Media Studies is an interdisciplinary scientific journal launched in 2010 with the aim of becoming an international forum for the presentation of research and advancement of discourse concearning media, communications, journalism, and public relations, within each field’s cultural, historical, political and/or economic contexts. Journal is published every year in June and December. Previous issues are available here: https://hrcak.srce.hr/medijske-studije
Fakultet političkih znanosti, Sveučilište u Zagrebu
The author (or authors) is the copyright holder and retains publishing rights. Medijske studije journal is under the CC (Creative Commons) licence. CC BY-NC-ND
Copyright (c) 2026 Dunja Majstorović, Tanja Grmuša http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Copyright (c) 2026 Marijana Grbeša http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
EMOTIONS, “DARK PASSIONS,” AND THE FUTURE OF LIBERAL DEMOCRACY
Copyright (c) 2026 Berto Šalaj http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
BETWEEN SCYLLA AND CHARYBDIS: A CATEGORIZATION OF ETHICAL CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCEIN THE MEDIA
The increased rate of artificial intelligence use within the media industry has led to the emergence of new ethical problems, as well as the expansion of existing ones. Considering various factors and agents, finding a unique solution to these ethical issues would be a highly complex and arguably impossible undertaking. The general hypothesis of this paper is that current ethical problems related to the use of artificial intelligence in the media can be separated into two main categories: solvable and insolvable. The analysis of the relevant literature will cover the most prominent ethical problems and enable their classification according to the previously mentioned categories. The primary aim of this paper is to present which of the existing ethical issues, categorized as solvable, should be prioritized in future research, in order to eventually find a solution. The group of unsolvable issues should not be completely ignored, but decrease in research frequency is suggested, in line with the advancement of more sophisticated AI models that may be better suited for ethical integration into media practices.
Copyright (c) 2026 Aleksa Mitić http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
GREENWASHING: ATTITUDES AND BELIEFS IN GREEN CONSUMPTION OF YOUTH IN CROATIA
This study examines how young people in Croatia perceive greenwashing, an organizational communication practice where sustainability is overemphasized in communications while real environmental impact is neglected. Despite growing ecological awareness among youth, research analyzing their attitudes toward greenwashing, especially in Croatia, is scarce. This study applies descriptive statistics, ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis, and Mann-Whitney U tests to analyze a nationally representative sample of youth. The research shows that most youth disapprove of greenwashing, with female respondents exhibiting stronger environmental values and greater condemnation of greenwashing practices. The research also reveals significant differences in how different types of greenwashing are perceived, especially those involving organizations in environmentally harmful industries. As one of the rare empirical investigations of greenwashing attitudes among Croatian youth, this paper contributes to the understanding of their perceptions and behaviors, as well as to the broader discourse on environmental responsibility and consumer skepticism. The insights of this research can influence future policy, education, marketing, media and communication strategies used by different organizations engaging in different types of communication with environmentally conscious youth.
Copyright (c) 2026 Damir Jugo, Marko Kovačić, Ivan Pakozdi http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Copyright (c) 2025 Nina Krapić, Vanja Pavlov http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
INTRODUCTION TO THE SPECIAL ISSUE: NEW EUROPEAN MEDIA AND PLATFORM POLICY: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF NEWS
Copyright (c) 2025 Tales Tomaz, Joseph Trappel http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
HOW VIRTUAL ASSISTANTS ARE TRANSFORMING PUBLIC RELATIONS: EXPERIENCES OF CROATIAN CLIENTS
Digital transformation has profoundly reshaped public relations, accelerating flexible work arrangements and the use of specialized external collaborators. Within this landscape, the profession of virtual assistants has expanded from predominantly operational tasks toward communication functions of microstrategic relevance within digital communication processes. This paper examines the role and contribution of virtual assistants in Croatia’s public relations sector, focusing on clients’ perceptions and experiences. A qualitative research design was employed, including semi-structured interviews with five virtual assistants and five clients, followed by thematic analysis. Findings indicate that clients value virtual assistants for operational relief (content management, scheduling, analytics) as well as for operational-analytical contributions (adapting message tone, moderating dialogue, interpreting engagement metrics). The study also identifies an increased responsibility for ethical and professional standards, particularly in the domains of data protection and the transparent use of artificial intelligence. At the theoretical level, the paper relies on two-way communication and communication excellence at the micro level of digital interactions, where virtual assistants do not participate in strategic decision-making at the board or top management level, but instead indirectly support the adaptation of communication practices through feedback interpretation and dialogue moderation. The paper contributes empirical insights into professional practices and collaboration patterns between virtual assistants and clients in the Croatian context and offers recommendations for the standardization of competency profiles, the development of specialized roles, and the establishment of ethical and security protocols.
Copyright (c) 2026 Barbara Gašpar, Tanja Grmuša http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
TRANSPARENCY OF BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS: TRUE AND OWN PERCEPTION
This study examines how transparent business organizations communicate during crisis events, how prepared they are for such communication, and how their attitudes towards transparent communication have changed over a period of 10 years. A longitudinal study was conducted to determine how transparent the crisis communication of business organizations actually is and what their self-perception of transparency entails. Based on the research findings, it was determined that business organizations believe that their communication is transparent. However, the content analysis showed that it was not completely transparent, i.e., transparency declines during crisis situations, and most business organizations do not inform stakeholders about the risks associated with their business operations. Optimism regarding the progress of communication transparency in the European Union is supported by the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting (CSR) Directive, according to which all business organizations will be required to begin reporting in 2024.
Copyright (c) 2026 Žanina Žigo http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
APPLYING RATIONAL AND EMOTIONAL APPROACHES TO MESSAGE CRAFTING FOR INFLUENCING INDIVIDUALS’ COOPERATIVE BEHAVIOR IN GROUP SETTINGS
The present study, based on Game Theory, investigates the effect of communication messages on individuals’ willingness to cooperate in group settings. Existing literature suggests that different approaches to the decision-making process can influence outcomes and shape individuals’ cooperative behavior. Empirical studies have shown that external factors, including message framing and group identity cues, can affect fairnessoriented behavior and decision patterns. The study applied the Ultimatum Bargaining Game to examine how rational versus emotional message framing, combined with ingroup versus outgroup cues, influence cooperative decisions. A total of 122 university students were assigned to four message conditions. The results revealed significant differences in the distribution of offers and acceptance patterns across message models; however, mean offer sizes did not significantly differ between rational and emotional conditions, nor between ingroup and outgroup conditions. These findings suggest that message framing may influence the type of decisions individuals make, even when it does not alter overall generosity levels. A more detailed analysis of behavioral patterns indicates that rational models combined with ingroup cues elicit more fair and cooperative decisions. These results highlight communication messages as potential mechanisms for shaping cooperative behavior in group settings.
Copyright (c) 2026 Mario Žuliček, Darijo Čerepinko, Željka Bagarić http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
THE BRUSSELS EFFECT ON DIGITAL PLATFORM REGULATION: ANALYZING THE BRAZILIAN REGULATORY PROCESS AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR JOURNALISM
This article compares the European Union’s digital platform regulations with Brazil’s most advanced legislative proposal, Bill No. 2630/2020, reflecting the influence of the European framework, particularly the Digital Services Act (DSA). Through a documentary analysis, the article traces the history of communication regulation in Brazil, highlighting the challenges faced in advancing the issue. Comparing the Brazilian proposal to the DSA, both similarities, especially regarding platform transparency and algorithm functioning, and differences are noted, such as the inclusion of remuneration for journalistic content. The article also analyzes the “Brussels Effect”, examining how this concept applies to the Brazilian context.
Copyright (c) 2025 Lizete Nobrega, Rodrigo Ratier http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
EXPLORING ETHICAL AND REGULATORY CHALLENGES OF AI INTEGRATION IN EUROPEAN UNION NEWSROOMS
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has significantly reshaped the news media landscape in the fastevolving digital ecosystem. While recent legislative measures and industry self-regulation initiatives have emerged to address AI’s implications, the ethical challenges associated with its adoption in European Union (EU) newsrooms and the ways news media organisations navigate regulatory frameworks and internal initiatives remain underexplored. This study aims to bridge this gap by examining the conditions under which AI tools are integrated into media organisations from both organisational and regulatory perspectives. Drawing on an analysis of 30 key documents and 41 in-depth interviews with media professionals and regulatory experts across three EU markets, the study uncovers key findings: a limited discourse on AI use in media organisations, significant disparities in AI implementation practices, and an absence of clear, actionable regulatory guidelines for addressing considerations in AI-driven news content.
Copyright (c) 2025 Lefevre, Errando, Afilipoaie, Ranaivoson, Wiart http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
THE EVOLUTION OF MEDIA OWNERSHIP REGULATION IN CROATIA
This paper aims to describe the evolution of media ownership regulation in Croatia with the aim of assessing whether these developments have supported the promotion of media pluralism. This research is underpinned by the premise that transparency in media ownership – one of the key prerequisites for media pluralism (Borges & Christophorou, 2024), remains insufficiently achieved. The paper shows that Croatia has come a long way from a quite restrictive approach in regulating media ownership, both in terms of openness of the media market and media ownership transparency, to the situation as it stands today. However, certain gaps in the media ownership regulation still exist, particularly in relation to the enforcement mechanisms and the allocation of clear institutional responsibilities for monitoring and sanctioning non-compliance.
Copyright (c) 2025 Ana Tešić http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
DEFINING IMPARTIALITY IN EUROPEAN PUBLIC SERVICE MEDIA. A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE BBC, RTÉ, AND VRT.
Amid growing criticism and political scrutiny, defining and operationalising impartiality has become essential for public service media (PSM). This research examines how impartiality is conceptualised across policy, editorial guidelines, and regulatory oversight in three Western European markets through a comparative analysis of documents from the BBC (United Kingdom), VRT (Flanders-Belgium), and RTÉ (Ireland). The article demonstrates that, first, while regulatory obligations enforce ‘impartiality’, clear definitions in policy documents are lacking; second, editorial guidelines on impartiality show that it should be perceived as a process rather than as a measurable, achievable state of journalistic performance. Finally, the article shows the increased importance of complaint mechanisms and gatekeepers addressing concerns about impartiality and its (audience) perception. Simultaneously, it demonstrates that existing assessments fall short in researching its complexity, contributing to the perception that impartiality is an achievable state of journalism that can be achieved in news reporting by journalists.
Copyright (c) 2025 Michael Pakvis, Tim Raats, Catalina Iordache http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
FACT-CHECKING AS A POLICY FOCUS IN THE EU
Fact-checking is a popular journalistic format that is widely used across the European Union to react to disinformation and other false narratives spreading both in social networks and traditional media. To foster its uptake, the European Commission has included the support of fact-checking organizations, as well as a request for the integration of their services in online platform content moderation, in a number of its policy documents. The watchdog activities of fact-checkers thereby become part of the EU’s policy focus, allowing these organizations to shape policies – albeit not without certain impediments, given that many fact-checkers rely on funding from technology companies and the European institutions. The aim of this paper is to better understand the European fact checking landscape and to identify in what ways these organizations interact with EU policymakers, the ways EU institutions and the fact-checking community may influence each other, as well as the power dynamics between fact-checkers and online platforms.
Copyright (c) 2025 Konrad Bleyer-Simon http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
MEDIA LITERACY AGAINST IDEOLOGICAL BIAS – UNEXPECTED FINDINGS OF AN EXPERIMENT
Ideally, the media should inform the public through diverse sources. However, issues arise from the tendencies observed in how citizens are informed. For example, people regularly act as motivated reasoners, seeking information that confirms their own beliefs – that is, they are often ideologically biased. One approach to address this issue is through media literacy programs, which aim to strengthen citizens’ skills in analyzing media content, thereby increasing awareness of their own biases. However, little is known about whether these programs truly have an impact. Therefore, the goal of this study was to examine the effect of watching a media literacy video on ideological bias in the evaluation of a media text. To this end, an experiment was conducted in which participants were divided into groups based on whether they were exposed to media literacy content or not, and whether they read a media text about foreign workers in Croatia that was either positive or negative in tone. Based on these variables, as well as participants’ initial attitudes toward foreign workers in Croatia, we predicted the level of ideological bias in their assessment of the bias and objectivity of the media text. The study involved 216 participants, and the results unexpectedly showed that exposure to the media literacy video either had no effect on ideological bias or actually increased it.
Copyright (c) 2025 Viktorija Perkušić, Kosta Bovan http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
MOTHERHOOD IN JOURNALISM: THE PERCEIVED IMPACT OF PRECARIZATION ON THE PARENTING STRATEGIES OF FEMALE JOURNALISTS
Precarization has a significant impact on female journalists, who are often forced to balance their precarious working conditions and family commitments. However, little research has examined how female journalists cope with these challenges. This study employs qualitative semi-structured interviews with 14 Czech female journalists who are planning to start or expand their families and identifies five strategies: (1) making individual arrangements with superiors, which can sometimes lead to unfair working conditions; (2) changing jobs, including moves to less demanding positions or career changes; (3) using family support, particularly relying on family members for household help and childcare; (4) postponing motherhood or parenthood; and (5) paying higher insurance contributions if affordable. The study underscores the need for systemic changes to ensure more stable and fair working conditions for female journalists.
Copyright (c) 2026 Hana Řičicová, Karolína Hájková http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
MEDIA PLURALISM AND GENRE DIVERSITY IN TV SERIES: CHANGES IN CROATIAN TELEVISION CULTURE FROM 2003 TO 2018
In the early 21st century, the Croatian television system changed radically, bringing major shifts in television culture. This study analyses the period from 2003 to 2018, focusing on genre diversity, audience education, and the origin of popular television series. Based on secondary statistical analysis of Nielsen ratings for adult audiences, the study examines the ten most-watched titles per season, with additional insights from a broader Top 20 list. The findings show tectonic shifts in genre distribution, cultural orientation, and the legitimation of popular series. Genre diversity has been replaced by a concentration of telenovelas. Western productions have lost their primacy; Turkish series now dominate, Eastern titles are displacing domestic ones, and popular series have become lowbrow.
Copyright (c) 2025 Vesna Karuza Podgorelec http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Copyright (c) 2025 Marko Roško, Tanja Grmuša, Dejan Oblak http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Copyright (c) 2025 Mato Brautović, Romana John http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
MEMES AS CULTURAL REFLECTION: A CASE STUDY OF HUMOROUS DEPICTIONS OF MARIÁN KOČNER AND THEIR SOCIETAL MEANING
This study examines how internet memes function as reflections of public opinion and digital culture. It focuses on humorous portrayals of Marián Kočner, a Slovak businessman imprisoned for financial crimes and under suspicion of orchestrating the murder of an investigative journalist and his fiancée. Widely known to the Slovak public, Kočner has become a frequent subject of online satire. Using mixed-method content analysis, the research identifies key narratives and sentiments conveyed in popular memes. Drawing on classical theories of humour – superiority, relief, and incongruity – the study demonstrates how memes act as both entertainment and instruments of social commentary, emotional expression, and grassroots critique.
Copyright (c) 2025 Hedviga Tkácová, Petra Polievková http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
FROM ADVERTISING TO DECISION-MAKING: THE TRAJECTORY OF CONSUMER VISUAL ATTENTION RESEARCH
This paper offers an integrative bibliometric review of consumer visual attention research, with a particular focus on studies using eye-tracking and related methods. Drawing on 1,278 articles indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection between 1989 and 2022, the study examines publication trends, thematic structures and their evolution, and how issues of distraction and hybrid digital–physical environments challenge traditional views of consumer decision-making. Keyword co-occurrence analyses, combined with thematic mapping across five time periods, are used to identify core research clusters and their interrelations. The results show a strong and accelerating growth of the field since 2014, alongside a marked dispersion of research across journals and countries, confirming visual attention as an established and interdisciplinary area within consumer research. Three enduring thematic pillars emerge: visual attention in multi-attribute decision making, visual attention in advertising and communication, and applied domains such as nutrition information, health warnings and retail environments, while recent work highlights attentional competition and points to emerging questions around distraction and hybrid digital–physical spaces. The paper makes three main contributions. First, it provides a conceptually oriented overview that places visual attention, rather than specific tools, at the center of analysis. Second, it shows how previously separate streams in decision-making, advertising and health communication converge around shared questions of attentional dynamics in complex environments. Third, it develops a future research agenda that explicitly foregrounds distraction and attentional competition in hybrid digital–physical consumer spaces and links these phenomena to emerging technologies and theorydriven studies of attention.
Copyright (c) 2026 Michal Novák, Simona Bažantová http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
FRAGMENTATION OF DIGITAL PLATFORMS IN INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL DYNAMICS: ANALYSIS AND PREDICTIONS OF GLOBAL TRENDS
Political decisions made under geopolitical conditions significantly influence global digital ecosystems, as illustrated by the U.S. ban on TikTok and Germany’s withdrawal of advertising from the platform X (formerly Twitter). This study identifies and predicts patterns of digital platform fragmentation emerging from such politically driven interventions. By integrating social network analysis, sentiment analysis, and predictive modelling, the research connects regulatory behaviour, public sentiment, and predictive scenarios to demonstrate how political and corporate strategies jointly reshape global communication structures. The findings reveal deep polarisation of public opinion on digital regulation, while predictive results suggest that ongoing fragmentation may accelerate the formation of regional platforms and increase digital isolation. The paper concludes with recommendations for policymakers to develop adaptable legal and governance frameworks capable of addressing the geopolitical complexity of contemporary digital environments.
POLITICAL DECISIONS UNDER GEOPOLITICAL CONDITIONS
Copyright (c) 2026 Marija Gombar http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
WHEN FACT-CHECKS GO VIRAL: A CROSS-NATIONAL ANALYSIS OF THE DISSEMINATION OF EUROPEAN FACT-CHECKERS’ CONTENT ON TWITTER
To be effective in countering misinformation, it is paramount for fact-checkers to reach a wide audience. This study investigates the dynamics leading to broader engagement with fact-checking content published on social networks. It analyzes the dissemination activity on Twitter (later rebranded as X) of a cross-national sample of European fact checkers over a span of four months. We employ Network Analysis and Natural Language Processing techniques (sentiment analysis and keyword extraction), to address four questions: 1. Are there specific tweets that attract the majority of engagement?; 2. Do these tweets draw engagement from audiences beyond their usual reach?; 3. What is the prevailing sentiment expressed in these tweets – positive, neutral, or negative?; 4. What topics are covered in these highly engaging tweets? Results show that certain tweets receive significantly higher engagement, extending beyond typical audience. Furthermore, our findings suggest that popular tweet topics are countryspecific, and negative tweets attract more interaction in most considered countries.
Copyright (c) 2025 Lorenzo Federico, Mariavittoria Masotina http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
FACT-CHECKING AUTOMATION: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC APPROACH TO NEWSROOMS
This article explores the adoption of artificial intelligence-driven automation tools in factchecking newsrooms, focusing on their potential to enhance verification efficiency and reach. Using digital ethnography and semi-structured interviews with executives, journalists, and engineers from Duke Reporters’ Lab (USA) and Full Fact (UK), the study examines the motivations for adopting these tools, their impact on fact-checking practices, perceived benefits, user attitudes, and measurable outcomes. Findings reveal significant variations in approaches and results across newsrooms, underscoring ongoing challenges in implementing automation tools within complex workflows. This work advances understanding of automation’s role in fact-checking and offers insights for future research.
Copyright (c) 2025 Irene Larraz, Ramón Salaverría, Javier Serrano-Puche http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
UNCOVERING THE LINKS BETWEEN INTERNET USAGE, TRUST IN SCIENCE AND VACCINATION BASED ON THE CROSS-NATIONAL ONLINE SURVEY-2 WAVE 5 PANEL
Previous research to some extent evidenced the links between trust in science and vaccination, but the links between trust in science, vaccination, and Internet usage, have not been explored in depth yet. The purpose of this study was to examine the links between Internet usage, trust in science, and vaccination, based on data derived from the CROss-National Online Survey-2 (CRONOS-2) Wave 5 panel fielded in 11 European countries. The findings revealed males’ significantly higher general trust in science in comparison to females, but no significant gender differences were observed in Internet usage or trust in different disciplines or statements made by scientists. Next, vaccinated individuals demonstrated significantly higher general trust in science, higher trust in scientific disciplines, and significantly higher trust in statements made by scientists than not-vaccinated individuals. Furthermore, this study revealed some weak but statistically significant positive correlations between Internet usage and general trust in science, trust in scientific disciplines, and trust in statements made by scientists, and a negative link between Internet usage and age. General trust in science, trust in scientific disciplines, and trust in statements made by scientists’ subscales were significantly positively intercorrelated. SEM analysis revealed that Internet usage itself does not have a significant effect on vaccination, but Internet usage has a significant positive effect on trust in science, and trust in science has a significant positive effect on vaccination.
Copyright (c) 2025 Aistė Diržytė, Gintarė Gulevičiūtė, Aelita Skaržauskienė, Monika Mačiulienė, Asta Zelenkauskaitė http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Copyright (c) 2024 Petra Kovačević, Boris Beck, Tanja Grmuša http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
NAVIGATING THE COMPLEXITIES OF MEDIA, POLITICS, AND SOCIETY IN CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH
The current issue of the Media Studies journal brings together a diverse range of scholarly works that delve into critical and contemporary topics at the intersection of media, politics, technology, and identities. Through this collection, we aim to provide a comprehensive overview of how various dimensions of media consumption, political engagement, social practices, and identity formation are being reshaped in the modern era. This special issue reflects on how media practices and political dynamics intersect with everyday life, shaping public opinion, political participation, identity construction, and even humanitarian actions in a digitalized world.
Copyright (c) 2024 Marijana Grbeša Zenzerović http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
The aim of this article is to outline the aspects of information disorder that are recognised in academic and professional literature as specifically gendered, with particular attention to disinformation tactics and manipulations aimed at undermining women (in politics), as well as those whose gender identity cannot be readily categorised within the traditional gender binary. While it is true that gender disinformation is an important aspect of most orchestrated disinformation campaigns against women or people with other gender and/or sexual identities, this paper also addresses other types of information disorder such as misinformation and malinformation. Furthermore, it presents actors recognised in the literature as well as contexts that generate gender discriminatory information and media spaces, and provides several examples that illustrate the specific impact of gendered aspects of information disorder that constitute forms of gender-based violence online or offline. Finally, suggestions and insights are given on ways to prevent and deal with this form of information disorder, focusing on the role of factcheckers for gender disinformation.
Copyright (c) 2025 Brigita Miloš, Josip Šipić, Katarina Bošnjak http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
THE FOREIGN SUBSIDIES REGULATION. MORE THAN A COMPETITION TOOL FOR THE MEDIA SECTOR?
Complaints regarding the distortive and unregulated competitive effects of foreign investors sponsored through foreign state subsidies investing in Europe through mergers and acquisitions, public procurement, and greenfield projects, have led to the creation of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR). Through the FSR, subsidies granted by non-EU governments can be reviewed by the European Commission. The FSR signals a more cautious, protectionist approach to foreign investments in critical sectors to which media and telecom belong to. Through a comparison of select procedural provisions, this article situates the FSR among two other ex-ante regulations, the Foreign Direct Investment Regulation, and the EU Merger Regulation, revealing its striking commonalities with the latter. Media concentration and covert foreign subsidies exceed competition related concerns to include risks to media capture and foreign interference. While focusing on addressing competition-related market distortions, the FSR plays an unexpected role in the European Media Freedom Act, which addresses the risks of financially statecontrolled ‘rogue media service providers’.
Copyright (c) 2025 Adelaida Afilipoaie http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0