independence they should be viciously critical of everyone and that tough, muckraking journalism is synonymous with freedom to engage in libel. Journalists are dismayed to discover that their former colleagues who have become publishers and owners of newspapers now have quite different interests and do not hesitate to exploit them. And as we fully rejoin the international community and become aware of the globalisation of political and economic processes, we begin to wonder which media are capable of performing the watchdog role vis-a-vis the global decision-makers. Above all, however, we are discovering the obvious: that it takes a great deal of money to launch a newspaper or a radio or television station, and even more for them to survive in a competitive market. And therefore, we find that de-monopolisation and lack of legal and administrative barriers to entry into the media marketplace do not really guarantee media pluralism and everyone's ability to add their voices to the public debate. At the CSCE Seminar of Experts on Democratic Institutions, held in Oslo in 1992, it was pointed out that State intervention could sometimes be necessary in order to protect the diversity of the press. Also in Western European countries - which face many of the same problems suggestions are sometimes made that public institutions and money should be used to ensure equality in communications. However, state or public interventionism in mass communications does not enjoy much of a reputation in Central and Eastern Europe. For obvious reasons, the CSCE and other international organisations concentrated until recently on ways of removing constraints on freedom of speech and of the press. For this reason, when we look to CSCE and other international documents for pointers on how to solve the dilemmas which become apparent only once freedom had been won, we find fewer answers than we hope for. It is clear, however, that CSCE participating states can only now for the first time engage in a full, substantive and nuance discussion of these issues, free from ideological posturing or an undercurrent of defensiveness, suspicion and hostility. This gives us a chance to see how definitions and criteria of the right to communication, freedom to hold and impart information and opinions, media independence and pluralism and democratic social communication could be further elaborated and how these ideals could be more fully put into practice. It is up to all of us gathered here today to seize that chance. That is a formidable task, but whatever progress this seminar makes in this regard will, I believe, constitute a major contribution to the democratic development of Europe. This is what makes this seminar so special and important. CSCE ODIHR BULLETIN Vol. 2, No. 1 19