(05/01/2015) The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has  participating in the FES-SINOS Trade Union Seminar in Belgrade (Serbia). The seminar organised by SINOS (Journalists Union of Serbia, EFJ affiliate), with the financial support of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), has focused on the lack of social dialogue and the role of trade union organisations in the private media. The seminar with around 50 participants attracted extensive media coverage. The speakers included Dragana Cabarkapa (SINOS, Serbia), Renate Schroeder (EFJ Director), Tamara Causidis (SSNM, Macedonia), Dejan Gligorijevic (SINOS, Serbia), Marijana Camović (TUMM, Montenegro), Anton Filic (TUCJ, Croatia), several media experts, Mr Dusan…

Deteriorating working conditions of journalists put press freedom in danger, according to a study published by the University of Fribourg and the Federal Office of Communications in Switzerland. The study participated by 1000 journalists who are members of the affiliate of the European Federation of Journalists, impressum, proves that the deteriorating working conditions have a negative impact on press freedom and quality of journalism. The results suggest that economic pressure from advertisers and the media owners are jeopardising the editorial freedom of media. Ricardo Gutiérrez, EFJ General Secretary said: “The conclusions are clear: we fought hard to ensure that press…

Interns working for the British newspaper Financial Times will now receive payment for their work following a successful negotiation by the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) in the UK. The deal brokered by the NUJ is part of the overall pay settlement of an above-inflation rise for all FT staff from April. Unpaid internship remains a common practice in the UK particularly in the journalism industry. According to a report published by the National Council for the Training of Journalists in 2013, 82% of graduate entering into the profession have done an internship, of which 92% of them were unpaid.…

Following the devastating attack on Charlie Hebdo, the global journalists community launched solidarity action and paid tribute to the journalists killed in the attack. Below is a picture gallery compiled by the journalists’ union (Syndicat National des Journalistes) in France.

Marianne Thyssen, EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility told a delegation of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) on 30 January that the European Commission is taking action to better prevent and deter undeclared work and bogus self-employment which contradicts EU labour standards. The EFJ raised concerns over the complete deregulation of economic and social labour relations in journalism leading to a new precarious workforce who cannot earn a living from journalism. To give concrete examples of the situation, the EFJ delegation gave copies of  recent EFJ reports on Confronting Austerity : Financial and Employment Models…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) last week sent journalist Barry White (NUJ UK) to observe the new press trials in Turkey, 29 – 31 January. Barry White, also a member of the EFJ Steering Committee, was joined by Mustafa Kuleli (General Secretary of the Journalists Union of Turkey, TGS), atthe first hearing against journalists Can Dündar (Cumhuriyet), Utku Çakirözer (Cumhuriyet), Hakan Gülseven (Yurt) and Nazli Ilicak (Bugün). The journalists are being sued by the President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his wife Emine and son Bilal for violation of privacy and defamation following their…