Central/SE Europe
In First Year, Szabad Európa Fills Vital Niche In Hungarian Media Scene
In a media environment dominated by outlets associated with the government, RFE/RL’s renewed Hungarian Service, Szabad Európa, has carved out an important role for itself as a trusted, digital-only source…
Threats To RFE/RL Journalists Multiply As World Marks Press Freedom Day
Media freedom is under severe pressure throughout RFE/RL’s 23-country coverage region.
RFE/RL Is Back With the News in Hungary
Audiences in Hungary woke this morning to Szabad Európa, the 21st-century update of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s (RFE/RL) storied Hungarian Service.
RFE/RL Announces New Romanian Service Chief
As Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) concludes the initial phase of its relaunch in Romania, it has announced that veteran journalist Elena Tănase will take the helm of its Romanian…
Miroslav Kopt And The Secret Radio That Political Prisoners Built
Czechoslovak citizen Miroslav Kopt was arrested in 1954 and brutally interrogated by communist authorities before being sentenced to 10 years in prison for treason.
Ferdinand Peroutka: Mr. Czechoslovakia
On May 1, 1951, respected Czech journalist and first RFE Czechoslovak Service Director Ferdinand Peroutka began the first official transmission from Radio Free Europe (RFE) headquarters in Munich, saying, “This…
Radio Free Europe’s Audience Reach Behind the Iron Curtain
The data graphics below demonstrate Radio Free Europe’s weekly audience reach from 1963 to 1989 in Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria. Audience reach for other foreign broadcasters is shown.
On World Press Freedom Day, Coronavirus Multiplies Challenges Facing Independent Media
“Today the state has a new ‘stick’ – ‘fake news’ about the coronavirus,” says journalist Svetlana Prokopyeva, a contributor to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s (RFE/RL) Russian Service.
RFE/RL’s Bulgarian Service, 1 Year Old, Hits Ground Running
One year since its launch in Bulgaria amid widespread media decline, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s (RFE/RL) Bulgarian Service has notched a series of high-profile investigations and eye-opening reports.
RFE/RL Formally Relaunches Bulgarian Service
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) has formally dedicated its new bureau in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, marking a return to a region where media freedom and independence is under threat.