2025 Candidate for SC Member: Antonis Repanas
Who I am
I am a freelance journalist based in Thessaloniki, Greece. I mainly work with foreign Media, and I also run the website humanstories.gr. I am also a member of the board of the Journalists Union of Macedonia and Thrace (ESIEMTH). I started as a sports journalist working for TV and the daily newspaper of a powerful Greek Media outlet that collapsed in 2015, and I found myself unemployed. Instead of just waiting for a job offer, I decided to start producing stories about migration, a topic that at the time took a very sensitive and difficult turn in Greece. What initially seemed like a desperate shift quickly turned into a new beginning for me in journalism.
Why I am standing
In the latest MFRR report about Greece it is noted that despite numerous challenges (SLAPPs, media concentration, journalists’ surveillance), “quality watchdog journalism is being conducted on a daily basis in Greece, both at media outlets in the grouping of smaller independent outlets and larger legacy titles.” I think this is largely due to the persistent work carried out collectively through the EFJ network and the Greek Unions’ strong engagement in it. And in a way this can be considered a contribution of Greece to the EFJ spirit: proof that together we can support quality journalism. I stand to further promote this spirit, in an era where people tend to distrust journalists.
My priorities for the EFJ
Freelance rights and working conditions, and safety of journalists are the main areas I am committed to working on within the EFJ framework. Having first-hand experience as a freelance journalist myself and through my collaboration with colleagues from various European countries, I firmly believe there is a lot of room for further action both at EU level and nationally. Even within Unions, the culture about freelance journalists needs to be improved. The same applies to the Safety of Journalists, a field I follow closely through my Union’s involvement (ESIEMTH, Thessaloniki, Greece) in the International Training Center for the Safety of Journalists.
