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.

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TGS-EFJ Kicks Off First Capacity Building Workshop

(26-27.04.2014) The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and its affiliate in Turkey, the Journalists Union of Turkey (TGS for Türkiye Gazeteciler Sendikasi), organised the first workshop for a two-year project called “Press Freedom and Empowering the Journalists Trade Union Movement in Turkey”. The project is funded by the EIDHR (European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights) of the European Commission. The workshop covered the issues on union capacity-building, recruitment strategies, legal assistance and the TGS-EFJ campaign for the freedom of imprisoned journalists. The workshop also discussed the preparation of a major international conference for 2016. Renate Schroeder (EFJ Director) and Mehmet Koksal…

The right thing – An authors’ rights handbook for journalists – English and French

  •    Authors' Rights
  •   18-03-2014

This is a manual for journalists in Europe, on authors’ rights. Authors’ rights laws provide the legal foundation for charging money for journalists’ work – as the law of ownership of physical property is the foundation for the business of a shoe-maker or a pin-factory. In other words, authors’ rights are in economic theory what gives journalists’ essentially non-physical product, words and pictures, value in the market. Labour rights laws intervene to give journalists the right to be paid for their time and first use of their work. Read in English or French  

EFJ FOCUS, 11 March 2014

The new issue of the EFJ Focus is now available in English, German andFrench. Got a smartphone? Scan the QR code and read the Focus while you are on the move! To subscribe, simply click HERE. If you missed the previous issues, see our archives.

Members of Labour Rights Expert Group

  •    Labour Rights
  •   26-02-2014

Elected members of the Labour Rights Expert Group (LAREG) in 2014 are Chair     Philippe Leruth     Renate Gensch     Rainer Reichert     Yannis Kotsifos     Seamus Dooley     Franco Siddi     Marta Barcenilla     Nathalie Weber     Michelle Stanistreet  

Mapping changes in employment

  •    Publications
  •   11-02-2014

In 2012 the EFJ and EURO-MEI carried out a joint project on mapping changes in employment in the media and journalism industry. The project assessed the impact of employment changes on the media and journalism industry on journalists and media workers. It analyzed the employment changes and illustrated how these changes impact on trade union representation and organizing. The survey focuses on two case studies, France and the U.K, but also takes into consideration other countries. Please click HERE to read the final report. The EFJ is the European group of the International Federation of Journalists The EFJ represents over 260,000…

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