The concept of media freedom, in modern European philosophical and legal thinking, is constantly changing. [---] In this paper the author examines the differences between freedom of speech and media freedom (or, as it is used interchangeably, freedom of the press) in order to identify the content of the currently used notion of ‘media freedom’. The paper then provides an overview of the different elements of the legal notion of ‘media’, as well as a suggestion regarding who might be the holders of the right to media freedom, which new players might claim protection under this right and what unique tasks they play in the operation of the democratic public sphere.