Danish public broadcaster DR will cut between 375 and 400 jobs and close down three TV channels and three radio channels, as a consequence of the package of media reforms agreed by Denmark’s governing right-wing coalition. DR will lose 20% of its funding over the next five years. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its affiliate, the Danish Union of Journalists (DJ), in strongly condemning these unprecedented layoffs in what some are calling an act of “revenge” by the Danish government. A significant driver of the cuts is the right-wing populist Danish People’s Party (DF), which is a supporting partner of the…

Italian government threatens to cut indirect state funding to the press, accusing newspapers of “polluting the debate”. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) join their affiliate the Federazione Nazionale Stampa Italiana (FNSI) in strongly condemning these threats and expressing serious concerns over the press situation in Italy. The government’s announcement was made on 12 September and throughout last week by Luigi Di Maio, head of the populist Five Star Movement (M5S) and key figure in Italy’s government. On his Facebook account, the deputy prime minister threatened the press in a post saying that…