Pluralism, or plurality, is a wide and ambiguous concept. Its content varies depending on the analytical framework. The notion of pluralism includes, for example, value or moral pluralism in philosophical ethics, social, linguistic, religious and political pluralism. The concept of media pluralism absorbs these different notions of pluralism by requiring that as many voices as possible should be heard in the public discourse: different moral and political viewpoints as well as voices from different social and cultural backgrounds. It thus requires both the widest possible circulation of news and opinions and the widest access to information by the public at large. Democracy itself is inconceivable without such pluralism.

The importance of media pluralism has also been recognised in human rights texts and jurisprudence. Article 11(2) EUChFR now expressly codifies that the freedom and pluralism of the media ‘shall be respected’. Furthermore, Article 13(3) ACHR states that freedom of expression may not be restricted, inter alia, by private controls over newsprint, radio broadcasting frequencies or equipment used in the dissemination of information. Under the ICCPR, the obligation to secure media pluralism is closely connected to Article 27 ICCPR, which provides: ‘In those States in which ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities exist, persons belonging to such minorities shall not be denied the right, in community with the other members of their group, to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practice their own religion, or to use their own language’. Finally, the Strasbourg Court expressed that ‘[i]t is of the essence of democracy to allow diverse political programmes to be proposed and debated, even those that call into question the way a State is currently organised, provided that they do not harm democracy itself.’

As a consequence, states are not just compelled not to harm existing media pluralism. Rather, they are under a positive obligation to safeguard media pluralism.