From 30 March 30 to 1 April, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Fondation Euractiv, in partnership with the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and WAN-IFRA, will organise in Brussels the Stars4Media Lab. The event, part of the EU exchange programme for media professionals, aims to provide applicants with more information about Stars4Media, create the opportunity to network, and offer specific training and insights from academics, high-level media experts, and media practitioners.  Who can participate?  Stars4Media participants who have already applied and been pre-selected for the programme Stars4Media participants who have applied but are still looking for a media partner Interested young…

On April 2018 the European Commission presented a proposal to enhance cross-border gathering of electronic evidence: a Regulation on European Production and Preservation Orders for electronic evidence in criminal matters. It would allow Member States to request the production or preservation of electronic data stored (such as emails, text or messages in apps, as well as information to identify a perpetrator as a first step) in a different Member State via production and/or preservation orders needed for investigation and prosecution of crimes covered by the Regulation. The European Commission proposed on 5 February 2019 to start international negotiations on cross-border access…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) launched on 4 February 2020 in the European Parliament its new publication on the transposition of the EU whistleblower directive. The event was co-organised by Free Press Unlimited (FPU), Whistleblowing International Network (WIN) and hosted by MEP Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield (Greens/EFA). The author, International whistleblower lawyer Mary Inman, highlighted concrete recommendations on key articles. Entitled “Implementing the new Whistleblower directive: a transposition guide for journalists“, it aims to provide journalists’ organisations with information on how the directive may affect their profession and highlights areas where further outreach efforts are needed at the national level. In…

Today, the International Press Institute (IPI), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the Journalists Union of Turkey (TGS), Reporters without Borders (RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), called for an immediate end to the ban on public advertising on the two independent newspapers Evrensel and BirGün. Both newspapers are part of a shrinking club of media that have stubbornly resisted pressure to curb their independent journalism and readiness to criticize the authorities. Since September they have been subjected to indefinite bans imposed by BIK (Basin Ilan Kurumu), the agency responsible for the distribution of the state advertising budget.…

NEW DEADLINE TO APPLY: 20 MAY Application form Are you a young media professional eager to gain skills, boost your career, test your ideas, and expand your network? Stars4Media is an exchange and training programme for young media professionals (“rising stars”) between cooperating media organisations, to accelerate media innovation and cross-border coverage in Europe.  Stars4Media will encourage innovation through skill-building activities between paired media organisations to test ideas, produce contents and develop initiatives around 4 strategic themes.  Who are we looking for ? Participants of this project will be young working media professionals (“rising stars”) with 2-10 years of media…

A court extended the provisional detention of Daghestani newspaper Chernovik’s editor Abdulmumin Gadzhiev until 13 March 2020. The Russian Journalists’ and Media Workers’ Union (JMWU) called on the authorities for his immediate release, given that the charges against him are baseless. Gadzhiev was arrested on 14 June 2019 by the security services of the Republic of Dagestan on terrorism charges. According to JMWU, the case is based on a testimony of a witness obtained under torture. Abdulmumin Gadzhiev faces up to 20 years in prison. As the Russian government systematically prohibits all forms of protest, except solitary pickets, journalists in solidarity from…

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today released its annual report of killings of journalists, detailing 49 deaths worldwide in 2019 (including two in Europe). The world’s largest organisation of journalists reiterated its call for a real commitment by governments to fight impunity for crimes committed against journalists and for media employers to provide safety training, insurance and equipment for their staff in the field. On 31 December 2019, the IFJ published its list of media workers killed in the line of duty, showing 49 journalists killed in 2019, including three women, half as many as in previous years. The report, published on 4 February, provides…

2019 was a terrible year for press cartoons, according to Courrier International. The ‘New York Times affair’, the numerous trials against cartoonists and the greater precariousness of the profession showed that their working conditions are deteriorating. As we marked the fifth anniversary of the attack on Charlie Hebdo, Cartooning for Peace, an international network of press cartoonists, has published a guide intended to cartoonists facing specific or persistent threats. The publication is meant to be very practical as it includes advices, testimonies and useful resources to help cartoonists around the world 1) to assess the risks and 2) to identify…

The Trade Union of Macedonian Journalists and Media Workers (SSNM) hold a press conference today in Skopje to announce their new collaboration with Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM), the Council of Media Ethics of Macedonia, NGO Onlimit Media and Vidi Vaka portal, on two major texts for journalists’ labour rights. The four parties signed the Charter on journalists’ working conditions and the draft Fair Working Contract for journalists and media workers in digital media. By doing so, they commit to respect all journalists’ and media workers’ labour rights, their freedom of expression as well as ethical and professional standards.…

There is no gender equality in the Croatian audiovisual sector. This was the conclusion of a European event hosted by EFJ affiliates the Union of Croatian Journalists’ Union and the Association of Croatian Journalists in Zagreb on 30 January. Croatian film producers, performers, broadcasters, film directors, journalists and researchers convened to share experiences and key findings and pointed at the lack of female presence in audiovisual content as well as in leading roles. According to a recent ILO report published in March 2019 women represent 39% of the global workforce, but make only 27% in management positions. Despite the feminisation…

Citizens, journalists, artists, human rights organisations and journalists’ unions gathered on January 29th in Brussels to call on the Belgian government to do its utmost to protect Julian Assange and impede his extradition to the United States. The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ and EFJ) joined the two Belgian civil society organisations, Carta Academica and Belgium4Assange, in two public actions organised in Brussels to defend freedom of expression, freedom of the press and our right to know in general, and Julian Assange, Chelsea Manning, Sarah Harrison and Edward Snowden in particular. Over 120 personalities, artists, activists and journalists…

The UNESCO launched a handbook for journalists on reporting violence against women and girls to help radio, television, press and social media professionals determine which channels of investigation and information is relevant and ethical when reporting on gender violence. This guide includes examples of good practices and tips on how to frame the topic, how to conduct an interview, how to avoid sensationalism, the terminology to use, etc. DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT Anne-Marie Impe is the author of the handbook and her professional career is at the crossroads of journalism and lifelong education, writing and action. She started in Dakar, Senegal,…

A pro-government newspaper based in Istanbul has blasted the Journalists’ Union of Turkey (TGS), gearing up the official narrative that labels jailed journalists as “terrorists.” “Here is the real face of the Journalists’ Union of Turkey, which flung dirt by alleging that the press cards of opposition journalists were canceled [by the government],” the Takvim daily said on its headline on January 27. Several journalists, including those that work at opposition dailies Evrensel and BirGün, had noticed last week that their pending applications for press cards renewals were rejected by the Presidency’s Communication Directorate when they checked the official body’s…

On 27 January, a delegation of journalists from the Europa Commission of the Deutscher Journalisten-Verband (DJV) together with EFJ Director Renate Schroeder met with German MEP Sabine Verheyen (EPP) the chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Culture and Education in her national office in Aachen (Germany). Headed by its chair Steffen Heinze (Deutsche Welle), the meeting discussed many issues of importance to journalists. Verheyen addressed the increasingly precarious situation of journalists in Europe and expressed great concern about the increased violations against media freedom, the problem of disinformation and in particular the phenomenon of “deep fake”. The issue of…

The Turkish press authority cancelled press cards of hundreds of journalists, but did not give any reason for the measure. The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ and EFJ), along with their national affiliates, the Journalists’ Union of Turkey (TGS) and DİSK Basın-Is, urge the authorities to revoke this decision and reissue immediately new press cards to their holders. The decision concerned hundreds of journalists who found out that the Directorate General of Press and Information in Prime Ministry’s Office had cancelled their press cards, when they received their press cards with a “cancelled” stamp inside the back cover.…

Are press councils the last defences against the falling confidence in journalism? On the occasion of its 10th anniversary, the Belgian French press council (Conseil de déontologie journalistique – CDJ) organised a European forum in Brussels, on 21-22 January, to raise awareness about the role of press councils. The event addressed in particular, on a panel, the stakes of ethics dealing with political interference and pressure on journalists. Threats on journalists are increasing in Europe under various forms while greatly impacting media freedom, reminded Ernest Sagaga, Head of Human Rights at the International Federation of Journalists. The Council of Europe…