Association of Journalists of Macedonia (ZNM, EFJ-IFJ affiliate) welcomed the decision of the European Court of Human Rights in the case Selmani and others against the Republic of Macedonia related to the events of December 24, 2012 when journalists were forcibly expelled from the gallery of the Macedonian Parliament where they were reporting on a parliamentary debate about approval of the State budget for 2013. During the debate a group of opposition MPs had started creating a disturbance in the parliamentary chamber, and had been ejected by security officers. The applicants, accredited journalists, had refused to leave the gallery, a…

The EFJ Authors’ rights expert group convened in Brussels on 6 February. The main issue on the agenda included the new EU directive proposal on copyright in the digital single market and its implication for authors. Following a proposal from the European commission, the draft directive is being discussed in the European Parliament and within national member states. It needs a concrete response from journalists’ unions on several points. One of the most positive move in the draft text is the introduction of reporting obligations for those who have been licensed or transferred journalistic works, ie media employers. While the…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) issued a call for solidarity for journalists planning a strike over unpaid wages at two daily newspapers in Macedonia. The journalists working for Utrinski and Dnevnik published by Media Print Macedonia (MPM) are to strike with the support of SSNM (Trade Union of Macedonian journalists and media workers, EFJ-IFJ affiliate) after the company failed to pay their wages for 2 months, although the level of their salaries is very low. “ Every work deserves a compensation. It is totally unacceptable that workers who delivered the job are left without salary for more…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) today, in Kiev, calls on Ukrainian authorities to comply with their commitment to respect freedom and pluralism of the media. The EFJ joined the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatovic to call on Ukrainian government and Russian-backed separatists to increase efforts to ensure safety of journalists on the frontline of the war in east Ukraine. The General secretary of the EFJ, Ricardo Gutiérrez, is in Kiev today to attend the international conference “Safety of Journalists: An Imperative for Free Media, Freedom of Expression and Public Order” organized by the Ministry of…

The UNESCO launched on Thursday (02.02.2017) at the Press Club Brussels Europe its new publication “Terrorism in the Media: A Handbook for Journalists” written by Jean-Paul Marthoz, Belgian journalist and longtime press freedom and human rights activist. Guy Berger, Director for Freedom of Expression and Media Development at UNESCO, presented the handbook together with the author. What to do in a hostage situation? Should journalists help the victims first? Should they refrain from disseminating some information at authorities’ request? The handbook provides key advices and reflection to media and journalists in the situation of covering a terrorist attack. It also…

On 1st and 2nd February, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU)  had a series of meetings with members of the European Parliament to discuss the urgency of supporting public service media and independent journalism in the accession countries. The lack of financial independence, outdated technologies as well as increasing political control, not only in Hungary and Poland but in all accession countries  affects the compatibility of public media outlets. Out of all Balkan countries only Serbia and Macedonia fully digitalised their production, although they still have most of their products in analogue format. The…

At the end of each year, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) publishes a list of all the journalists and media professionals killed in the course of their work over the previous 12 months. As part of its ongoing commitment to tackle impunity and campaign for greater safety for journalists, the IFJ is publishing The story behind the killings – a in-depth analysis of each region with an explanation of the victims and circumstances of each death. The report lists details of 93 media professionals killed in work-related incidents such as targeted murders, bomb attacks and crossfire incidents last year, a…

The European Center for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) organised on Tuesday 31 its second conference on media concentration in Dublin, Ireland. A day before the conference to which the EFJ, NUJ, the Florence based CPMF, a member of the European Parliament and Irish politician fighting for media pluralism were invited,  the NUJ demanded that businessman Denis O’Brien should be called before an Oireachtas committee in relation to Independent News & Media’s proposed takeover of a local newspaper group. The National Union of Journalists wrote to the chair of the Oireachtas Communications Committee in relation to the proposed takeover of…

Four months before the next general elections in Albania, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has received alerting information regarding new regulations affecting media freedom situation in the country. The EFJ has been informed that new amendments proposals have been tabled by the ruling Socialist Party to the Article 78/7 of the Election Code and if adopted would seriously damage online media freedom in the country and potentially legalize censorship in Albania. The proposed amendments ambiguously target “uncontrolled and unregistered news websites” and “mandates state authorities to close them down if they engage in election propaganda or conduct unauthorized opinion…

The future of the Ukrainian broadcasting company “Radio Vesti” is uncertain after the National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine delays the prolongation of their licenses in Kiev and Kharkov. The company sent the required documents on time in order to renew the licenses, which will expire on February 13 and 19, 2017 respectively. Nonetheless, the National Council isn’t certain on prolongation of the licenses due to the beneficiary issues. Officially the beneficiaries of the broadcasting company are Denis Mozgovoy from Avdeevka and Tatiana Alexandrova from Donetsk, however, the National Council believes that the information is not clear…

The two oldest newspapers in Greece, To Vima and Ta Nea, were among the publications which were supposed to cease publication last weekend. On Saturday , the media group which owns them, Lambrakis Press Group (DOL), announced the end of their publications “within days due to financial reasons.” The International and European Federation of Journalists (IFJ and EFJ), together with their Greek affiliates, are asking for time to negotiate a long term solution. As a result, over 500 media workers, including 250 journalists, most of whom are members of the IFJ/EFJ Greek affiliate JUADN (Journalists’ Union of Athens Daily Newspapers),…