For years the absence of transparency in media ownership in the Republic of Cyprus has held the country’s global media pluralism ranking much lower than would be expected of a European Union member state and, more importantly, has tainted the integrity of the journalism produced, writes Ciren.Cy.
The 2024 Reporters Without Borders (RSF) World Press Freedom Index ranked Cyprus 65th globally, while the EUI Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom assessed Cyprus’ lack of ownership transparency as High Risk at 84 percent. More recently, the European Commission’s 2024 Rule of Law report on Cyprus found no improvement in matters of media pluralism.
What this has meant is that at a time when several Greek Cypriot politicians and many local legal and auditing services were embroiled in international corruption scandals, this absence of transparency in media ownership has meant that the local media were only selectively, and mostly inadequately, informing the public about these wrongdoings.
Cyprus lacks a legal framework for digital media, and the outdated 1989 Press Law fails to ensure ownership transparency in print media. Although there is a legal framework for audiovisual media, it is inconsistent, hindering the Cyprus Radio and Television Authority’s ability to regulate effectively.
In the internationally unrecognized northern part of the island, where serious infringements in media freedom have been recorded, transparency in media ownership is considerably murkier. Its RSF ranking stood at 90th. According to RSF, most media owners in the northern part of Cyprus are businessmen with other financial interests.
The legal framework for transparency in media ownership in the northern part of Cyprus is inadequate and real ownership can be hidden behind proxy individuals.
The research conducted by CIReN and available here aims to shed some light on the media ownership scene in both the Republic of Cyprus and the island’s northern part, to help all Cypriots become aware of the ultimate beneficial owners of the sources producing the news they consume.
This project was produced with support from IMME, We Are Solomon, and OCCRP.