European Commission study calls for greater transparency in public financing of news media

A new study released by the European Commission on “Public financing of news media in the EU”, calls for transparency, independence and pluralism from EU Member States in funding news media, both public and private. The study builds on the particular context of recent reforms regarding the financial directions taken by the Member States in supporting news media to adapt to the changes in media consumption and cope with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.  Those evolutions need attention at the European level to guarantee the efficient functioning of democracy and media freedom, the report says. It confirms that the…

OSCE Safety of Journalists Toolbox

The Safety of Journalists Toolbox presents national instruments and initiatives from across the OSCE region and makes them accessible to interested stakeholders. It is a practical instrument to showcase existing measures on the safety of journalists from across the entire OSCE region and thereby encourage further action. The Toolbox is the result of the work carried out in the framework of the OSCE RFoM project on the Safety of Journalists | OSCE and builds upon longstanding OSCE commitments. It provides an accessible and user-friendly set of tools to guide not only participating States, but also media outlets, journalists and civil…

OSCE toolkit on Artificial Intelligence and Freedom of Expression

The resource hub ‘Spotlight on Artificial Intelligence and Freedom of Expression’ is part of the #SAIFE project of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media and aims to provide information on how Artificial intelligence (AI) conditions our information environment. AI has a powerful role in shaping and arbitrating our information space – influencing what information and content we read, view, and share. This poses challenges and risks to freedom of expression and media pluralism, which can harm society, undermine democracy, and erode human rights.  The2022 Digital News Report by the Reuters Institute of Journalism at Oxford estimates that 77…

What are “news deserts” in Europe?

The article was originally published here. The concept of news deserts was initially developed by US scholars and policymakers to explain the crisis of traditional news media and the vanishing of local news outlets as a consequence of the digital transformation and the 2008 global economic crisis. In an attempt to provide a definition for this concept, some authors have focused on digital accessibility by measuring the availability of broadband and wireless technology in local communities. A second group have focused on linguistic and cultural barriers that leave ethnic communities marginalized and disenfranchised, whereas a third group have concentrated on the quality…

Věra Jourová talking at the European Anti-SLAPP Conference On 20 October 2022

What is a SLAPP? – Factsheet

SLAPP: Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation. SLAPPs are a form of legal harassment used to intimidate and silence those speaking out in the public interest. They are often used as a tool to suppress information that the plaintiffs don’t want to be brought to light. The plaintiffs are attempting to keep information secret – information that the public has a right to know. Download the PDF:

How to support journalists’ well-being: five recommendations

The Middlesex University has recently published a set of Recommendation for supporting journalists’ well-being as part of the project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council “Journalists’ emotional labour in the era of social media”. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined in Spring 2022 a dozen of key stakeholders to exchange knowledge and discuss the ways in which journalists’ well-being could be supported to benefit their mental health and job satisfaction, as well as the quality of journalism. This work has led to the following five recommendations. “These recommendations, as agreed by the multi-stakeholder group, show that the…

media against hate

Media Against Hate: Training modules

The rise of online hate speech poses challenges both to media professionals and our democratic values. This training module, divided into 4 elements, is designed to help media professionals deal with ethical problems. Module 1: Practices on migrants and refugees Module 2: Inclusion through media Module 3: Media Against ‘Hate Speech’ Module 4: How to counter hate speech and manage an online community These publications were produced as part of “Media Against Hate”, a Europewide campaign initiated by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and a coalition of civil society organisations.

CASE coalition published new report on the nature and impact of SLAPPs in Europe

The Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe (CASE) has launched a new report entitled “Shutting out criticism: How SLAPPs threaten European democracy”   based on data collected about 570 abusive lawsuits in 29 countries over the last 10 years. The first-ever comprehensive study aims to identify the scale, nature, and impact of SLAPPs in Europe. Initiated by wealthy and powerful litigants, Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) is an abusive legal system attempting to intimidate and silence public watchdogs through lengthy and expensive litigation that drains a target’s resources and chills critical voices. This form of legal harassment is one of the…

OSCE Report: Legal Harassment and abuse of the judicial system against the media

On 23 November 2021, the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation) Europe Office of the Representative on Freedom of the Media (RfoM) launched a report titled “Legal Harassment and abuse of the judicial system against the media”. The report’s aim is to underline the risks associated with the journalistic profession, and discusses the effects of legal procedures, underlining the problematic nature of the abuse of the judicial system against media workers. It shares examples of cases where the law was being misused to prevent media workers, including journalists, from doing their work or as “a means of retaliation for their…