The National Television and Radio broadcasting council of Ukraine, the media regulatory authority, has revoked all digital licences granted to independent broadcaster Channel 112. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (IFJ/EFJ) joined their affiliate the National Union of Journalists in Ukraine (NUJU) in condemning a decision that threatens press freedom and the livelihood of hundreds of media workers. On 26 September, the Ukrainian media regulator revoked the digital licences of the 5 television companies belonging to Channel 112.  According to the regulator, they had violated the programming concept of broadcasting for several years, despite the fact that they had been warne Channel…

On 20 September 2019, Russian journalist Svetlana Prokopyeva was formally charged with publicly justifying terrorism. The journalist was also asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement and a written undertaking not to leave the Pskov region. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the Russian Journalists’ and Media Workers’ Union (JMWU) are convinced of her complete innocence and call on Russian authorities to release her without any delay. Svetlana Prokopieva works for the local branch of the independent Moscow-based radio station Ekho Moskvy, in the northwestern city of Pskov. She was suspected of “justifying terrorism” following a radio commentary, on 7…

Sadness and dismay prevail in the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) today after the sudden death of the chair of the EFJ’s Labour Expert Group, Rainer Reichert, in Brussels. “For decades, he has rendered outstanding services to journalism in both Germany and Europe,” said EFJ President, Mogens Blicher Bjerregård, paying tribute to the deceased. “Rainer was so committed to fighting for better working conditions of journalists throughout Europe. With his legal expertise and knowledge of many languages, he always volunteered to help improve the interests of journalists, be it in the Balkans, in Italy or anywhere in Europe. His death…

Both German affiliates, the Deutscher Journalisten-Verband (DJV) and the Deutsche Journalistinnen- und Journalisten-Union (dju in ver.di) started on Wednesday 18 an unprecedented trade union action (warning strikes) at the ARD stations in several German Länder. Around 3000 employees of the German public service media are taking part nationwide. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) sent a strong message of solidarity to striking media workers. The reason is the upcoming collective bargaining round, in which an agreement between the positions of the management and the unions seems a long way off. “Today’s strikes, demonstrations and actions are so far unique in…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) will join the global climate strike this Friday in Brussels to put pressure on world leaders to deliver urgent solutions to the worsening climate crisis. Demonstrations will take place around the world between September 20 and 27 to coincide with the United Nation’s climate summit in New York, where heads of governments must take concrete action to deliver on the promises of the Paris Agreement. That includes the commitment to a “just transition” – moving to a carbon neutral economy in a way that’s fair to people working in industries that will be required to…

The #SilenceHate project kicked-off more than a year and a half ago, in April 2018, with a five-day ‘Media Camp’ in London. Thirteen young journalists were trained in the intricacies of how hate speech is used to target migrants, and what journalists can do to counter it. They went back to their home countries (Belgium, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Poland and United Kingdom) with the objective to report and produced the stories that they pitched. Here are the journalists’ productions offering different formats such as photography, podcasts, videos, features, long form, and having a creative and innovative perspective of the migration…

On 23 July, the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv (Ukraine) ruled to block access to 17 online media, including news portals and bloggers platforms korrespondent.net, enigma.ua, trident-ua.info, and informator.news. The owners of the closed websites have lodged an appeal. Their lawyers have denounced the delaying tactics that have so far prevented the appeal court from ruling. The court justified the closure of these news websites by the fact that they disseminate texts relating to slander or defamation. The judgment requires to restrict access not only to potentially harmful material, but to the entire content of these website. The National Union…

Along with 21 other organisations, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) co-signed an open letter sent to the new Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić, who is starting her five-year term of office on 18 September 2019. Dear Secretary-General, On behalf of the undersigned organisations, we warmly congratulate you on your appointment as the new Secretary-General of the Council of Europe. We are motivated by our experience and understanding of the worsening of the environment for journalists and free expression across Europe to ask you to make sure that your commitment to democracy, the rule of…

Gordan Duhacek, a reporter for Index.hr, was arrested by Zagreb police at the airport when he was about to take a business flight on 16 September. Duhacek was eventually released and found guilty of insulting the police in one post on his Twitter feed, was charged with a symbolic fine of 100 euros, and has been prosecuted for another tweet under the base of an article of the Law on Offences against Public Order and Peace. The verdict of this last post would be delivered on Thursday. The journalist denounces that he was sprayed with tear gas on the floor and…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) welcomed on 17 September the new mandate of the Civil Liberties Committee (LIBE) working group, renamed “Democracy, Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights Monitoring Group”. Chaired by the Dutch MEP Sophie In’t Veld (Renew Europe), the LIBE group will focus on threats to democracy, fight against corruption, rule of law and fundamental rights in the European Union. The group was first set up in June 2018 in the aftermath of the murders of the Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and the Slovakian journalist Jan Kuciak. The LIBE committee report, published in November 2018 following…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined seven other organisations on a joint mission to Turkey, led by the International Press Institute (IPI). Despite some glimmers of hope, press freedom in the country remains in crisis. International press freedom groups and professional organisations reported today that press freedom and the rule of law in Turkey remain in crisis despite grounds for very cautious optimism, such as yesterday’s ruling releasing several former Cumhuriyet journalists. Over three days this week, the international press freedom delegation held meetings with journalists, civil society, the judiciary and the authorities to assess planned reforms and the…

Georgian main opposition TV channel Rustavi 2 faced mass resignations after the new management has fired several prominent journalists and producers in early September. The Independent Association of Georgian Journalists (IAGJ) warns against a clear attempt at political control over the media in Georgia and denounces the inaction of the international community to improve media pluralism in the country. Rustavi 2 is one of the most watched TV channels in Georgia and was once known as the main opposition television company, close to the United National Movement party. Since the new shareholder Kibar Khalvashi named his lawyer Paata Salia as…

Together with the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) believes that the distribution of European Commission portfolios is a hopeful sign that the European Union can deliver social progress over the next five years. The EFJ particularly welcomes the fact that media pluralism is mentioned as one of the EU Commission’s priorities. European Commission President-elect Ursula von der Leyen presented on Tuesday the proposed new team of Commissioners, including some hopeful developments. As the ETUC has stated, Commissioners Nicolas Schmidt (Luxembourg) and Paolo Gentiloni (Italy), proposed for the jobs and economy portfolios, were both strong…

During the last years, the tension in the political debate between Catalonia and Spain has moved to the streets and journalists are suffering the consequences. The last case occurred on September 11, the day of the festivity of Catalonia, when one of the pro-independence demonstrations of 300 people in front of the Catalan Parliament became the scene of violence and altercations with members of the police and some journalists who were reporting on the event. Journalist Ángela García Romero was reporting for TVE (Televisión Española) the demonstration when a group of hooded people attacked her TV crew, first throwing some…

The Italian Journalists’ Union (FNSI – Federazione Nazionale Stampa Italiana) yesterday called for greater awareness when reporting about gender violence and in particular, femicides. This important wake-up call was published by the FNSI ‘Commission for equal opportunities’ whereas the headlines and news regarding the murder of a woman has raised controversy in Italy. The case of the murder of Elisa Pomarelli, near Piacenza, reached national news when the body was found after two weeks of intensive search that ended with the confession of a man, who said to be Pomarelli’s friend. The reports in newspapers, TV, radio stations and digital…

EFJ and the undersigned organisations call on the Montenegrin authorities to acquit investigative journalist Jovo Martinović, convicted for marijuana smuggling and criminal association and sentenced to 18 months in prison despite overwhelming evidence that his only links with organised crime were those of a reporter. A specialist in covering organised crime for such leading international media as The Economist, Financial Times, NPR, BBC and a winner of the 2018 Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism, Jovo Martinović was convicted to a 18-month prison sentence by the Montenegro high court on January 15, 2019 on charges of drug trafficking…