CMDS is the leading center of research on media, communication, and information policy in Central and Eastern Europe. Affiliated with the School of Public Policy at Central European University, CMDS produces scholarly and practice-oriented research addressing academic, policy and civil society needs.

The Center serves as a focal point for an international network of acclaimed scholars and academic institutions; offers innovative courses across several CEU departments; provides trainings and consultancies; and organizes scholarly exchanges through workshops, lectures and conferences on current developments in the field.

Our research interests and priorities include:

• Media and communication policy: Regulations, governance, policy and information economies across media sectors and platforms;
• Fundamental communication rights: Freedom of expression, freedom of the media, access to information and the right to privacy in the information society;
• Media and civil society: Community, alternative and civic media, civil society engagement with policy processes, participation in public discourse;
• New media and technology: New technologies, social media and advocacy, the transformation of broadcasting and journalism in the digital era, convergence, and mobile communications;
• Media in transition: Media development and democratization in Central and Eastern Europe and beyond.