Following the recent resignation of the CEO and other major politically-influenced internal management changes at Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI), the Italian public service broadcaster, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the undersigned organisations in expressing growing alarm about threats to the editorial independence of the broadcaster. We call on the parliament to initiate a debate aimed at reforming the governance and funding system of RAI and safeguarding its independence. On May 8, 2023, Carlo Fuortes announced his resignation from the post of CEO of RAI, citing political pressure. The high-profile resignation came amidst reports of behind-the-scenes negotiations between Fuortes and…

The Reuters Institute, in collaboration with Oxford University, published today 14 June its global Digital News Report 2023, which focuses on how younger audiences consume news, and the trends of online engagement. It provides insights into the increasing prevalence of vertical videos and news podcasts. The influence of inflation, combined with an increasing phenomenon of “news avoidance”, is explained in the last part exploring the emergence of new business models.  Consumption of news  Overall trust in the news continues to decline. Combined with the rising of printing costs, news outlets need to find new ways to keep up with the…

Switzerland will be on strike on Wednesday 14 June to demand better working conditions for women, including in the media sector. Four years after the first national feminist strike in 2019, women are still demanding better protection against harassment, more women in positions of responsibility and journalism free of sexism and racism. The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) have given their full support to the Swiss unions syndicom and impressum and their members. “No women, no news – more women, more news’. This slogan with which the Swiss journalists’ unions are preparing to take to the streets to…

The latest draft compromise text of the EU Council on the European Media Freedom Act poses serious risks to the European Union’s core democratic principles and fundamental rights, notably freedom of expression and the protection of journalists. The European Federation of Journalists reiterates its call to EU Member States to strengthen Article 4 on the rights of media service providers. The text is due to be adopted on 21 June. In its latest appeal on 2 May the EFJ together with all European major broadcasting and publishers organisations had urged Member States to show more ambition on Article 4 (about…

On 7-8 June 2023, several European journalists’ trade unions met in Madrid with their counterparts representing actors, musicians, translators, media workers and other cultural figures to discuss collective bargaining for atypical workers. The conference was the final event of the Atypical Workers project, of which the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) is a partner, together with the International Federation of Actors (FIA), the International Federation of Musicians (FIM) and UNI-MEI. The goal of this EU-funded project, which started in 2021, was to promote the rights of atypical workers in various sectors and improve the capacity of trade unions in servicing…

On June 13, the European Parliament will vote on the so-called “e-Evidence” package. There are serious concerns about how this proposal would undermine people’s fundamental rights and set an unwelcome precedent for cross-border access to people’s personal data in criminal investigations. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined civil society, doctors, lawyers and journalists’ associations, as well as internet service providers in calling on MEPs to reject the so-called “e-Evidence” package during the plenary vote on June 13. We consider that the proposed system of cross-border access to data in criminal matters would severely undermine fundamental rights. Initially proposed by…