Germany: Unions urge government to support small media and freelancers in funding scheme for media

The German Association of Journalists (DJV) has called on the Federal Ministry of Economics to link the agreed press funding to certain conditions in order to countervail media concentration and preference of large media groups. In July, the German parliament decided to provide publishers with a funding of €220 million over several years, most probably starting in 2021. This support is primarily aimed at the digital transformation of the publishing industry. However, previously agreed support specifically for the delivery of daily newspapers will not be made available. This is in the context where publishers complain that the delivery of printed press…

22 Slovenian editors-in-chief speak out: “we will not succumb to pressure”

22 editors-in-chief of leading Slovenian media said on 28 October in an open letter intended “to the public” that they will stand against political interference as they face increasing pressure from the government. With this letter, the journalists denounced their difficulty to do their job in these challenging times caused by the pandemic and reaffirmed their commitment to the public. They describe a toxic working environment where weekly pressure from the authorities “place an additional burden and make quality journalistic work more difficult”. “Neither this crisis nor anything else may be used as a pretence for attempts to impose harmful…

Kosovo: new report shows how Covid-19 exacerbates existing problems for media workers

It appears to be a global trend that the Covid-19 outbreak has aggravated previously existing problems in the journalism industry and added another layer that concerns health measures for journalists. Kosovo is no exception as shown by a report called “The impact of Covid-19 pandemic on the economic situation of journalists, cameramen and photojournalists” published on 27 October by the Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AJK). This research focuses on the consequences of Covid-19 on the economic situation for media workers, the difficulties in reporting and the lack of necessary protection equipment. The study was carried out during the period…