European Federation of Journalists

European Federation of Journalists

Past project

openMedia, investigating press freedom

Title of the project : openMedia, investigating press freedom
Lead Applicant : openDemocracy
Partner organisations : EFJ, Index on censorship, King’s College London

The recently launched openMedia project aims to investigate and expose commercial interference in editorial decisions. The project is run by openDemocracy with the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) as a partner alongside the Index on Censorship and King’s College London.

The project believes that there has not been enough of a concerted, ongoing spotlight on the extent and effects of commercial influence over the media, despite the dangerous consequences it poses for press freedom. For now, the project focuses on 47 countries across Europe but also has ambitions to expand.

Despite the recent launch, the project is adamant that it is not a response to the “fake news” hype of the past year or so. Rather, the project responds to scandals of commercial sponsors influencing media content; for example the Daily Telegraph’s suppression of investigations into its advertiser HSBC; and allegations that Buzzfeed deleted articles which advertisers found unfavourable.

According to the project, this power dynamic can suppress investigations of banks, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, fossil fuel giants, energy companies and other big businesses.

In addition, the project recognizes how for many readers, “sponsored content” is difficult to distinguish from genuine news content. The project therefore aims to clarify the commercial interests apparent in media to readers, and as part of the project, King’s College London will develop digital tools to help readers be better informed about news sources.

The findings of the project will be used to campaign for greater transparency and press freedom in news organisations and to empower journalists to advocate for transparency.

In order to do this, openMedia is currently conducting a confidential and anonymous survey of journalists across Europe, asking about their own working practices and experiences of commercial pressure inside newsrooms. The survey is available in English here and in many other languages here.

Actions

Spanish Public TV Lacks Independence From The Government

  •    Broadcasting
  •   07-01-2015

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) participated, early December, to a four-day international mission to Madrid and Barcelona led by the International Press Institute (IPI). The mission sought to gauge the level of press freedom, freedom of expression and the right of access to information in Spain. Our colleague Paco Audije followed the work of the mission, as a member of the EFJ Steering Committee and member of the EFJ expert group on broadcasting (BREG). The mission report will probably be released at the end of January. Here are the conclusions of the representative of the EFJ, focused on the situation of…

Dutch journalist arrested in Turkey for “Twitter terrorism”

The Dutch journalist Fréderike Geerdink, permanent female media correspondent in Turkey for several media outlets (The Independent & Al Monitor), has been arrested today (06/01/2015) by a group of Turkish police anti-terrorism unit. “Terrorism police just searched my house, team of 8 guys. They take me to the station now, charge [sic]: ‘propaganda for terrorist organization”, wrote Geerdink on Twitter reporting about her own arrest. Fréderike Geerdink is specialised in the Kurdish issue (www.kurdishmatters.com), she wrote a new book about the Roboski massacre, she lives and works in the city of Diyarbakir. During the past few days, she was receiving…

Let’s Organise, Invest in Youth and Skills

  •    News
  •   01-01-2015

The Danish Journalists’ Union will hold a one-day workshop in Copenhagen on 11 May on unions’ recruitment strategies and new services. (More information to come)

EFJ urges Russian authorities to halt advertising law on media

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has joined the Russian Union of Journalists (RUJ) today to demand the Russian authorities to halt the advertising law entering into force on 1 January 2015 and prevent the closure of independent broadcaster TV-2. The new law that has been approved by President Vladimir Putin will affect many independent Russian television channels by stripping them off their main source of income – advertising revenues. “The new law will lead to many closures of media organisations, in particular small and medium-size independent media companies,” warns Mogens Blicher Bjerregård, EFJ President, “This will lead to a…

Journalists stage protest outside Downing Street for press freedom in Turkey

The National Union of Journalists (NUJ), an EFJ affiliate in the United Kingdom, has staged a protest today outside the Downing Street in London calling for press freedom in Turkey. Barry White, NUJ representative to the European Federation of Journalists  said “The government  must not remain silent to these abuses. Last year saw a drop in the number of journalists in prison, a welcome move, but this latest attack by the authorities shows that they have come back for more. We will continue to campaign for freedom of expression and the right to report by standing in solidarity with our…

EFJ FOCUS, December 2014

The new issue of the EFJ Focus is now available in English. The German and the French version will soon be available.   To subscribe, simply click HERE. If you missed the previous issues, see our archives. (Photo Credit : Zaman UK Newspaper)

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