The Nordic Freelance Conference 2018 took place this year in Malmö, Sweden. The Frilans Riks, the freelance section within the Swedish Union of Journalist (SJF), organised a two day conference focusing on threats against freelance journalists in particular from right wing extremists, rise in self-censorship, dialogue with the police, media situation in Belarus, as well as the power structure of the big tech companies (“GAFA”). EFJ Director Renate Schroeder outlined the work of EFJ and its Freelance Expert Group (FREG) with a special focus on its advocacy work in Brussels for improving freelance rights and monitoring increasing threats against (freelance)…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) held the final conference of the 18-month campaign ”Media Against Hate” to counter hate speech in the media in Brussels, on 5-6 March 2018. The conference was attended by around 60 participants from all over Europe including journalists, community media, media regulators, journalists’ unions, IT companies and policymakers. Harlem Désir, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media opened the conference with a keynote speech. He emphasised high ethical standards in journalism and effective self-regulation are key to combat hate speech and disinformation in the media. Mr. Désir said, ” This is a challenging…

The European Association of Viewers’ Interests (EAVI) and MyStory project have announced their ‘Media (Literacy) and Refugees’ event, taking place on 5 December 2017 at L42 Rue de la Loi. EAVI is a non-profit international organisation, working across Europe to promote media literacy. In the morning, a series of roundtable discussions will look at the way media shapes citizens’ perceptions of migrants and refugees. The discussions will highlight the success of grassroots organisations and their media initiatives, and touch on media literacy, journalism, civil society and fake news. The project Media Against Hate will be presented at this occasion. Registration here.…

The “Manifesto of Venice”, a manifesto for gender equality and correct information, will be launched on the World Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls, on 25 November 2017. Signed by 800 journalists, including directors of national newspapers in Italy, the manifesto will be launched by the EFJ affiliate in Italy, the Federazione Nazionale Stampa Italiana (FNSI) Equal Opportunities Committee (CPO). It is a result of their collaboration with the CPO of Unione Sindacale Giornalisti Rai and Giornaliste Unite Libere Autonome (GiULiA), following a proposal by the Veneto Journalists’ Union. “We, journalist signatories of the Manifesto of Venice, are…

The Media Diversity Institute (MDI) is inviting applications for a workshop it is organising for journalists from EU countries who are keen to improve their skills related to reporting on migrants, refugees and other vulnerable groups. The event will be held in London between 4 – 8 September 2017. Journalists from EU countries interested in participating at the workshop should contact info(at)media-diversity(dot)org for further information on how to apply. The deadline for submitting applications is end of 24 July 2017. All costs of participation will be covered by the organisers. The workshop, organised as part of the ‘Media Against Hate…

The first edition of the Migration Media Award awarded 35 journalists from 16 countries for their journalistic excellence on migration in the Euro-Mediterranean region. The award ceremony was held on 14th June evening in Valletta, Malta, under the auspices of Malta’s EU presidency.The winning entries feature fact-based and impartial reporting on the complexity of migration, its many challenges and opportunities. High quality reporting as rewarded by the new journalistic competition is urgently needed to improve people’s understanding of migration. The twelve first-prize winners for the four categories of video, print, online or radio in the English, French or Arabic languages come…

Twenty-five journalists from 12 countries gathered in Zagreb (Croatia) on 26 and 27 May to attend a workshop on the theme “Reporting Refugees, Migrants, Ethnicity” co-organised by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the Croatian Journalists’ Association (CJA). Journalists gathered at the workshop on reporting refugees in Zagreb. #mediaagainsthate pic.twitter.com/KhrkjXHR6I — Gašper Andrinek (@Caspersek) May 26, 2017 Croatia had little contact with migrants from the Middle East until 2015. But the country is now welcoming some migrants and the media, as well as the population, are experiencing some difficulties in dealing with it. The participants, all working on migration issues in their own countries, were given…

The German affiliates of the European Federation of Journalists, the Deutscher Journalisten-verband (DJV) and Dju in ver.di criticized the adoption of the Network Enforcement Law („Netzwerkdurchsetzungsgesetz”) by the German Federal Cabinet on April 5, 2017, supposed to be adopted by the German Bundestag in the summer. Dju in ver.di issued a statement on April 5: “Even if we strongly reject the use of fake news and hate speech in social networks, in case of doubt, the deletion of such content is not the right response,” said Cornelia Haß, national director of dju in ver.di. “Freedom of expression and diversity of opinions are fundamental to our…

Applications for the second international Media Literacy workshop co-organised by CMFE Community Media Forum Europe and COMMIT Community Medien Institut within the Media Against Hate Campaign are now open here! It will take place in Olsztyn, Poland, on 8-9 June 2017. The workshop will address the following topics: Freedom of expression and respect of human rights – where are the boundaries and what is hate speech? (training) Muslims in the Media – Round table discussion with local and international experts (in cooperation with OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights) The trainers will be: Gordana Knezevic, award-winning journalist, “Balkans…

In the framework of the project “Media Against Hate”, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) will organise together with the Croatian Journalists’ Association (CJA) a workshop on “Reporting Refugees, Migrants, Ethnicity” on 26-27 May 2017 in Zagreb, Croatia. The training will gather 25 journalists from the European Union reporting topics concerning refugees, migrants and ethnicity. The training aims to exchange best practices and guidelines promoting ethical journalism on these issues. A regional outlook will also focus on challenges for hate speech in Croatia. Please find enclosed the invitation letter with all the practical details as well as the draft programme.…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) was invited on 26 January to participate in the high-level debate “#SpreadNoHate: Hate Speech Against Migrants and Refugees in the Media” organised in Brussels by the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and the European External Action Service (EEAS). This event was aimed to better understand the mechanisms of hate speech against migrants and refugees as well as exploring new ways to improve the quality of media coverage, by promoting ethical journalism and fostering dialogue between journalists, institutions and organisations. EFJ General secretary Ricardo Gutiérrez moderated the panel on “Strengthening Partnerships between Media and Civil…

The Ethical Journalism Network launched on Tuesday 10 January the report Ethics in the News which aims to throw some light on ethical challenges for media and gives journalists some key tips on ethical survival techniques. In Europe and America the report looks at how media covered the UK vote to leave the European Union and the Trump election which intensified concerns about the revival of racism, extremism and political propaganda across the western world. Ethics in the News analyses fake news and how journalism with a public purpose can be overwhelmed in a do-it-yourself world of communications that has…

Media – in all its forms – play a crucial role in the shaping of identities, in the promotion or inhibition of dialogue, solidarity and recognition.Which strategies and tools can empower counter-narratives and challenge mainstream perceptions of refugees, of migration, of marginalised groups in general?We invite professional journalists, community media practitioners and media students in Europe to document how their daily work helps fight against discrimination and counter hate. How to enter: To be eligible, you must be resident in a EU member state, Iceland or Liechtenstein. Register here by January 15th, 2017. You will receive a DropBox link where you…

“When your child dies, everything dies. When your child dies, the world stops turning. The last thing a father would have to do, the really last thing, is respond to racist comments”, wrote VRT journalist Fatma Taspinar. During the latest terror attack in Istanbul (31/12/2016), a Belgian-Turkish citizen Kerim A. (23 years old) was among the 39 victims killed. Shortly after the publication of his name, many racist comments related to the supposed ethnic or religious background of the victim were shared by social media users on Twitter and Facebook. The online spreading of openly racist comments have deeply (for a second time) affected the…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has today launched together with partners ARTICLE 19, Media Diversity Institute (MDI), Croatian Journalists’ Association (CJA), Cooperazione per lo Sviluppo dei Paesi Emergenti (COSPE), Community Media Institute (COMMIT), Community Media Forum Europe (CMFE) a Europe-wide campaign Media Against Hate, to counter hate speech and discrimation in the media. The media and journalists play a crucial role in influencing both policy-making and societal opinion on migration and refugees. As hate speech and stereotypes targeting migrants and refugees proliferate across Europe, balanced and fair media reporting is needed more than ever. Despite some good journalism practices…