SE - Portugal

Role of the state - public broadcaster RTP

Operates 2 main public service channels (RTP1, RTP2) with state-defined obligations and mixed funding (advertising and audiovisual contribution collected via electricity bills)

Role of the state - RTP2

Prohibited from carrying commercial advertising and focuses on culture and niche content, underlining strong normative public-service remit

Role of the state - regulation of TV and pay-TV (by ERC and ANACOM)

Well established but enforcement capacity and resources limited

Role of the state - state is …

Media regulator

Political parallelism - historically

Party and press alignments strong → then came democratisation and commercialisation

Political parallelism - today

Political influence channelled more through ownership ties, government advertising and informal networks than through openly partisan outlets

Political parallelism - leading TV channels (RTP1, SIC, TVI)

Support mainstream parties and government agendas through news selection and talk-show casting

→ formally claim neutrality

Political parallelism - RSF ranking

Low levels of overt political interference but highlighting economic vulnerabilities → subtle pressure

Political parallelism - media still strongly …

Politicised and high instrumentalisation

Political parallelism - journalism emphasis on …

Commentatory

Journalistic professionalism - professional norms

Widely shared and there is a clear formal seperation between editorial and commercial departments in major newsrooms

Journalistic professionalism - journalists face …

Shrinking newsrooms, low wages and precarious contracts → undermines investigative work and makes them more dependent on official and PR sources

Journalistic professionalism - professional organisations and codes of ethics

Exist but enforcement relies on self-regulation and peer pressure rather than strong institutional sanctions

Journalistic professionalism - connection to political literary world

Journalism = elite occupation

Journalistic professionalism - legal protection

For strong press freedom

Structure of the media market

Small, highly concentrated market with few dominant TV actors (public RTP1/2 and 2 large commercial channels, SIC (Impresa) and TVI (Media Capital))

Structure of the media market - pay-TV (MEO, NOS)

In 80% of households

Structure of the media market - advertising revenue

Flows mainly to TV, while print and local media are structurally weak and struggle to sustain independent newsrooms

Structure of the media market - dominating categories

Press and TV

Structure of the media market - control

State and church control media (leading radio owned by church)

Grassroots participation - community and alternative media

Exist, but have moderate resources and limited impact on national agenda

Grassroots participation - digital platforms and social media

Broadened opportunities for citizens expressions, yet patterns of attention favour mainstream TV news and little online brands

Grassroots participation - high RSF score

Reflects safe conditions for journalists and active civil-society debate (even if bottom-up actors rarely challenge structural dominance of major groups)

Grassroots participation - dominating opinion

Elites

Grassroots participation - lack of …

Pluralism