The press in Central and Eastern Europe is far from free, and ever less so, as you report in connection with the upcoming annual report of Freedom House, a New York-based lobby group concerned with the media around the globe (“Less Free Speech,” April 26, 2008). But this is only half the story. The other half is that most of the countries you mention are full-blown kleptocracies in which the press is often the only means to a worthy end. The rule by thieves means that there is no corner to which one can turn if one has a question, proposal, or grievance. In such cases, all the government bodies remain mum. Every now and then, the press comes to the rescue, especially if the story is sexy. Sadly, this applies equally well to ex-socialist countries already in the European Union, such as Slovakia or Bulgaria, as well as those on the grueling road to accession, such as Croatia or Macedonia. The thieves who run these countries are bent against the free press as their last foe. Once the media are eventually throttled, we will have kleptocracies unlimited. Or capitalism at its least fettered.

Addendum I (May 1, 2008)

It is interesting to look into Freedom House’s 2008 ranking of press freedom by country, which is now available on the World Wide Web (www.freedomhouse.org). The first place is shared by Finland and Iceland, while the last is held by North Korea (195). The ranking of countries from Central and Eastern Europe is as follows: Estonia (16), Czech Republic (25), Lithuania (26), Hungary (35), Latvia (44), Slovakia (405), Slovenia (46), Poland (51), Bulgaria (76), Croatia (78), Montenegro (81), Serbia (84), Romania (94), Bosnia (97), Macedonia (100), and Albania (105). All countries up to and including Poland are considered to be free, while those underneath are partly free. The score for the entire region is abysmal. The main point of Freedom House’s annual report is that all these ranking are getting worse by comparison with previous years, which makes the picture even more troubling. At any rate, the ranking produced by this American lobby group is an excellent proxy for the rule by thieves. And they are winning.

Addendum II (October 20, 2009)

Freedom House’s 2009 ranking of press freedom is interesting to compare with the previous year. Once again, Iceland and Finland share the first place and North Korea takes the last (195). Countries from Central and Eastern Europe are ranked as follows: Estonia (14), Czech Republic (24), Lithuania (25), Hungary (33), Latvia (43), Slovakia (44), Poland (50), Slovenia (51), Bulgaria (76), Montenegro (80), Croatia (82), Serbia (83), Romania (95), Bosnia (98), Macedonia (99), and Albania (101). All the countries up to and including Slovenia are deemed free, while those that follow are only partly free. Way ahead of Croatia are free African countries like Ghana (53), Cape Verde (60), and Namibia (67). No great surprises here, except that Croatia has slipped behind Montenegro. Another surprise lies on the other side of the old Iron Curtain. That is, Italy (73) is now considered to be partly free, just like Croatia. Berlusconi should be proud. Still, Croatia has a long way to go to catch up with Italy. The way things look at this stage, it never will.