IFJ launches new Global Charter of Ethics for Journalists

Journalists’ unions around the world endorsed on 12 June, in Tunis, a new Charter of Ethics for Journalists following months of consultations. The document builds on and reinforces the ethical standards laid down by the 1954 IFJ Declaration of Principles on the Conduct of Journalists, the most widely recognised text on journalistic ethics to date. That Declaration was drafted in Bordeaux, France, 65 years ago, and was last updated in 1986, hence the need for a new Charter adapted to current challenges facing the media. Drafted by a working group of 16 people, including representatives of the IFJ leadership, regions and…

EU Fundamental Rights Agency launches new e-learning platform on migration for journalists

Help is at hand for media professionals seeking to enhance the quality of their work when reporting about migration, as the Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) releases a new e-learning platform developed by journalists for journalists to mark World Refugee Day on 20 June. The online e-Media Toolkit provides first-hand assistance to media professionals with learning resources, training courses, and opportunities to share and interact. The learning section allows users to take courses in which journalists or editors of leading media outlets share their real-life newsroom dilemmas of reporting on migration. Training provides material for media trainers to design their own…

Macedonian Council of Media Ethics Regional Conference

Regional conference „Freedom of expression, media freedoms and self-regulation “ Date: November 6th, 2018 Location: Bitola Agenda 10:45 – 11:00 Registration of participants 11:00 – 11:20 Introductory speeches Marina Tuneva, Executive Director of the Council of Media Ethics (CMEM) Freek Janmaat, EU Delegation Katerina Sinadinovska, President of the Managing Board, Council of Media Ethics 11:20 –11:40 Networks of cooperation between journalists and civil society for protection of democracy and freedom of expression Ricardo Gutiérrez, General Secretary of the European Federation of Journalists 11:40 –12:00 Media, ethics and self-regulation Sefer Tahiri, member of the Press Complaints Commission, CMEM 12:00 – 12:20…

Western Balkans: How to fight self-censorship in public service media newsrooms

On 18 and 19 October in Belgrade, programme directors and editors’ in chief discussed with members of  the EFJ Broadcasting Expert Group how to best implement code of conducts and editorial guidelines for Public Service Media in Western Balkans. The workshop was implemented by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and is part of a two-year project “Technical Assistance to Public Service Media in the Western Balkan” led by the IFJ in cooperation with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The EFJ trainer Muriel Hanot, Director of the Belgian Press Council, gave a presentation about ethical standards in Belgium including the use…

“Words That Matter” – glossary by Cypriot journalists to address local issues

On 10th of July in Nicosia, the Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFOM) in cooperation with the Ethical Journalism Network (EJN), and several local journalists, including members of EFJ affiliates Basin-Sen and Union of Cyprus Journalists,  has published “Words That Matter“, a trilingual glossary in English, Greek, and Turkish, to list phrases and words, used by the journalists in communities, which may be taken sensitively. The glossary resulted from a common effort between the organisations to minimise hate speech in journalism, as well as trying to overcome the long-lasting tensions between Greek Cypriot and Turkish…

Robot Journalism – We should not be afraid

Robot journalism or automation is becoming an important part of news production. It speed up news production and generate a vast amount of content in a matter of sector to be distributed and consumed in print and online. However, we know little about how news automation work and its implication on ethics and quality of journalism, as well as the impact on human journalists. These questions were explored in a workshop organised by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) within the framework of the Media Road project on 5 June in Lisbon, Portugal. The workshop was attended by around 40…