“The influence of propaganda and self-censorship, new channels of distribution and the attractiveness of Internet to the youth are all challenges we have to find best practice”, said Liubov Petrova, director general of the media group “journalist” at the beginning of a major media forum on developments and perspectives for quality press in Russia. About 200 editors’ in chief, publishers and journalists from throughout Russia joined these two days meeting covering new and traditional media trends, problems of press subscription, digital challenges and new technologies. The quality of the content has decreased, advertisement revenue has decreased, subscriptions have decreased while…

“In each company we need to first deal with the staff workers, and find out about their main challenges at work. We need to map the company, the sector and then also map the situation of staff , freelances, agency and all workers “, said Erkan Ersoy, Director of Organizing  in UNI SCORE (Strategic Campaigns, Organising, Research + Education) who was invited to the Freelance Expert Group meeting to discuss how to apply the UNI organising strategy at company level to freelance journalists. Other tips include: Choose the most ethical media company to start with; Map: find out about pay…

The European Center for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) organised on Tuesday 31 its second conference on media concentration in Dublin, Ireland. A day before the conference to which the EFJ, NUJ, the Florence based CPMF, a member of the European Parliament and Irish politician fighting for media pluralism were invited,  the NUJ demanded that businessman Denis O’Brien should be called before an Oireachtas committee in relation to Independent News & Media’s proposed takeover of a local newspaper group. The National Union of Journalists wrote to the chair of the Oireachtas Communications Committee in relation to the proposed takeover of…

By adopting the draft report on “A European Pillar of Social rights” by Rapporteur Maria João Rodrigues (S&D, PT), the European Parliament adopted the principle of equal treatment saying that  “All workers should have their basic rights guaranteed, whatever their form of employment and contract”. This is one of the main demands the EFJ puts in the response to the Social pillar consultation, which had been initiated by the European Commission, see We thank the rapporteur and the European Parliament for extending the notion of social rights including the right for collective bargaining and joining a union to all workers…

The European Federation of Journalists supports its member in Germany, the Deutscher Journalisten-Verband  in requesting  fair accreditation to journalists who wish to attend the European Parliament’s Europe of Nations and Freedom group) conference in Koblenz on 21 January . The meeting,  is to be attended by leaders of Germany’s right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) as well as Marine Le Pen, who heads up France’s National Front. The leader of the Dutch Freedom Party Geert Wilders and the chief of Italy’s Northern League Matteo Salvini are due to speak at the conference. According to information of the Deutscher Journalisten-Verband, several  journalists who…

The EFJ affiliates in Serbia, Journalist Association  of Serbia,(UNS)  Independent Asossociation of Serbia (NUNS) , Journalists Union of Serbia (SINOS), media society organisations and one foundation published a joined statement to support Belgrade’s leading political weekly NIN in challenging the decision of the High Court in Belgrade which determined that NIN had damaged the reputation of Serbia’s Minister of Interior Nebojsa Stefanovic by publishing a June article which portrayed Stefanovic as “The Phantom of Savamala”, the Court ordered the magazine to pay the equivalent of 2500 euros for harming the Minister’s reputation. Serbia’s journalistic community is shocked that Judge Slobodan…

Yesterday evening investigative reporter Jovo Martinovic has been released from over a year of detention ahead of his appearance in court on January 19 to answer drugs-smuggling charges while pending trial. He was indicted for aiding and belonging to a drugs-trafficking gang in April 2016 and is due to appear in court on January 19. The EFJ and IFJ in cooperation with its member in Montenegro, the Trade Union Media of Montenegro  (SMCG) had urged in a letter to former Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic in September  to consider his journalistic work as a justifiable explanation for his alleged contacts with…

On 31st December 2016 the consultation of the European Commission on the European pillar of social rights ended. The EFJ has submitted its response focusing on the need for equal treatment for all workers independent of their employment contract. The consultation of the Commission follows a process of the European Commission that took off following the State of the Union speech of President Juncker in 2015. The public consultation contains a series of questions on the social situation and EU social “acquis”, the future of work and welfare systems and the European Pillar of Social Rights. The most pressing priorities as defined the…

On 1st December, the Council of Europe’s Steering Committee on Media and Information Society (CDMSI) invited the EFJ, digital start-ups and media groups to discuss  “Media adaptation strategies and expectations” together with representatives of the Council of Europe government representatives. Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, Director of Research at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism of Oxford University, presented at the outset the results of a recent study on Challenges and opportunities for news media and journalism in an increasingly digital, mobile and social media environment –   prepared for the Council of Europe on this topic. “The move to an…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) was invited to the Final conference on “The Application of the Media Pluralism monitor (MPM2016) in 30 countries in Florence on 4 November. The preliminary, but almost finished results, gave some alarming trends, in particular when it comes to the journalistic profession including access, the role of unions and associations in protecting journalists, working conditions, safety and protection of sources. In Florence, #MPM2016 preliminary results show a range of risks for journalists working in Europe, particularly in S&SE Europe @CmpfEui pic.twitter.com/nVkdwAdrqR — JOURNALISM AT MDX (@JRNatMDX) November 4, 2016 The Media Pluralism Monitor 2016…

The recently published study on  “A comparative analysis of media freedom and pluralism in the EU Member States“conducted research on Bulgaria, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy,Poland and Romania, all countries which have shown political pluralism at high risk, accompanied by heavy state interference in the media, or close economic ties between politics and media. The 175 pages long study starts with the premise that any attempt to address media freedom and pluralism on a European level should be “intrinsically connected to the issues of democracy, rule of law and fundamental rights and should become part of a regular process of democratic…

(7 October 2016) European trade union federations (ETUFs) informal network on digitialization met  to exchange view on following topics: The need  to regulate on right to disconnect through collective bargaining and other legal instruments Surveillance of data of employees at the workplace, analysis patterns and rating platforms of employers The link between digitalisation and gender equality Online-Platforms and the “sharing economy” with atypical forms of workers as crowdworking, freelancers and the need for framework for employee protection and equal treatment, collective bargaining and fighting undeclared work Digital integration of value chains The Copyright Reform and Intellectual Property Rights and the…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the Alliance Internationale de Journalistes (AIJ) are organising a roundtable discussion on Refugees and Migrants, the inconvenient truths – Journalism against bias and stereotypes in Brussels on Tuesday, 4th October 2016 from 11.00 – 14.00 at Magritte room (3rd floor) Residence Palace, rue de la loi 155, 1040 Brussels Introduction Migrants and refugees have suddenly jumped to the top of the news agenda. During 2015 television screens and newspapers have been filled with stories about the appalling loss of life and suffering of thousands of people escaping war in the Middle East or oppression and poverty in…

The European Federation of Journalists together with its affiliate from Croatia, the Croatian Association of Journalists (CJA), have expressed their concerns over threats by the acting general manager of Croatian public broadcaster, HRT, Siniša Kovačić to dismiss journalist Sanja Mikleušević Pavić. Kovačić also initiated another dismissal procedure against Mirna Zidarić, president of HRT Ethical Council. The CJA has criticised the unprofessional behaviour of the acting HRT management, which had been confirmed by the joint International mission to Croatia in June , to which the EFJ participated. On September 23, the  HRT Ethical Council agreed that Sanja Mikleušević Pavić,  who is president of CJA Branch…

Three Turkish journalists from Zaman Media Group were at the EFJ/IFJ offices on Friday 29 July to seek international help in response to current media crackdown in Turkey. The journalists included Selçuk Gültaşlı, a correspondent for former Zaman Media Group in Belgium, Sevgi Akarçeşme, editor-in-chief for former Today’s Zaman, and Mete Öztürk, editor-in-chief of former Zaman Belçika and Zaman Vandaag. By Friday 29 July, the number of arrests warrants delivered against journalists has grown to 89 arrest warrants. The IFJ/EFJ has registered over 60 journalists detained. The newspaper, ZAMAN, and its English version Today’s Zaman were among the first media to…

#Press Freedom #Media Freedom #News   On 1 July 2016, a coalition of journalists and press organisations are hosting the “(R)EVOLUTION OF EUROPE’S PRESS” conference in the European Capital of Culture 2016: Wroclaw, Poland. This event will bring together a high level group of approximately 90 politicians, media experts, journalists, start-ups and technology experts who will examine the state of press freedom in Europe through the political, market and technological lens. President of the European Federation of Journalists, Mogens BLICHER BJERREGARD will speak at the final panel on challenges facing journalist in all media including social media. Blicher Bjerregard says, “Press freedom…