On the 20th anniversary of the murder of Montenegrin journalist Duško Jovanović, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins the SafeJournalists Network and partners in the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) in calling for stronger action from the authorities. Journalists and media freedom organisations jointly condemn the two decades of impunity in the case of the murder of journalist Duško Jovanović and urge the Montenegrin authorities, both political representatives and relevant bodies, to take all necessary measures to identify and bring the perpetrators and masterminds to justice. Duško Jovanović was the founder, director, and chief editor of the daily newspaper…

Amid the forthcoming EU elections, the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) was prompted to organise an urgent advocacy mission to Italy on May 16-17 to address some recent developments related to press and media freedom. Such concerns included unprecedented political interference in the public service media, legal harassment of dissenting journalists by government members, and the potential acquisition of AGI news agency by MP Antonio Angelucci. Italy’s current state of media freedom raises significant concerns. The worrying trend of political interference and legal harassment undermines democratic principles and threatens the independence and pluralism essential for a free press. During its visit to Rome,…

BiH: Authorities must urgently break the deadlock facing public broadcasters and solve the financial problems Following the temporary interruption of the TV and radio programs of the RTV Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina on 8 May 2024, the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners denounce the irresponsible political management that created the crisis and led to direct violation of citizens’ right to freedom of information. The long-standing financial dispute between the national public broadcaster (BHRT) and the federal public channel of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FTV), two of the three public service media in the country, led to an unprecedented media…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) will hold its annual meeting in Prishtina, Kosovo. Around 100 journalists and trade union representatives from 45 European countries are expected to meet on 23-24 May 2024. Prishtina was chosen as the host city of the upcoming congress of the EFJ, representing 320,000 journalists in Europe. Co-organised by the Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AGK), the assembly will be held in Modelarium, University of Prishtina. “It is a historic milestone for Kosovo to host this important annual event. It comes at a time when the media freedom index in the country has fallen significantly,…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined its Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners in highlighting ongoing press freedom concerns in Ukraine, over two years following the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion. While Ukraine was at first quick to unite in the face of armed aggression, setting aside internal conflicts and arguments, the climate of trust between officials and independent media seems to have seriously deteriorated, two years on. Repeated surveillance of journalists In comparison to neighbouring Russia and Belarus, Ukraine has long been a haven for independent media, offering local journalists the opportunity to criticise power without fear of…

The growing pressure on press freedom in Italy has prompted the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) consortium to organise an urgent mission to Rome on May 16 and 17. The unprecedented political interference in the public service media, the increasing cases of vexatious lawsuits against journalists, and the possible sale of the AGI news agency will be the focus of the two-day visit. Meetings will be held with institutional stakeholders, journalists, trade unions and civil society. In light of the recent legislative developments on media freedom at the EU level, in particular the adoption of the anti-SLAPP Directive and the…

Since 1 May 2024, French journalist Nassira El Moaddem has been the target of an unprecedented campaign of racist harassment. Her media, Arrêt sur images (ASI), specialised in media issues, has also received several death threats referring to the Charlie Hebdo attack. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its French affiliates the SNJ, SNJ-CGT and CFDT-Journalistes in expressing full solidarity with Nassira El Moaddem and ASI, and in calling for appropriate sanctions to be taken against the perpetrators of the threats. The harassment campaign started with a tweet posted by Nassira El Moaddem on 30 April 2024, in reaction…

Based on a recent study by the Centre of Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (CMPF) that maps news deserts in Europe, the Local Media for Democracy (LM4D) project financially supports independent local media outlets operating in areas at risk of becoming news deserts. We talked to Ante Fumić, owner of Lika Club, about the opportunities from the development of the Lika App, which aims to provide relevant news, information, and content that directly serves the interests and concerns of the local community. By focusing on their specific needs, the app will enhance accessibility to regional media and foster a stronger…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the undersigned partner organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) in demanding the immediate release of Andrey Gniot, a Belarusian journalist and pro-democracy activist who is being held in custody by Serbian authorities on politically motivated charges formulated by the regime of Alexander Lukashenko. Since October, Serbian courts have been deliberating upon a request to deport Gniot to Belarus. According to the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), an independent trade union in exile, Gniot was arrested immediately upon his arrival to Serbia on October 30. He was detained based on an international arrest warrant…

On World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) 2024, the partner organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) stand in solidarity with media workers everywhere and draw attention to the deteriorating press freedom situation in Europe. Since WPFD 2023, the MFRR partners have documented more than 1,000 media freedom violations affecting over 1,500 journalists or media entities in European Union Member States and candidate countries. As the year progressed, the MFRR witnessed physical attacks, harassment online and offline, the continued use of vexatious lawsuits to stifle critical reporting, further pressure on sustainable revenue streams for independent media, government attempts to muzzle public media, and tragically…

Journalist Sergei Mingazov from the Russian edition of Forbes magazine was charged with spreading “false” information about Moscow’s military offensive in Ukraine, on 26 April 2024. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) denounces the accusations against Mingazov, a member of the Journalists’ and Media Workers’ Union (JMWU), an EFJ affiliate, and once again condemns the continued crackdown on independent journalists by the Russian authorities. A court in Khabarovsk today placed Mingazov under house arrest for two months for “reposting about the events in Bucha” on the Telegram channel Khabarovsk Mingazeta. Bucha is the Kyiv suburb where Russian troops have been accused…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) reiterates its solidarity with Domani newspaper subjected to constant attacks as well as with its journalists Giovanni Tizian, Nello Trocchia, and Stefano Vergine. They are under investigation for complicity in a concerted action with a public official regarding unauthorised access to documents and for revealing secrets through the publication of information contained in those documents. They face up to 9 years in prison. We believe that the decision by the Perugia prosecutor’s office to prosecute the journalists is an attempt to identify their sources. The following call for support was signed by more than…

Most journalists use Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to improve their work and manage their workload. Okraj.cz, a group of three passionate, young journalists from Ostrava, Czech Republic, are no exception. Thanks to funding and mentorship from the Local Media for Democracy (LM4D) project, the media startup developed its own code of conduct for  AI to generate illustrations for their articles, but within reason. The three journalists come from different journalistic backgrounds. Jan Žabka worked in Prague looking into disinformation and digital chaos, Simona Janikova has experience in a range of topics, including local businesses, human stories and environment, and Klara…

25 April 2024 12:00 CET REGISTER HERE On April 25, 2024, the Media Freedom Rapid Response will host a webinar addressing the recent decline in press freedom in Georgia. This decline has been exacerbated by the reintroduction of a Russia-style foreign agent law earlier this month. The new law, titled ‘Transparency of Foreign Influence’ requires independent media and civil society organisations that receive funding from abroad to label themselves as “organisations pursuing the interests of a foreign power.” Since then, journalists from online media were barred from the parliament when the law was being debated and on April 16, 2024, reporters from online media…

Over 1,500 protesters gathered on 16 April 2024 in front of the National Council of the Slovak Republic to express their disagreement with legislation proposed by the Slovak National Party (SNS). Invited by the Otvorená Kultúra! Platform, the President of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) Maja Sever took the floor to express solidarity and recall the legacy of the murdered investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and its significance for free journalism and democracy. Under the slogan “You Divide, We Unite!”, protesters called on the current government to withdraw the controversial legislative proposals aimed at political control of the media and…

On 16 April 2024, the German journalists’ organisations DJV and dju in ver.di are calling on permanent and freelance journalists from all public broadcasters and Deutsche Welle to hold a joint day of action. Under the motto “Fairness sparks”, the employees are sending out a clear signal in favour of fair and appropriate collective agreements in the public broadcasting sector. The DJV and ver.di unions are jointly conducting collective bargaining. At lunchtime, decentralised actions will be organised in German broadcasting companies. Journalists are united by a common call: “We must make those responsible for collective bargaining at the public broadcasters…