The Western Balkan’s Regional Platform for Advocating Media Freedom and Journalists’ Safety(*) expressed its deepest concerns following the physical attack on May 12 against Croatian journalist Mladen Mirković in the town of Požega. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) backs its six affiliates in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, Kosovo, Serbia and Macedonia, in calling on the authorities to swiftly investigate the case. The assaillant was Požega mayor Vedran Neferović. According to Mirković, the attack happened after the mayor invited him for a meeting at his office. He wanted to know who had written some articles published on the website the journalist is working for, 034portal.hr In a…

The German affiliates of the European Federation of Journalists, the Deutscher Journalisten-verband (DJV) and Dju in ver.di criticized the adoption of the Network Enforcement Law („Netzwerkdurchsetzungsgesetz”) by the German Federal Cabinet on April 5, 2017, supposed to be adopted by the German Bundestag in the summer. Dju in ver.di issued a statement on April 5: “Even if we strongly reject the use of fake news and hate speech in social networks, in case of doubt, the deletion of such content is not the right response,” said Cornelia Haß, national director of dju in ver.di. “Freedom of expression and diversity of opinions are fundamental to our…

The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ and EFJ) have joined the Russian Union of Journalists (RUJ) in expressing their deepest condolences to the newspaper Noviy Petersburg after the death of its investigative journalist and co-founder of the newspaper Nicolay Andrushchenko who died on 19 April in Mariinsky hospital at the age of 73. The IFJ has also backed calls for a full investigation in to his death. Andruschenko was a prominent journalist famous for his investigative reporting on such dangerous topics as local crime, corruption, and police brutality. He was reported to have been severely beaten by unidentified…

The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ and EFJ) have condemned an attack on Armenian correspondent Sisak Gabrielian by activists of the Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) while he was covering parliamentary elections in Yerevan on 2 April, 2017. Reporting for the Armenian service of Radio Free Europe (RFE) during the parliamentary elections, Sisak Gabrielian was hit in the face by one of the ruling HHK party activists and forced out of the office by polling station attendants after having noticed and started filming alleged fraudulent activities. According to the RFE Armenian service, Gabrielian noticed that many residents voting…

UPDATE (19.04.2017): Newspaper Novaya Gazeta received today an envelope containing an unidentified white powder. The envelope’s return address was “Grozny,” the capital of Chechnya, where preachers and political officials have recently threatened the newspaper for reporting on the alleged torture and detention of men suspected of homosexuality. ——————— The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ and EFJ) have joined their Russian affiliate, the Russian Union of Journalists (the RUJ), in expressing their concern over serious threats by religious and  public opinion leaders in Chechnya against journalists and media staff at Novaya Gazeta, the leading independent newspaper in Russia. The…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) in cooperation with EBU (European Broadcasting Union) would like to invite you on Wednesday 26 April 2017 to the screening of the documentary “Erdogan ou l’ivresse du pouvoir”. It will be followed by a debate: 17:45 – Welcoming: Jean-Paul Philippot, President EBU-UER 18:00 – Screening of the documentary (In French, with English subtitles) 19:00-20:00 – Discussion with : Gilles Cayatte,  journalist and co-author Guillaume Perrier,  journalist and co-author Rebecca Harms, Member of the European Parliament (Greens) Moderation : Mehmet Koksal, EFJ-FEJ 20:30 – drinks & snacks offered to participants Venue: Press Club Brussels Europe 95,…

The European and International Federation of Journalists (EFJ/IFJ) welcome the acquittal of all defendants in the Oda TV case, including Ahmet Şık and 11 other journalists, charged with terrorism, incitement, and obtaining secret documents. On 12 April 2017, after a six-year trial, the Istanbul’s 18th Court for Serious Crimes found that prosecutors had failed to provide enough evidence to convict journalists Ahmet Şık, Soner Yalçın, Barış Pehlivan, Barış Terkoğlu, Ayhan Bozkurt, Nedim Şener, Müyesser Yıldız, Doğan Yurdakul, Coşkun Musluk, Sait Çakır, Yalçın Küçük, İklim Bayraktar and former police chief Hanefi Avcı. Following the acquittal, Ahmet Şık – who is currently…

UPDATE (24.04.2017). Italian journalist Gabriele Del Grande has been released in Turkey. ————- The Italian affiliate of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the Federazione nazionale della stampa italiana (FNSI), gathered in Rome on Tuesday 11 April to call for the release of Gabriele Del Grande, an Italian journalist arrested by the Turkish authorities at the border with Syria. “We hope his swift release and immediate return to Italy, while we thank the Italian diplomatic authorities, which is closely following the case”, said the General Secretary and the President of the FNSI, Raffaele Lorusso and Giuseppe Giulietti. Gabriele Del Grande…

Better contracts, more transparency in payments and a fair share of remuneration for journalists: these are on top of the agenda for the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) in the latest consultation on the EU copyright directive. The EFJ is putting forward important amendments to the proposed new rights for internet publishers. “We have heard many speeches in which EU Commissioners and Members of the European Parliament have emphasised the need for pluralistic European content online. They have acknowledged that achieving this means that the value gap between authors and those who profit from their work must be closed,” says…

The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ and EFJ) express their deepest condolences to their German affiliate dju in ver.di. after the death of its Chairman Ulrich Janßen who died at the age of 61 on March 31 following a serious illness. Ulrich Janßen was a committed fighter for the social and professional rights  of journalists. He was an excellent trade union leader and a committed works council representative. As Chairman of the works council of the Nordwest-Zeitung publishing house in Oldenburg , Ulrich Janßen supported and inspired his colleagues. He had been involved in trade union activities since…

People are more and more relying on social media for news – This is the trend highlighted in the 2016 annual report on digital news published by the Reuters Institute for the study of journalism, although traditional media outlets are still considered as valuable and trusted brands. The study also suggests that the impact on publishers’ revenues has to be addressed. The use of platforms, social networks and mobiles should be combined with sustainable business models. The growth of social media The digital news report 2016 confirms what many studies highlighted before: television news and online news are the most…

The International and European Federation of Journalists (IFJ and EFJ) have today condemned the detention of at least 13 international and local journalists by Russian authorities during nationwide anti-corruption protests on 26 March. The demonstrations were not officially authorised in many Russian cities including Moscow and Saint-Petersburg which led to the detention of hundreds of people. Six journalists – among them two international correspondents – were detained in the capital Moscow, three in Saint-Petersburg and four more in other Russian cities. Reports added that the police also threatened and hit some reporters to prevent them from covering the demonstrations. Journalist…

Applications for the second international Media Literacy workshop co-organised by CMFE Community Media Forum Europe and COMMIT Community Medien Institut within the Media Against Hate Campaign are now open here! It will take place in Olsztyn, Poland, on 8-9 June 2017. The workshop will address the following topics: Freedom of expression and respect of human rights – where are the boundaries and what is hate speech? (training) Muslims in the Media – Round table discussion with local and international experts (in cooperation with OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights) The trainers will be: Gordana Knezevic, award-winning journalist, “Balkans…

Following two cases of impunity and careless investigation in Ukraine, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) renews its calls for an end to impunity for crimes against journalists and action to protect the safety of media professionals in the country. The first case involves a TV crew of local TV station attacked in front of police officers – who didn’t intervene – on 10 June 2016 in Berdyansk Zaporizhia region. Journalists went to cover the illegal seizure of a hotel building, when the unidentified men in a military uniform beaten up reporter Volodymyr Holovatiy, took away the camera and seized…

In the framework of the project “Media Against Hate”, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) will organise together with the Croatian Journalists’ Association (CJA) a workshop on “Reporting Refugees, Migrants, Ethnicity” on 26-27 May 2017 in Zagreb, Croatia. The training will gather 25 journalists from the European Union reporting topics concerning refugees, migrants and ethnicity. The training aims to exchange best practices and guidelines promoting ethical journalism on these issues. A regional outlook will also focus on challenges for hate speech in Croatia. Please find enclosed the invitation letter with all the practical details as well as the draft programme.…

The Romanian affiliate of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the Federation Culture and Media FAIR-MediaSind, negotiated and signed a collective agreement on 2 March 2017 with the national news agency Agerpres for the period 2017-2019. The collective agreement contains new clauses as well as new dispositions regarding holidays, pension and the Ethics and Discipline Committee. The article 22 introduces three days off on June 1 (for all employees), March 8 (for women) and November 19 (for men). The article 80 introduces the payment of seven months’ severance in case of redundancies and three in case of retirement. The article…