The future role of media is under question – new online media companies are emerging, print advertising is in decline and there is more and more talk about ‘fake-news’, which contributes to losing readers’ trust. The Greens in the European Parliament organised on Wednesday (07/06/2017) a Democratic Discourse with experts discussing the new trends in the digital news landscape and how journalists and media outlets are living up to them. “The majority of professional journalism is still funded by newspapers – 69 % of the funds for professional journalism came from newspaper companies in the UK in 2012,” pointed out…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins the Western Balkan’s Regional Platform for Advocating Media Freedom and Journalists’ Safety in condemning the verbal and physical attacks against journalists from Insajder Production, Vice, Radio Belgrade and daily newspaper Danas during the inauguration of Serbian President Vucic on May 31 in Belgrade. The attacks occurred while Vucic’s supporters and opposition activists started clashing in front of the Serbian parliament. According to media reports, Danas journalist Lidija Valtner was taking a statement of a protester when she was dragged away by two persons holding her by the neck and trying to take her mobile phone away.…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) is supporting its affiliate, the Independent Association of Georgian Journalists (IAGJ), in calling to Georgian Government to take all possible measures to free Azeri journalist Afqan Mukhtarli. He was abducted by special services on May 29 in Tbilisi and secretly taken to Baku prison. The missing of Mukhtarli was reported by his wife Leyla Mustafayeva who, according to Eurasianet, said that her husband last called her on the evening of 29 May just a few blocks away from their home and then did not show up. The next day the Georgian police stated that a search…

On May 30, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker promised that a European directive protecting whistleblowers will be presented “in the coming months”, during an hearing with MEPs of the Committee of Inquiry into Money Laundering, Tax Avoidance and Tax Evasion (PANA). This declaration is another important step towards a protection of whistleblowers at the European level. Earlier this year, the European Commission had launched a public consultation aiming to collect information on the benefits and drawbacks of a sectorial and horizontal protection for people shading light on wrongdoings. “The European Federation of Journalists welcomed the European Commission’s public consultation. Whistleblowers became a hot topic following…

On 1 June 2017 in Brussels, after 24 hours of detention and 3,818 kilometres from Gaziantep, the family and friends of Mathias Depardon, the French journalist imprisoned in Turkey, came together to form a Belgian support committee. Mathias Depardon lived in Brussels for around ten years and completed his journalistic and photography studies there. The Belgian committee welcomed the interview that took place on 25 May between the French President Emmanuel Macron and the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which is regarded as a first step in the right direction. Further to this meeting, an initial consular visit took place…

The Bosnia and Herzegovina public service broadcaster (BHRT), the EFJ affiliate, the Bosnia -Herzegovina Journalists Association (BHN), the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), and the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) call on Bosnia and Herzegovina authorities to undertake urgent measures to save national public service media (PSM) in BiH. The above mentioned organisations urge BiH authorities to ensure political consensus about the importance of existing independent and professional national PSM in BiH, to find sustainable solutions for the funding of PSM, to undertake immediate amendments of the existing legislation and support the national public…