The International and European Federation of Journalists has published the second edition of its special bulletin called Set Journalism Free in Turkey. The bulletin details the agenda of the upcoming International Conference on Press Freedom and Labour Rights to be held mid-September in Istanbul, a summary of actions run by our affiliate TGS and the latest news about the international campaign on Set Journalism Free in Turkey. See the special edition HERE More information is available on our campaign page

The European Commission has launched a public consultation to assess current EU law on audiovisual media (Audiovisual Media Services Directive 2010/13/EU – AVMSD) to check if the current legislation is up-to-date for media in the digital era. According to the Commission’s communications, the consultation focuses on the following key topics: providing rules to shape technological developments creating a level playing field for emerging audiovisual media preserving cultural diversity protecting children and consumers safeguarding media pluralism combating racial and religious hatred guaranteeing the independence of national media regulators. During the review, stakeholders will be asked how effective the current law in…

As the media industry grows more freelances, so the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) in the UK and Ireland is trying to ascertain how to attract freelances into membership. The main question is: What services and benefits could the union offer to freelances that are not covered in our ’10 Reasons’ leaflet ? As everyone agrees, the priority for freelances in the current climate is to find work – work that pays! One of our members has suggested a Freelance Salon, an event with speakers who will discuss how to go beyond the traditional pitch to editors and navigate new…

The European Parliament’s initiative report  to make proposal to reform EU copyright/authors’ rights law fails to improve the contractual position of authors and performers. The report adopted in the plenary session yesterday in Strasbourg was drafted by German Eurodeputy Julia Reda and is the result of months of lobbying and heated debates in the hemicycle. The adopted text makes a number of proposals to amend authors’ rights legislation in the EU as a contribution to the European Commission’s upcoming revision package on authors’ rights to be issued by the end of 2015. While the adopted text makes a specific call…

Journalists’ Union of Serbia (SINOS, EFJ-IFJ affiliate) and the Professional Association of Journalists of Serbia (PROUNS) held today (08/07/2015) an indignation rally outside the building of the Serbian Constitutional Court. SINOS members demanded the Constitutional Court to take into consideration the initiative for assessing the constitutionality of the new law on public information submitted by several media associations almost a year ago. According to SINOS, the new law could hamper the transparency of media ownership resulting in some tycoons and political parties owning most of the media. In August 2014, the Serbian Parliament adopted a new package of media legislation (Law on…

Plenary session of the European Parliament on 9 July 2015 We will not limit #FreedomofPanorama. People can take pictures of whatever they see in public places #EPlenary #copyright @Senficon — Günther H. Oettinger (@GOettingerEU) July 9, 2015     The European Parliament is likely to adopt an initiative report that could potentially hamper the right of press photographers to take photographs in public spaces, the International and the European Federation of journalists have warned. The report, drafted by the German Eurodeputy Julia Reda, makes a number of proposals to amend authors’ rights legislation in the EU as a contribution to…

Send your solidarity message to the AFP staff on strike in the comment box below. Strike continues at AFP France against termination of collective agreements (c)P.Kamenka http://t.co/MQqMzEYvmFpic.twitter.com/50JOckydIk — EFJ (@EFJEUROPE) July 8, 2015     The International Federation of Journalists and the European Federation of Journalists have today called on Mr Emmanuel Hoog, CEO of Agence France Press (AFP), one of the world’s major news agencies, to revoke the company’s decision to terminate 117 collective agreements and business agreements. The social model that has been put in place for decades at the AFP provides the protection necessary for journalists and…

The EFJ affiliate in Sweden, Svenska Journalistförbundet, has announced the signature of a new collective agreement with Almega Medieföretagen covering all freelance journalists and media workers. “This agreement is an important step forward to strengthen the position of freelance journalists in Sweden,” said Jonas Nordling, President of the Swedish union of journalists. EFJ President, Mogens Blicher Bjerregård, quickly congratulated the Swedish colleagues for what he qualified as an “impressive collective agreement for all freelancers”. Impressive agreement for all #freelance in @journalistforb Sweden https://t.co/W0oeVecdnR @EFJEUROPE #TradeUnion — Mogens B. Bjerregård (@mogensbb) July 1, 2015 It is important to note that the agreement covers all freelance…

Journalists and photographers will face a new wave of restrictions on their work as the Spanish government enacted the controversial public security law (also known as gag law or “Ley Mordaza” in Spanish) on 1 July, warned the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), who have joined their Spanish affiliates FAPE, FeSP, FSC-CC.OO. and ELA-Gizalan in calling for repeal of the law.  The Public Security Law makes a criminal offence “any unauthorised use of images or personal as well as professional data concerning police officers which may put at risk the safety of the…

The Union of Journalists in Bulgaria (SJBP Podkrepa, EFJ affiliate) has successfully held its 9th national conference on 25/06/2015 at the conference hall of the Confederation of Labour Syndicate in Sofia (Bulgaria). Reneta Nikolova, TV journalist, author and presenter of the rubric We and the Law at the Bulgarian National Televison, has been re-elected as President of Podkrepa with an absolute majority, she will work in tandem with her deputy Yavor Simov, an investigative journalist. The SJBP Podkrepa has 187 members and the main objectives of the new leadership are the following : recruitment of new members improving working conditions for journalists support investigative journalism sharing European best…

An IFJ/EFJ delegation met with Pirate Party MEP Julia Reda this morning to discuss her report on the implementation of the “infosoc” directive on copyright and related rights in the information society and the directive on trade secrets for which she was appointed as shadow rapporteur for the Greens EP group. The delegation was composed of EFJ President Mogens Blicher Bjerregård, EFJ General Secretary Ricardo Gutiérrez and IFJ/EFJ authors’ rights officer Pamela Morinière. The IFJ and the EFJ expressed its strong rejection of the trade secret directive. “You were right to vote against the current version of the text,” Ricardo…

A group of international press freedom and professional organisations, including the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), completed on Friday a three-day high-level mission to Spain, where a controversial new law on public security is set to take effect on July 1. In a series of meetings in Madrid, the group, led by the International Press Institute (IPI) and including representatives from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the Madrid-based Platform for the Defence of Free Expression (PDLI), as well as independent legal and regulatory experts, urged Spanish political parties to include key press…

“The country is going through a time in history whereby the concept of “criticism” has lost its substance. Any opinion opposing the views and positions of the politically powerful and not praising them are perceived as an “insult” or “defamation”. Any political dissent is subjected to intimidation. Triggered by this attitude, negative effects on political and social polarization has reached all segments of the society as well as the social life including publishing,” states a new report published this week by the Turkish Publishers Association (TYB). Although focusing mainly on freedom to publish for book writers and authors, the report also shows significant interest for…

Attending the Deutsche Welle’s Global Media Forum 2015 in Bonn (22/06/2015), the European Commissioner Günther Oettinger referred in his speech to “media freedom and pluralism” as a “crucial value for the EU”. To give examples of concrete steps, the Commissioner mentioned different EU projects involving the active participation of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ). “Whether a media outlet is so-called traditional or online, media practitioners will always have to be warranted the right to report facts and offer their views and opinions. Political pressure, economic hardship, physical attacks against journalists, restrictive legislation, and a general financial crisis in the sector all influence…

“Despite existing legal guarantees, media freedom in Bulgaria is currently impeded or threatened by a combination of practices which, taken together, create an environment conducive to widespread self- censorship among journalists and undue external pressure on media,” said the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muiznieks in a special report published today (22/06/2015) about the situation of human rights and media freedom in Bulgaria. “This new report published by the Commissioner for Human Rights confirms the bad reputation of the Bulgarian media. The country is regularly named as the lowest ranking European Union member state for media freedom in several international…

The EFJ in cooperation with its affiliate  the Trade Union of Media of Montenegro (TUMM), sent letters to the President, the Prime Minister and other high officials of Montenegro to express its concerns about the increased lack of respect for journalists’ and media workers’ right by the employers on decent salaries, fair remuneration for freelances, trade union rights and the rights to collective bargaining in Montenegro and the region. The EFJ draws particular attention to the case of journalist Tufik Softic who because of his investigative reporting, was brutally beaten eight years ago. Two years ago, a bomb was thrown…