Index 2024
7/ 180
Score : 85.9
Political indicator
3
91.51
Economic indicator
10
72.92
Legislative indicator
10
83.79
Social indicator
3
88.27
Security indicator
15
93.03
Index 2023
9/ 180
Score : 84.6
Political indicator
13
86.32
Economic indicator
20
71.02
Legislative indicator
13
84.38
Social indicator
11
89.77
Security indicator
16
91.48

Freedom of the press is robust in Portugal. Journalists can report without restrictions, but they face economic, legal and security challenges. 

Media landscape

With a population of ten million, the Portuguese market is dominated by five major state and private-sector media groups (Impresa, Cofina, Media Capital, Global Media and RTP), whose outlets include four national daily newspapers and four national TV news channels. There are also some non-profit journalistic projects, but their audience remains low. A quarter of municipalities lack local news media.

Political context

In general, the government and political parties respect the work of the media. Members or supporters of the far-right party Chega occasionally threaten or attack journalists, physically or verbally. After threatening journalists during the 2021 presidential elections, the party criticised media coverage of parliamentary work. 

Legal framework

Portuguese legislation hasn’t undergone any recent changes and continues to legally and constitutionally guarantee strong press freedom. Nevertheless, the media are not immune to judicial pressure. In 2023, journalists who had been under surveillance in 2018 as part of an investigation into judicial secrecy were found guilty. Earlier this year, Rui Pinto, the whistleblower who was the main source of the “Football Leaks” and “Luanda Leaks” stories, was given a four-year suspended prison sentence.

Economic context

The increase in digital subscriptions to newspapers has not been enough to offset the financial losses due to the significant erosion in sales of print editions. Journalists' salaries, already low, have not been adjusted for inflation in recent years. The profession’s concerns further increased at the end of 2023 with the takeover by a mysterious Bahamian fund Global Media Group, which owns the country's two historic national dailies and the only news radio station. A third of its employees were subsequently laid off.

Sociocultural context

In this country where the work of journalists is generally respected, the media enjoy one of the highest levels of trust in Europe. Mistrust is nonetheless gaining ground among young people.

Safety

Journalists have been verbally and physically attacked in the course of their work. In addition to incidents involving the far-right Chega party, journalists have been attacked at football matches. 

Abuses in real time in Portugal

Killed since 1st January 2024
0 journalists
0 media workers
0
Detained as of today
0 journalists
0 media workers
0