talk with snacks and drinks on Wednesday, 08 July 2026, 6-8 pm

Location: n-ost media hub, Erkelenzdamm 59-61, Portal 1b, 10999 Berlin
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„V4 is back“?! Recently, the leaders of Poland, Hungary, Czechia and Slovakia vowed to breathe new life into the Visegrad format and revive regional cooperation. But for journalists in each of these countries, the picture looks very different.

While Hungarian newsrooms hope to recover after years of decaying public discourse, Poland is locked in a struggle to depoliticise and reform its public media. Meanwhile, people in Czechia are taking to the streets to defend a media landscape long considered a regional role model. Nearby, the outlook for independent reporting in Slovakia is bleaker than ever due to increasing democratic backsliding.

At our July kitchen talk, we’ll untangle the connections, dependencies and distinctions within the media landscape of Central and Eastern Europe. What lessons can these countries learn from each other in order to defy capture and retain media freedom, and what’s ahead for (cross-border) journalism in a European region in flux?

Join our discussion with

Helena Truchla (Česká televize/Czech Television)
Mateusz Obremski (Polska Agencja Prasowa/Polish Press Agency)

Moderated by Attila Mong (Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ))