Analysing how law shapes journalism in Central and Eastern Europe: The case of the 2008 Slovak Press Act

Abstract

This article investigates the operation of the contested reply and correction provisions of the 2008 Slovak Press Act and their influence on journalism. I argue that apart from the ‘law-on-the-books’, we need to examine the interactions between the media, policymakers and judges in order to explain how law shapes journalism in the public spheres of Central and Eastern European democracies. Such interactions are based on the interests and experiences of the actors and conditioned by their particular historical, structural, cultural and international contexts. Our analysis thus needs to take them all into account when assessing the role of legislation.