Made up of French-speaking Wallonia and Flemish-speaking Flanders, Belgium has two quite distinct,  small-scale media markets – three when including the very small German-speaking region – which are rarely in competition with one another and are concentrated in the hands of a few owners. This is especially true for the print market. A small number of companies owned by a handful of prominent families dominate the daily print media. The Belgian government governs the major regional radio and television broadcasters, RTBF and VRT, through their boards of directors, made up of representatives of the main political parties.

Despite the presence of political parties on the boards of RTBF and VRT, public broadcasting is, in principle, protected from political pressure. The French-language High Council for Broadcasting (CSA) and its Flemish equivalent, the VRM, reflect various ideological trends and ensure that a diversity of viewpoints are expressed. 

Belgium does not have a comprehensive law on the press. However, the media does enjoy solid legal and constitutional guarantees. Source confidentiality has been protected by a federal law since 2005 and the National Ethics Council serves as an efficient self-regulatory body for the newsrooms. However, defamation remains a crime under Belgian law. In 2023 and 2024, several lawsuits that aimed to censor news stories before they were published or broadcast were brought before the courts with mixed results at first instance. These abusive lawsuits are a concerning trend in the country.

Belgian media outlets have been hit hard by a significant decrease in advertising revenue, now channelled towards online platforms, and by the economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.  In response to this situation, the major media groups have stepped up their adaptation strategies --- acquisitions, diversification and international expansion --- to offset the economic fragility of the journalism industry. Small independent publishers have gained greater visibility, but they continue to face significant economic challenges that threaten their long-term presence in the media landscape.

The Belgian press generally enjoys a good — but falling — level of public trust. Nevertheless, the Covid-19 pandemic shed light on the issue of disinformation and triggered criticism of the media, which were accused of covering the crisis from a pro-government perspective. In response to the growing distrust, the Wallonia-Brussels Federation adopted a media education plan in 2022 designed to promote a critical understanding of the media within the student population. 

Journalists covering protests, such as those against health measures linked to the Covid-19 pandemic, have been subjected to intimidation and threats from demonstrators. They are also increasingly concerned about the racist and sexist threats that they often receive online. In this climate, some journalists have decided against covering certain events deemed to be too dangerous, and others have even quit the profession.