Russian authorities detained on Wednesday 12 June hundreds of people, including at least 10 journalists, following a protest in Moscow in support of investigative journalist Ivan Golunov. The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ/IFJ) joined their affiliate in Russia, the Russian Union of Journalists (RUJ), in asking for immediate release of all detained journalists. Today’s march was initially organised to press for the release of Meduza journalist Ivan Golunov who was freed on 11 June. Demonstrators were calling for punishment of police officers involved in Golunov’s arrest on 6th June on drug-dealing accusations. Golunov always denied the allegation and…

Journalist Ivan Golunov was arrested in Russia on 6th June on drug-dealing accusations, causing a public outcry that prompted the authorities to drop all the charges against him on 11th June. While welcoming this decision, the International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ/EFJ) call on the government to stop harassing journalists. Ivan Golunov is a reporter for the independent Meduza news website. He is well known for his work investigating corruption among Moscow city officials. He showed how relatives of Moscow’s deputy mayor Pyotr Biryukov earned billions on city contracts, amassing a fortune in real estate. Police said Golunov was carrying several…

Around 30 journalists and journalists’ representatives from 20 European countries attended the workshop on “Increasing gender equality and diversity in the workplace” on 28 and 29 May in Istanbul, Turkey. Co-organised by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the Journalists’ Union of Turkey (TGS), the workshop aimed to provide best practices and concrete tools to improve equality between male and female journalists, improve diversity in the newsroom and counter growing online harrassment. Journalists’ unions and professional associations are best placed to initiate the change when it comes to closing the gender pay gap, improving work-life balance, fighting stereotypes in…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) along with other 19 press freedom and freedom of expression organizations sent a joint letter on 16 May to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, calling for justice following the recent physical attacks against two journalists, Yavuz Selim Demirağ and İdris Özyol. The letter urges the government to publicly denounce these acts of violence and ensure journalist safety in the run-up to the mayoral elections in Istanbul set for 23 June 2019. May 16, 2019 Your Excellency, President Erdoğan We are writing to you to express our serious concern over the brutal attacks on journalists…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) elected its new Steering Committee on Friday 10 May 2019, during its General Meeting taking place in Tallinn, Estonia. More than 90 participants including delegates and observers from 49 EFJ member organisations in 36 countries attended the General Meeting to elect the next Steering Committee members and to adopt the EFJ working programme for the next three years (2020-2022). The EFJ Steering Committee is now composed of 4 women and 5 men: Mogens BLICHER BJERREGÅRD, DJ, Denmark (President) Marta BARCENILLA, FSC-CCOO, Spain (Vice-President) Marijana CAMOVIC, TUMM, Montenegro Anna DEL FREO, FNSI, Italy Yannis KOTSIFOS,…

Ukrainian investigative journalist Vadym Komarov is in a coma after being assaulted by an unidentified person on 4th May. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) join their affiliate the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) in condemning the attack and urge the Ukrainian authorities to ensure a safe working environment for journalists and bring those responsible to justice. According to the police, Komarov was attacked early in the morning on 4th May as he was walking in the city centre of Cherkasy, Ukraine. He was severely beaten and hospitalised. The police have launched…

Around 30 journalists and journalists’ representatives from 20 European countries attended the workshop on “Increasing gender equality and diversity in the workplace” on 28 and 29 May in Istanbul, Turkey. Co-organised by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the Journalists’ Union of Turkey (TGS), the workshop aimed to provide best practices and concrete tools to improve equality between male and female journalists and to counter growing online harrassment. Programme Panel 1 – Gender equality and diversity in the workplace: what works in Europe? Presentation by Gülfem Karatas (TGS) Panel 2 – Fighting stereotypes in the news: towards better representation…

N1, a cable, regional news channel operating in Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, is facing a targeted campaign of pressures and threats by state officials. The International and European Federation of Journalists (IFJ and EFJ) have joined their Serbian affiliates, the Independent Union of Serbia’s Journalists (NUNS) and the Journalists’ Association of Serbia (UNS), in condemning the attacks on media freedom and urged the authorities to stop targeting and labelling media. In a letter sent to the IFJ, N1 management states that the government’s objective is to “compromise and intimidate N1 by labelling it as an anti-Serb TV”. N1 is exclusive CNN news affiliate channel for…

The European Parliament today adopted the Copyright Directive in the Digital Single Market by 348 votes in favor and 274 against. A call to open the text to amendments was lost by just 5 votes. The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ/EFJ) welcome the adoption of this long-awaited piece of legislation, which they have worked tirelessly to promote and improve. The newdirective includes key provisions for the publishing industry and authors, including journalists receiving a share of the revenue press publications generate online using their work, the principle of appropriate and proportionate remuneration for authors, key transparency obligations and…

On Monday 11 March, the European Parliament, the Commission and the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement on the protection of whistleblowers against reprisals. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) welcomes the significant improvements compared to the directive proposal, but regrets the intent of limiting protection for those reporting to the public, in particular through the media. From the very beginning the issue of the reporting channels has been the main point of discord during the negotiations. What procedure whistleblowers should follow to be granted protection? The European institutions came to a decision on Monday evening. Whistleblowers…

Around 40 journalists and journalists’ representatives from 24 European countries attended the workshop on “Modernising public service media (PSM) through innovation and dialogue” on 4 and 5 March in Bucharest. Co-organised by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the Romanian trade union FAIR – Media Sind, and with support of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) the workshop addressed the challenge for public service media to adapt to the changing way of consuming and creating news and media. Workshop on 'Modernising public service media through innovation and dialogue' just started! Thank you Fair @MediaSind and @ro2019eu for the opening remarks…

In a letter sent on 5 March to the European institutions, the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and the protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, David Kaye, and the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, raised concerns about three aspects of the draft directive on the protection of whistleblowers. This letter is published as the negotiations between the European Parliament, the Council of the EU and the European Commission are in the final stretch. The last trilogue meeting will be on Monday 11 March. The tiered reporting system This is the main…

Building bridges among journalists, students and media educators to improve gender equality in newsrooms and media content. This is what the Advancing Gender and Equality in Media Industries (AGEMI) project stands for. On 26th February, the EU-funded project launched its online platform on gender and media at the Press Club in Brussels. The web platform provides a resource bank of over 100 best practices on gender equity in media as well as free learning resources to support journalism trainers and educators in their curricula. The project itself also included a summer school and internships for 30 students across the EU.…

In an open letter to the European Council, Commission and Parliament, five well-known European whistleblowers speak out for changing the directive and removing barriers for safe reporting. This letter is published as the negotiations between the European institutions are entering the final stretch. The European Council, Commission and Parliament have started the trilogue phase since the end of January and one main point of discord remains: what procedure whistleblowers should follow to be granted protection against retaliation? The draft directive indicates three reporting channels: internal within the company, external to an authority, and public including through the press. In the…

The Advancing Gender Equality in the Media Industries (AGEMI), an EU funded project, is launching its web platform to build bridges between educators, media and media students to improve gender equality in media content and in the newsrooms. The launch is taking place during a seminar organised by AGEMI at the Brussels’ Press Club in Belgium today. The AGEMI consortium is composed of the Universities of Newcastle, Padova and Gothenbörg, as well as the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the Permanent Conference of the Mediterranean Audiovisual Operators (COPEAM). The AGEMI platform provides a resource bank of over 100 best…

Twenty-five trade union representatives from 20 European countries attended a two-day training organised by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI), on 21-22 February in Barcelona, Spain. The Spanish union FSC-CCOO, one of the EFJ affiliates in Spain, hosted the worshop. Participants – whether they are current, future or potential union leaders – were asked to reflect on how to build and lead a more inclusive and diverse journalists’ trade union. Inclusive meaning diversity in profiles within it, but also innovative ways to support current forms of journalism and mobilise new categories of journalists.…