Some 53 delegates from 26 countries representing trade union organsations and professional associations of journalists at the Annual Meeting of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) in Moscow on 21 November expressed their solidarity and full support for ethical journalism and the struggle of Russian Union of Journalists (RUJ) to defend independent journalism and the safety of journalism. The Annual Meeting commenced with a minute of silence to remember the 56 journalists who were killed for doing their jobs since 1993 in Russia. ‘‘Journalists in Russia are facing a great challenge today. We need more than ever solidarity, unity and…

Our job is neither to please nor to harm anyone; our job is to portray the truth with our pen … What Albert Londres, a French journalist and one of the founding father of investigative journalism, said has captured the spirit of the Annual Meeting of the European Federation of Journalist which will be held  at the House of Journalist in Moscow this Friday 21 and Saturday 22 of November. While the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) held its last World Congress in Istanbul, the EFJ will hold its Annual Meeting in the capital of Russia. The goal is to…

On 18/11/2014, a conference entitled “Media Integrity Matters – Reclaiming public service values in the Western Balkans media: How should the European Union Respond ?” has been organized in Brussels by MEP Tanja Fajon. The event was a follow-up to the publication of the book “Media integrity matters” in June 2014, comprising the research conducted in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia and Serbia. The study aims at addressing the obstacles to a democratic development of media systems in the countries of South East Europe/Western Balkans by pointing out corrupt relations and practices in media policy, media ownership and financing,…

On 12 – 14 November, the Council of Europe (CoE) has launched a new toolbox for media professionals at the final encounter of a EU and CoE funded project on Media in Europe for Diversity Inclusiveness (MEDIANE) with partnering organistions* including the European Federation of Journalists. The toolbox called “MEDIANE Box” was developed based on the hundreds of media professionals who have participated throughout the two-year project led by the CoE. The MEDIANE Box aims at supporting media professionals to include diversity in their daily work and production. It is considered as a self-monitoring tool to monitor the capacities of the media and…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) together with the AJP, the Belgian Association of Professional Journalists, strongly condemn the recent police violence used against press photographers, who clearly declined their identity as journalists while on duty. During the national demonstration held on 6 November in Brussels, a press photographer working for Sudpresse newspapers group was struck by a punch by police officer while he was taking a picture of another wounded policeman. Only the intervention of two journalists has been able calm the police, reports the AJP. “Moreover, a press photographer working for Photo News press agency was attacked twice.…

EFJ – the European Federation of Journalists, ENPA – the European Newspaper Publishers’ Association, EMMA – the European Magazine Media Association, and EPC – the European Publishers’ Council sent a joint letter to DAPIX, the European Council Working Group on Data protection, to ask them not to lower the level of protection of Press Freedom. The joint letter call on DAPIX to ensure that Article 80 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) provides a clear, directly applicable and legally binding exemption for journalistic data processing. Or, at the minimum, preserves the actual acquis on the draft Regulation on data…