On February 12, 2019, the European Federations of Journalists (EFJ)’s labour rights expert group (LAREG) members will officially launch a new Charter on journalists working conditions during a press conference organised in Belgrade at : speakers : members of the labour rights expert group (LAREG+) in EU, Western Balkans and Turkey Subject : Launch of EFJ Charter on journalists working conditions Date : Tuesday 12 February 2019 at 10:00 am Location : Press centar UNS, street Kneza Mihaila 6, Belgrade language : English and Serbian registration : free access (no accreditation required for journalists) contact : mehmet@europeanjournalists.org / camille@europeanjournalists.org    …

On February 4, 2019 around 11 a.m., under the pretext of Mediapart having breached the privacy rights of Alexandre Benalla, the Paris Prosecutor’s office sent two prosecutors and three policemen to search its offices. The attempted search clearly targeted the “recording and listening devices” to uncover the sources of the last revelations, audio recordings, between Alexandre Benalla and Vincent Crase. Fabrice Arfi and Michaël Hajdenberg both heading the investigative journalism pool at Mediapart opposed the search in the absence of its President and founder, journalist Edwy Plenel. As a rule, during a preliminary enquiry, the media has the right to refuse entry…

Both in France and the UK, freelance media workers have joined forces to tackle the unlawful working practices of media owners. They demand the end of payment on publication, to be paid for all their work, not just on the basis of what has been published, only after it has been published. They also expect to receive payments promptly, instead of enduring huge delays and being left out of pocket. Media workers are under pressure from employers who are cutting editorial budgets, slashing jobs and undermining trade union organisations. Many journalists have been forced into what we call “fake freelance”…

The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ/EFJ), the world and Europe’s largest journalists’ organisations, call on EU Institutions to reject provisions and proposals that aim to restrict or obliterate journalists’ remuneration, ahead of final negotiations on the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (DSM). It is with great dismay and disbelief that the IFJ and the EFJ have read the EU Presidency’s latest proposals regarding journalists’ remuneration in the context of the draft legislation. While floating a possible compromise idea of an “appropriate and proportionate” remuneration for authors in Recital 39Y and presumably in Article -14, the…

The Belgian government passed a bill  or “Taxe Michel” forcing media workers (journalists and technicians), residing in Belgium or Belgian, to pay a mandatory €50 fee for the security screening document it delivers to authorize access to EU events. It debuted at last October’s EU Summit. The Belgian Union of Journalists (AJP) opposed the law 6 months ago to no avail. About 1000 journalists, either Belgian or residing in Belgium, will be forced to pay the fee. Belgium has now started billing journalists or their employers and the European Federation of Journalist joins the AJP ‘s recommendation to refuse to…

French journalists ‘safety is being increasingly threatened amid tensions covering the Gilet Jaunes (Yellow Vests) demonstrations across France. From insults and menaces to physical injuries, journalists are under attack from both demonstrators and the police. Publishers face the threat of their newspapers being blocked. Invectives on social media are on the rise. Amid a climate of defiance towards the media, anti-media rhetoric is commonplace in French society. The French media industry addressed these concerns publicly in an open letter in French newspapers on 15 January 2019 which was co-signed by the European Federation of Journalist (EFJ) together with its French…

The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) released its 2018 “Ukraine’s Journalists Physical Safety Index”. The situation has worsened for journalists since last year with 86 attacks in 2018, with a notable rise of attacks on female journalists, from 23 in 2017 to 37 in 2018. Sergiy Tomilenko, NUJU President explains: “Such a dramatic increase in aggression against female journalists is due to the unacceptable impunity from prosecution assailants enjoy. Impunity from prosecution after attacking media workers is one of our most prevalent issues.” It is best illustrated by what happened to Donbas war reporter Natalia Nagora. Working for…