Transforming context and practices of journalism in Central and Eastern Europe: Editors' introduction to the special issue

This special issue examines contemporary challenges and transformations of journalistic practices and professional ideology in four Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries: the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary and Slovenia. Focusing on issues such as journalistic professionalism, platformisation, changing business models and content production under conditions of technological change, the contributions address developments that are embedded in broader global transformations of journalism. At the same time, the articles demonstrate that global trends intersect with distinct historical, political and market contexts in CEE, producing divergent outcomes across media systems. By situating national case studies within a comparative framework, the special issue highlights how political pressures, market constraints and technological dependencies reshape journalism in uneven ways, contributing to persistent diversity in journalistic cultures and professional practices across the region.