecticut, Yale University Press, 2018). Available via ResearchGate.
• Natali Helberger et al., “Towards a Normative Perspective on Journalistic AI: Embracing the Messy Reality of Normative Ideals”, 10 Digital Journalism (No. 10, 2022), pp. 1605-1626.
• Karol Jakubowicz, A new notion of media?: Media and media-like content and activities on new communications services (Strasbourg, Council of Europe, April 2009). Related video.
• Karol Jakubowicz, “A New Notion of Media”, Keynote speech at the 1^st Council of Europe Conference of Ministers Responsible for Media and New Communication Services, Reykjavik, 28-29 May 2009. Available in: Karol Jakubowicz, Media revolution in Europe: ahead of the curve (Strasbourg, Council of Europe Publishing, 2011), pp. 15-19.
• Rikke Frank Jørgensen (Ed.), Human Rights in the Age of Platforms (Cambridge, Massachusetts and London, England, The MIT Press, 2019) [Open access].
• John Keane, “Democracy in the Age of Google, Facebook and WikiLeaks”, Blog-post, 9 March 2011.
• Kate Klonick, ‘The New Governors: The People, Rules, and Processes Governing Online Speech’, 131 Harv. Law Rev. 1598 (Issue 6, April 2018).
• Tarlach McGonagle, ‘Free Expression and Internet Intermediaries: The Changing Geometry of European Regulation’, in Giancarlo Frosio (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Online Intermediary Liability (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2020), p. 467-485: https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198837138.001.0001
• Tarlach McGonagle, “Freedom of expression: still a precondition for democracy?”, Conference report, Conference report, Strasbourg, Council of Europe, 2015.
• Tarlach McGonagle, ‘Positive obligations concerning freedom of expression: mere potential or real power?’, in Onur Andreotti (Ed.), Journalism at risk: Threats, challenges and perspectives (Strasbourg, Council of Europe Publishing, 2015), pp. 9-35.
• Newton N. Minow, “Television and the Public Interest”, 55 Federal Communications Law Journal (No. 3, 2003), pp. 395-406. Original speech, National Association of Broadcasters, Washington DC, 9 May 1961, available here.
• Martin Moore and Damian Tambini (Eds.), Digital Dominance: The Power of Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2018) [Open access].
• Edward R. Murrow, “Wires and Lights in a Box” Speech, Radio Television News Directors Association Convention, Chicago, 15 October 1958. Audio recording here. [Text and audio]
• Nic Newman, Journalism, media, and technology trends and predictions 2024, Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, University of Oxford, January 2024.
• Kaarle Nordenstreng, “Myths about Press Freedom”, 3 Brazilian Journalism Research (No. 1, 2007), pp. 15-30.
• Onora O’Neill, “Conceptions of Press Freedom in a Globalising World”, paper, 22 October 2008.
• Jay Rosen, ‘The People Formerly Known as the Audience’, PressThink, 27 June 2006.

Online resources

• Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom, Media Pluralism Monitor 2023, Overview and Executive summary.
• European Audiovisual Observatory, IRIS Merlin Database – short reports on legal developments in the European audiovisual sector since 1995.
• European Audiovisual Observatory, IRIS Special series – publications tackling “current issues in media law and related legal fields”.
• European Court of Human Rights Knowledge Sharing Platform (ECHR-KS): Article 10 [includes a wealth of materials, including a link to the Travaux préparatoires of the ECHR].
• European Court of Human Rights (Jurisconsult), Guide on Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights – Freedom of expression, 31 August 2022.
• OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media: Open Journalism Project.
• Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, Digital News Report 2023, Overview and key findings.

Selected case-law

European Court of Human Rights

• Animal Defenders International v. the United Kingdom [GC], no. 48876/08, 22 April 2013.
• Appleby and Others v. the United Kingdom, no. 44306/98, ECHR 2003-VI.
• Centro Europa 7 S.r.l. and Di Stefano v. Italy [GC], no. 38433/09, ECHR 2012.
• Delfi AS v. Estonia [GC], no. 64569/09, ECHR 2015.
• Fressoz and Roire v. France [GC], no. 29183/95, ECHR 1999-I.
• Goodwin v. the United Kingdom, 27 March 1996, Reports of Judgments and Decisions 1996-II.
• Informationsverein Lentia and Others v. Austria, 24 November 1993, Series A no. 276.
• Jersild v. Denmark, 23 September 1994, Series A no. 298.
• Khurshid Mustafa and Tarzibachi v. Sweden, no. 23883/06, 16 December 2008.
• Manole and Others v. Moldova, no. 13936/02, ECHR 2009.
• Murphy v. Ireland, no. 44179/98, ECHR 2003-IX.
• NIT S.R.L. v. the Republic of Moldova [GC], no. 28470/12, 5 April 2022.
• Observer and Guardian v. the United Kingdom, 26 November 1991, Series A no. 216.
• The Sunday Times v. the United Kingdom (no. 1), 26 April 1979, Series A no. 30.
• Times Newspapers Ltd v. the United Kingdom (nos. 1 and 2), nos. 3002/03 and 23676/03, ECHR 2009.
• VgT Verein gegen Tierfabriken v. Switzerland, no. 24699/94, ECHR 2001-VI.

Selected works available through (online) institutional access

• Eric Barendt, Broadcasting Law: A Comparative Study (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1993).
• Manuel Castells, Communication Power (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2009).
• Peter Coe, Media Freedom in the Age of Citizen Journalism (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2021).
• Leen d’Haenens, Helena Sousa & Josef Trappel, Eds., Comparative Media Policy, Regulation and Governance in Europe: Unpacking the Policy Cycle (Intellect Books, Bristol and Chicago, 2018).
• Judith Lichtenberg, Ed., Democracy and the mass media (Cambridge & New York, Cambridge University Press, 1990). Available via Cambridge Core.
• Daithí Mac Síthigh, Medium Law (Routledge, 2018).
• Denis McQuail and Mark Deuze, McQuail’s Mass Communication Theory (7^th Edition) (London and Thousand Oaks, California, SAGE Publications Ltd., 2020).
• Denis McQuail, Media Accountability and Freedom of Publication (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2003).
• Martin Moore and Damian Tambini (Eds.), Regulating Big Tech: Policy Responses to Digital Dominance (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2021) [Oxford Scholarship Online]. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197616093.001.0001
• Philip Napoli, Social Media and the Public Interest: Media Regulation in the Disinformation Age (New York, Columbia University Press, 2019).
• Jan Oster, European and International Media Law (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2017), pp. 1-20.
• Pier Luigi Parcu and Elda Brogi (Eds.), Research Handbook on EU Media Law and Policy (Cheltenham, UK, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2021).
• Jacob Rowbottom, Media Law (2^nd edition) (Hart Publishing, 2024).
• Eugenia Siapera, Understanding New Media (2^nd Edition) (London, etc., SAGE Publications Ltd., 2018).
• Roger Silverstone, Why Study the Media? (London/Thousand Oaks, CA/New Delhi, SAGE Publications, 1999).
• Ithiel de Sola Pool, Technologies of Freedom (Cambridge, Massachusetts and London, England, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1983).