The conviction after communism’s overthrow in 1989–1992 that the regions’ countries would rapidly evolve into liberal democracies with reciprocally helpful media systems was unfounded. The expectations that the process of socio-political democratization would unfold in tandem with the professionalization of the media, i.e., the adoption and application of Western-like journalistic ethics and practices, was a highly idealized hope, lacking a realistic assessment of its contextual possibilities. In the aggregate, Western media and journalism models have not taken hold, even if, as pointed out, some individual exceptions to the rule are discernible.