The Future of the Media in the Western Balkans and Turkey

To understand the future of journalism, we have gathered data and analysed key media and journalism trends across the Western Balkans and Turkey. On this platform, you can explore comprehensive country reports and datasets covering media usage, journalistic trends, and audience trust, all examined within the broader context of democracy. Join us in analysing the data, fostering discussions, and developing effective measures and strategies to support and strengthen journalism—the pillar without which our democracies cannot thrive.

Regional overview

The regional overview synthesizes key media and journalism trends across Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Turkey. It highlights shared challenges such as media capture, increasing media concentration, precarious working conditions, economic sustainability issues, and the growing dominance of tech giants—calling for urgent action.

REGIONAL OVERVIEW

Our Media, Our Democracy, Our Future

Sanela Hodžić & Sandra B. Hrvatin

REPORTS

Country reports and datasets

Country reports provide concise analyses of large sets of gathered data on media, journalism, media usage, trust, and democracy. You can explore datasets containing information on hundreds of key questions relevant to media and journalism. These datasets include general country data, statistics on the number of journalists and journalism students, the number of media outlets and advertising figures, as well as the values and shares of advertising markets. They also cover media ownership and funding, media representation and participation, audience behaviour and trust, and broader democratic and media freedom indicators.

Regional Trends

The number of Media

↑ MOSTLY GROWING

The number of Journalism Students

↓ MOSTLY DECLINING

The number of Attacks on Journalists

↑ MOSTLY GROWING

The number of Complaints to self-regulatory bodies

↑ MOSTLY GROWING

Trust in Media

↓ MOSTLY DECLINING

Social Media Use

↑ MOSTLY GROWING

TV as The main Information Source

↓ MOSTLY DECLINING

Values of National Advertising Markets

↑ MOSTLY GROWING

TV Ad Revenue Dominance

↓ SOMEWHAT DECLINING

Substantial Shares of Tech Giants in Advertising Revenues

↑ MOSTLY GROWING

	Total number of media	Overall number of journalists	Number of students	Number of attacks on journalists	Number of complaints to self-regulatory bodies	Total value of the national advertising market	Total budget of the national public service	Level of overall trust in media
Albania	N/A	= (est.)	↓ declining	↑ growing	↑ growing	↑ growing	↓ declining	↑ growing
BiH	↑ growing	N/A	↓ declining	↑ growing	↑ growing	↑ growing	↓ declining	↓ declining
Kosovo	=	↑ growing	=	↑ growing	↑ growing	N/A	↓ declining	N/A
Montenegro	↑ growing	N/A	=	↑ growing	=	↑ growing	↑ growing	↓ declining
North Macedonia	↓ declining	=	↓ declining	↓ declining	↑ growing	=	↓ declining	=
Serbia	↑ growing	↑ growing	↓ declining	↑ growing	↑ growing	↑ growing	↑ growing	↓ declining
Turkey	↓ declining	↑ growing	↓ declining	↓ declining	↑ growing	↑ growing	↑ growing	↓ declining

Trends by Country

	Use of social media	Most used social media platforms
Albania	↑ growing	TikTok, Facebook, Instagram
BiH	↑ growing	Facebook, Instagram, YouTube
Kosovo	N/A	Facebook, Instagram, TikTok
Montenegro	=	Facebook, Instagram, X
North Macedonia	=	Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
Serbia	↑ growing	Facebook, Instagram, YouTube
Turkey	↑ growing	Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook

PLATFORMS

Social Media Platforms

	Democracy Index rank	Rule of Law Index rank	Corruption Perception Index	Media Freedom Index	Voter turnout at parliamentary elections	Size of state ownership in the media
Albania	↑ growing	↓ declining	↑ growing	↑ growing	↓ declining	=
BiH	↓ declining	↓ declining	=	↓ declining	↓ declining	=
Kosovo	↑ growing	↑ growing	↑ growing	↑ growing	↑ growing	=
Montenegro	↓ declining	N/A	↓ declining	↑ growing	↓ declining	N/A
North Macedonia	↑ growing	↓ declining	↑ growing	↑ growing	↓ declining	=
Serbia	=	↓ declining	↓ declining	↓ declining	↑ growing	↑ growing
Turkey	=	=	↓ declining	↓ declining	↑ growing	=

The Future of the Media in the Western Balkans and Turkey

OVERVIEW

Regional overview

REGIONAL OVERVIEW

Our Media, Our Democracy, Our Future

REPORTS

Country reports and datasets

Regional Trends

Trends by Country

PLATFORMS

Social Media Platforms

TRENDS

Democracy Trends by Country

CONCERNS

Concerns Across the Region

Low Journalist Salaries

Relatively Low Voter Turnout

Inadequate Monitoring of Media Reporting During Election Campaigns

Widespread Media Capture

Low Media Funding Transparency

Increasing Use of Social Media As Sources of News

Dominance of Social Media as a Source For Youth

Low Media Literacy Skills

Widespread Breaches of Ethical Norms Online

Outdated Ethical Codes

Limited Minority Representation In Media

Overt Media Concentration