The final report on “Building independent media to counter political interference”, authored by Marc Gruber, was published by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and funded by the Open Society Foundations (OSF). The report provides an overview of different threats to independent media in Europe and shares good practices and recommendations for an advocacy action plan. Below, a summary of the main points. Serving as the basis for this report are data collected through questionnaires circulated to EFJ affiliates, telephone interviews and EFJ activities, such as a series of webinars on the same topic. The participating countries, which are representative…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) held a six-week training course online for union workers on the topic of “Organising and recruiting in challenging times”, taking place from 12 January until 16 February 2021. The training sessions were guided by the ETUI trainers, Ulisses Garrido and Alina Mihaela Caia taking consideration the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and the digital transformation in the media and union movement. Here are the course summary and a compilation of the online course materials, resources and learning outcomes. The course materials and exercises are organised in…

The European Commission published its second EU-wide report on the Rule of Law, with a Communication assessing the situation in the EU as well as in dedicated country chapters on each Member State. The report examines new developments since the first report last September and takes into account the impact of the pandemic. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) welcomes that the report tackles the deteriorating situation of journalists’ safety as well as obstacles such as lack of transparency or political interference and calls on the Member States to improve the conditions and legislation for media workers. The methodology behind…

Today, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) published a report examining initiatives that aim to promote sustainable innovative journalism, including those that explore new business models. This report, written by international media expert Marc Gruber follows and updates a previous report on digital journalism and new business models and a workshop held in 2018. Against the backdrop of a collapsing traditional business model for media, journalism has to constantly reinvent itself and be viable and financially sustainable. Structured in six sections, this report provides numerous examples and approaches that show common trends and ideas to reach this much-needed sustainability and innovation. The survey found that successful…

On 23 June 2021, the Reuters Digital News Report 2021 was published by the Reuters Institute for Journalism in cooperation with Oxford University. Apanel of experts discussed the findings for its launch. The most encouraging result of this extensive study is that the public’s trust levels have sharply risen during the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, major challenges are how to build on the trust gained and to further engage high audiences. In the panel discussion, it appeared that major questions defining the future of news consumption concern how media can hold and engage subscribers, especially regarding young audiences: “It’s important to…

The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ) published a new study on what trust means to news audiences based on focus groups and in-depth interviews in four countries: the UK, US, India and Brazil. The report found that there is a certain gap between what journalists versus what audiences associate with trust and that news media need to re-define and better communicate their brand identities. The report “Listening to what trust in news means to users: qualitative evidence from four countries” was published on 22 April as part of RISJ’s £3.3m Facebook-funded Trust In News project. It comes after…

The Turkish Association of Journalists (GCD) published today its Annual Media Monitoring Report documenting the state of press freedom in Turkey for the year 2020. The report addresses a number of topics such as the impact of the COVID-19, disinformation, the new internet regulation, the situation of imprisoned journalists and journalists currently on trial. According to the Media Monitoring Report, the pandemic of the century and legal developments throughout the year deepened the deadlock media in Turkey faces. The working conditions and freedom to report for journalists and media workers were already very difficult. According to the professional evaluation survey,…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) together with the four European trade union federations in the Media, Arts and Entertainment sector, namely: the International Federation of Actors (FIA); the International Federation of Musicians (FIM), UNI Europa – Media, Entertainment & Arts (EURO-MEI), has today launched a handbook on Trade Union Organising. The handbook is the outcome of a joint project, entitled “Reaching the Full Potential of Social Dialogue for Atypical Workers” that addressed the challenge of union representation of workers in the Media, Arts and Entertainment sector, who are freelance, self-employed or otherwise atypical workers. It contains good practices on…

The Centre for Law and Democracy has released an executive summary of the report on the Right to Information during Health Emergencies in English, French and Spanish. Below is a summary of (potential) changes to access to information and right to information law in Council of Europe Member States. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has urged governments during the pandemic to ensure full transparency about the pandemic and to guarantee the capacity of journalists to act in the public interest, without any limitation. In view of the changing situation it is now time to lift any restrictions which may…

While many European governments use the Covid19 crisis to massively restrict media freedom, the report of a fact-finding mission to Scandinavia shows policies and approaches that can inspire change for the better. Representatives of the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT) visited Denmark and Sweden from 15 to 18 December 2019. They followed the questions: Why does Scandinavia regularly lead the rankings for media freedom? What can governments and media actors in other countries learn and adopt from this region? In summarising the report, ECPMF’s…

Launch of the 2020 Annual Report by the partner organisations to the Council of Europe Platform to Promote the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists Attacks on press freedom in Europe are at serious risk of becoming a new normal, 14 international press freedom groups and journalists’ organisations, including the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), warn today as they launch the 2020 annual report of the Council of Europe Platform for the Protection of Journalists. The fresh assault on media freedom amid the Covid-19 pandemic has worsened an already gloomy outlook. The report analyses alerts submitted to the Platform…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) launched on 4 February 2020 in the European Parliament its new publication on the transposition of the EU whistleblower directive. The event was co-organised by Free Press Unlimited (FPU), Whistleblowing International Network (WIN) and hosted by MEP Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield (Greens/EFA). The author, International whistleblower lawyer Mary Inman, highlighted concrete recommendations on key articles. Entitled “Implementing the new Whistleblower directive: a transposition guide for journalists“, it aims to provide journalists’ organisations with information on how the directive may affect their profession and highlights areas where further outreach efforts are needed at the national level. In…

2019 was a terrible year for press cartoons, according to Courrier International. The ‘New York Times affair’, the numerous trials against cartoonists and the greater precariousness of the profession showed that their working conditions are deteriorating. As we marked the fifth anniversary of the attack on Charlie Hebdo, Cartooning for Peace, an international network of press cartoonists, has published a guide intended to cartoonists facing specific or persistent threats. The publication is meant to be very practical as it includes advices, testimonies and useful resources to help cartoonists around the world 1) to assess the risks and 2) to identify…

The UNESCO launched a handbook for journalists on reporting violence against women and girls to help radio, television, press and social media professionals determine which channels of investigation and information is relevant and ethical when reporting on gender violence. This guide includes examples of good practices and tips on how to frame the topic, how to conduct an interview, how to avoid sensationalism, the terminology to use, etc. DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT Anne-Marie Impe is the author of the handbook and her professional career is at the crossroads of journalism and lifelong education, writing and action. She started in Dakar, Senegal,…

Europe’s newsrooms are still predominantly white and middle class, though societies are changing at rapid speed. How to better reflect all members of the increasingly diverse European societies within Europe’s Media and public sphere is crucial; the issue of diversity and gender is and important element in EFJ’s project work. The European Federation of Journalists has published a new report about how to get newsrooms and editorial teams more diverse. As part of the EFJ project ‘Managing change in media’, supported by the European Commission, one of its contributors, Alexandra Borchardt, drafted ten recommendations for newsrooms to be more diverse,…

Download the Codex The European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) launched its Press Freedom Police Codex on 4 December in Brussels. The Codex formulates in eight clauses how the police and journalists can work amicably together. The clauses are based on research into areas of conflict between the two professions from all over Europe. It addresses issues of police violence, surveillance, accreditation, protection of sources and confiscation of journalistic materials. With the launch of the  Codex, ECPMF aims to provide guidelines, establish and continue a dialogue between journalists and the police, to help the two professions work together…