«Without media freedom, there is no democracy»

Guido Keel is used to people seeking his expertise. As a professor and institute director, he is often the expert in the room. Things were very different in 2025 when he worked in Vienna as an advisor to the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media. There, the 52-year-old found himself to be an inexperienced newcomer. In his everyday work at the ZHAW Institute of Applied Media Studies, Guido Keel focuses on media literacy, communication professions and management tasks. In Vienna, he familiarised himself with the structures of the OSCE, public international law and the conventions of diplomacy. He also immersed himself in the media policy landscape of the three countries for which he was primarily responsible: Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Guido Keel’s task was to monitor media freedom in these countries. “Every morning, I would go online to read through local and international media,” he recalls. He used artificial intelligence to translate content from the respective national languages, although some publications in these countries were also available in English. He also developed a network of media professionals and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). “As a representative of the OSCE, it was relatively easy to find contacts,” explains Keel. “When I said I was from the OSCE and was dealing with media freedom, many people were willing to speak.”

Media freedom is under pressure in all three South Caucasus countries. Once, Keel came across reports of a journalist in Azerbaijan who was arrested for reporting critically on the government. On another occasion, he learned of planned legislation in Georgia that would severely restrict funding for journalism. He was also informed of a case in which a foreign journalist was refused entry at the border.

When Keel learned of problematic developments, he prepared recommendations for action for the Representative on Freedom of the Media. This institution within the OSCE, which was established in 1998, has been led by the Norwegian Jan Braathu since November 2024. While Braathu is the face of the organisation, he is supported by a team comprising 20 employees.

Founded in 1975, the OSCE’s mandate is to prevent military conflicts in Europe through diplomatic means and to strengthen democratic institutions. The organisation promotes cooperation between states and civil society structures. It also advocates compliance with human rights commitments and media independence. “Without media freedom, there is no democracy,” stresses Guido Keel. The Office of the Representative on Freedom of the Media also functions as an early warning mechanism by monitoring threats to media freedom and identifying violations of agreed minimum standards in OSCE states. One of these standards demands that the safety of journalists be ensured in performing their work and that they are not sanctioned for practicing their profession. The organisation’s instruments comprise quiet and public diplomacy. It does not possess any sanctioning powers. “I sometimes found it frustrating that we could ‘only’ communicate – write letters, convene meetings, pay visits,” says Keel.

At the same time, he emphasises that the OSCE provides the only forum in which, for example, Russia and Ukraine still regularly meet at the same table. The Permanent Council, which is made up of ambassadors from all OSCE states, meets on a weekly basis.

When Guido Keel identified breaches, he would sometimes recommend to his superior that they wait and observe the situation. At other times, he would suggest speaking with a representative of the respective government. Alternatively, he might also propose publishing a post on social media. “I was surprised by how much a tweet can achieve,” says Keel. “I heard of cases in which journalists in prison were no longer mistreated after their names had been made public in tweets by the OSCE Representative.” No state likes to be publicly criticised, he explains.

Sometimes, the Special Representative is also asked for assistance by a particular country. “The Serbian government approached us when it came to the renewal of the authority for broadcasting regulation,” says Keel. “The Representative on Media Freedom was asked to provide support in this process as a neutral institution.”

It is not only in countries east of Vienna that media freedom finds itself under pressure. According to Guido Keel, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) can be observed in almost all OSCE countries. This means that legal instruments are used strategically to intimidate journalists or employees of non-profit organisations and to deter them from speaking out against misconduct. Keel worked with a lawyer to define standards for governments in OSCE countries aimed at preventing such lawsuits.

Alongside intimidation and violence, there is another means of exerting pressure on journalists: attacking the financial basis of independent media. “In Georgia, for example, the government has practically forbidden foreign stakeholders from supporting domestic media,” says Keel, depriving them of their basis of existence. Here too, Keel was involved in a project tasked with defining minimum standards for the regulation of foreign investment in media.

During his year with the OSCE, Guido Keel not only worked from his desk, but he also travelled extensively. He was in the Caucasus several times in order to meet journalists as well as representatives of governments and civil society on the ground. He also represented the Office of the Representative on Freedom of the Media at conferences from Brussels to Uzbekistan. Keel could have extended his mandate as an advisor. However, he had agreed on a one-year leave of absence with the ZHAW and also felt the need to live closer again to his partner and his frail father.

And what did he get out of the year in Vienna? “Above all, I broadened my horizons,” says Keel, who also points out the opportunity he had to get to know a different working environment and a new city. “In my everyday work at the ZHAW, my experience helps me to better situate the Swiss media landscape in an international context.”

In Switzerland, Guido Keel sees targeted disinformation as a threat. He believes that it is high time to strengthen media literacy among the population in order to protect it against this threat. “Compared with Scandinavian and Baltic states, for example, we are still somewhat naïve in this respect.” Keel is convinced that political influence from Russia will increase. He also identifies a “blemish” in Switzerland’s record on media freedom, namely that it is a criminal offence in this country to publish information gleaned from confidential bank documents. This is a situation that meets with little understanding internationally. Overall, however, media freedom in Switzerland is well safeguarded, emphasises Keel. Nevertheless, he concedes that “media outlets that are 100% independent do not exist anywhere.”