Originally published on journo.com Journalists’ Union of Turkey (TGS) has depicted a grim picture with a special report that was published on World Press Freedom Day. The report was authored by TGS legal and labor experts Ülkü Şahin, İlyas Coşkun and Beste Dönmez Gedik to record the press freedom violations in Turkey from April 2019 to April 2020. According to the report, which is 150-page-long with its annexes, 85 journalists are currently in Turkey’s prisons. Throughout the past year, Turkish courts ruled for a total prison sentence of 178 years in 166 legal cases against journalists. Meanwhile, 37 journalists were physically…

On this World Press Freedom Day, the undersigned organisations honour those who work tirelessly to help keep the public informed and call for robust support for independent journalism. Millions of people around the world are looking for reliable, fact-based, and gender-sensitive journalism that can help them navigate the biggest shared challenge of our lifetime. The need for trustworthy information has never been greater and more urgent than during this pandemic. Access to timely, high-quality information is imperative during a global health crisis; it is one of the key pillars required to slow the spread of this virus, mitigate its impacts,…

A ZDF camera crew were attacked after filming a demonstration against the corona rules for satirical news programme the heute-show (Today Show) on Friday 1 May. The team were on the way back to their vehicles when the incident took place. The EFJ joined its German affiliates the German Association of Journalists (DJV) and the German Union of Journalists (dju in ver.di) in condemning the attack. Five of the seven members required hospital treatment and have since been discharged to recover from home. The police initially arrested six suspects, who were released from custody. Some 15 persons are suspected of…

Journalists in Europe have never before been subjected to as much violence and abusive treatment. Listen to our messages on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day. Ricardo Gutiérrez, EFJ General Secretary:   Renate Schroeder, EFJ Director: WPFD-BJV-1   Read also the Annual Report of the Council of Europe Platform For the Protection of Journalism and the Safety of Journalists and other Media Actors. #WorldPressFreedomDay #WPFD2020 #WPFD #EuropeForFreeMedia

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) welcomes today’s statement from the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, on 3 May. He called on the 57 OSCE participating States to “let journalists do their job unhindered, ensure them access to information and support those media that are financially struggling because of the pandemic.” “As the world finds itself in the midst of a global pandemic, the necessity of a free media is even more vital and more crucial than ever.(…) Yet, we have seen many States responding to this crisis with measures that…

The European federation of Journalists (EFJ) welcomes today’s statement from the Vice-President of the European Commission, Věra Jourová, on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, on 3 May. She calls on the governments of the EU Member States to support the media sector. “Member States have the tools available, with the support of the Commission, to help the media sector. And I will do all I can to ensure media are an important element of the European recovery package. Today I ask governments to make sure that journalists are able to work in the right conditions,” she said. Věra…

“1 May 2020 will be another International Workers’ Day that many journalists will spend working. But this time, many journalists will do so without knowing if their pay will be 30% or 50% lower or if they will be out of work next month,” said Andrea Roth, Chair of the Labour Rights Expert Group of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the “lockdown” measures, many journalists, particularly freelance journalists, have lost their incomes because of salary cuts, delayed payment or no assignments. This happens at a time when journalists are most needed to inform…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) welcomes today’s statements by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić, and by the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, ahead of World Press Freedom Day on 3 May. In a statement issued today, Marija Pejčinović Burić calls on governments to protect the essential role of journalists in democracy, especially in times of crisis, and to avoid unduly restricting media freedom during the pandemic: “Governments are facing unprecedented challenges during the COVID-19 crisis, but the situation must not be used to silence or hinder journalists,” said the Secretary…

Launch of the 2020 Annual Report by the partner organisations to the Council of Europe Platform to Promote the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists Attacks on press freedom in Europe are at serious risk of becoming a new normal, 14 international press freedom groups and journalists’ organisations, including the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), warn today as they launch the 2020 annual report of the Council of Europe Platform for the Protection of Journalists. The fresh assault on media freedom amid the Covid-19 pandemic has worsened an already gloomy outlook. The report analyses alerts submitted to the Platform…

On the eve of World Press Freedom Day on 3 May and in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the world’s leading professional and representative organisation of journalists with more than 600,000 members in 146 countries, launched a “Global Platform for Quality Journalism” on Wednesday 29 April. The document is aimed at IFJ affiliates, its regional groups and is supported by all the trade union World Federations, representing several hundred million workers. Information must never be confined. Information must remain a public good. By bringing more than two thirds of humanity to a standstill,…

Journalists at Vedomosti, one of Russia’s most prominent business publications, have demanded the removal of editor in chief, Andrei Shmarov, for pro-Kremlin censorship. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Russian Union of Journalists (RUJ) to urge Vedomosti’s ownership to protect the independence of media professionals and respect press freedom. In March, Vedomosti was sold to Konstantin Zyatkov, the publisher of Argumenty i Fakty, a weekly newspaper owned by the Moscow government, and to the businessman Alexei Golubovich, an oligarch and former top executive at the Yukos oil company. In the following…

Threats to press freedom are impeding the public’s right to know. Media restrictions, the closure of local newspapers, controlled public service media, precarity and insecurity, intimidation and violence against media workers are among the many ways press freedom is being curtailed just at the very time when the COVID-19 pandemic is threatening lives and the entire global economy. At this time journalists and quality journalism are essential. This year the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) will mark World Press Freedom Day, celebrated annually on May 3, by ringing alarm bells against the threats to press freedom and by reaffirming the vital…

The European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) has opened the 2020 call for its Journalists-in-Residence (JiR) programme for a period of up to six months, between June 2020 and February 2021. The programme is part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), which works to provide swift and efficient support to journalists under threat. The JiR programme is unique as it provides a safe haven for media professionals from the European Union Member States and Candidate Countries who are at risk and need to take a break away from a hostile working environment. Journalists and other media professionals are given temporary shelter,…

The Covid–19 pandemic has brought the world to a lockdown and revealed just how important independent media and the free flow of information are at times like these. The crisis has unveiled the many factors that can converge to repress media freedom. A freedom that is already under fire from different directions, private and public alike. On the occasion of the 2020 World Press Freedom Day, the partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) invite you to a virtual discussion on how to counter the abusive strategies used by governments to limit press freedom in the current Coronavirus pandemic. When: Monday 4 May at 18:30-20:00…

On World Intellectual Property Day 2020, April 26, the European and International Federations of journalists (EFJ-IFJ) are putting the spotlight on the so-called “publishers’ right”, one of the key achievements of the EU Copyright Directive in the Digital Single Market, interviewing three copyright experts of the EFJ Authors’ Rights Experts Group (AREG). Michael Khlem,Senior advisor of the Deutsche Journalisten-Verband (DJV), the German Journalists Association, one of the largest journalists’ organizations in Europe. Olivier Da Lage, a journalist at Radio France International and board member of the Syndicat national des journalistes (SNJ), and a member of the Conseil supérieur de la…

Friday 17 April marked one year since the adoption by the European Union (EU) of the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market. World Intellectual Property Day (April 26) is another occasion for the International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ/EFJ) and their affiliates in Europe and around the world, to celebrate this major achievement and the gains made since. We are marking this occasion by releasing an interview with three copyright experts, on the Directive’s new neighbouring right for press publications, and its key benefits for our sector and members. The Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single…