Around 15 members of The Rouvinokas, a Greek anarchist group, ransacked the Athens Voice’s headquarters on 4th July following a publication that the group took offence at. The International and European Federation of Journalists (IFJ – EFJ) joined the Journalists Union of the Athens Daily Newspaper (JUADN) in condemning this violent attack and all attempts to muzzle the media. According to media reports, the assailants used iron bars to smash furniture and equipment and threw black paint on the offices’ walls. No one was injured in the incident. The Rouvinokas, an anarchist and anti-establishment group, claimed responsibility for the attack in a post on the Indymedia…

The Turkish Journalists’ Union (TGS), member of the European Federation of Journalists (IFJ and EFJ), and the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) are taking legal action against a think tank over the publication of a report which allegedly blacklisted journalists working for foreign news media. The IFJ and EFJ condemned the targeting of journalists as the latest attempt by the authorities to silence independent journalism and fully support the actions taken by the TGS. The Foundation for Political Economic and Social Research (SETA), a pro-government organisation, published on July 6 a 202-page report entitled “International Media Outlets’ Extensions in…

The Trade Union Media of Montenegro (SMCG) signed an historic collective agreement with the public broadcaster Radio Television of Montenegro (RTCG) on 28 June, after three years of collective bargaining. According to SMCG, a valid collective agreement in the public broadcaster has not existed for almost 10 years. The document was signed by the Minister of culture Aleksandar Bogdanovic, the Managing Director of RTCG Bozidar Sundic, and the representatives of the trade unions Jadranka Drobnjak and Slavica Kruscic. It affects the daily work of more than 700 employees, out of which 300 are members of SMCG. The agreement is the…

Journalists’ unions around the world endorsed on 12 June, in Tunis, a new Charter of Ethics for Journalists following months of consultations. The document builds on and reinforces the ethical standards laid down by the 1954 IFJ Declaration of Principles on the Conduct of Journalists, the most widely recognised text on journalistic ethics to date. That Declaration was drafted in Bordeaux, France, 65 years ago, and was last updated in 1986, hence the need for a new Charter adapted to current challenges facing the media. Drafted by a working group of 16 people, including representatives of the IFJ leadership, regions and…

When it comes to crediting photojournalists below their pictures, big german newspapers perform worse than smaller ones. That’s the result of the 2019 ranking by the EFJ German affiliate, Deutscher Journalisten Verband (DJV). The ranking is part of a campaign called “Photographers do have names” with the main goal to raise awareness about photojournalists who are often deprived of their right. DJV investigated 87 nationwide selected newspapers in a random sample and found out that smaller newsrooms performed far better in quoting photographers than bigger ones. This year, the three Bavarian Newspapers Fränkische Landeszeitung, Main Post and Nürnberger Nachrichten were…

We, the undersigned international freedom of expression and journalists’ organisations, welcome the resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted on 26 June, condemning the continued impunity for the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and broader systemic rule of law shortcomings in Malta, and inter alia, calling for the launch of an independent public inquiry within three months. Titled Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination and the rule of law in Malta and beyond: ensuring that the whole truth emerges, the resolution accompanied a report drafted by Dutch MP Pieter Omtzigt in his capacity as the PACE Special Rapporteur…

On Sunday 23 June, around 4,000 people gathered in Moscow, Vladivostok, St Petersburg, Perm, Makhachkala to protest against the fabrication of criminal charges to incriminate journalists and human rights activists in Russia. The Journalists’ and Media Workers’ Union (JMWU) was one of the moving forces in this campaign. The Meduza journalist Ivan Golunov was freed on 12 June thanks to the unprecedented campaign of social pressure and solidarity from the journalism community and civil society as a whole. Against this backdrop, journalist Igor Rudnikov, who was threatened with 10 years in prison on absurd charges of extortion, was also freed.…

According to the Independent Association of Georgian Journalists (IAGJ), journalists were forcefully removed from the Georgian Parliament building and at least ten more were injured while covering protests around Parliament in the capital Tbilisi on 20th June. The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ/EFJ) have urged the authorities to stop targeting journalists and to respect press freedom and the right to information. Reports say that clashes between the riot police and the protesters started after Sergei Gavrilov, a Russian national who supports the independence of the Georgian breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and a supporter of Vladimir…

From 18-21 June 2019, we undertook an international freedom of expression mission to Albania, comprised of the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), ARTICLE 19, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the International Press Institute (IPI), Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO). The mission sought to gather information about challenges to freedom of expression and press freedom in Albania and bring concerns directly to Albanian government representatives. We met with journalists; editors-in-chief; representatives of civil society, international organisations and foreign embassies present in Tirana; and senior…

Journalist Vadym Komarov died in the early hours of 20th June, a few weeks after he was attacked and left in coma in May in the city of Cherkasy, Ukraine. The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ/EFJ) join their affiliate, the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU), in condemning the murder and urging authorities to carry out a thorough investigation into this despicable crime and bring the perpetrators to justice. Vadym Komarov was known for his investigations and his hard hitting reporting on local authorities. Komarov reported on corruption and organised crime in Cherkasy and had been attacked before,…

Only 49% of the sample in the Digital News Report 2019 trust the news media they use, reveals the most recent Digital News Report published on 12 June by the Reuters Institute in cooperation with the University of Oxford. Based on data from 75,000 online news consumers in 38 countries on six continents, the 2019 report focuses on trust in media and disinformation, models of payment, the impact of populism and the shift to private messaging apps. Trust in media is still diminishing The average level of trust in the news in general has fallen again 2 percentage points to…

Help is at hand for media professionals seeking to enhance the quality of their work when reporting about migration, as the Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) releases a new e-learning platform developed by journalists for journalists to mark World Refugee Day on 20 June. The online e-Media Toolkit provides first-hand assistance to media professionals with learning resources, training courses, and opportunities to share and interact. The learning section allows users to take courses in which journalists or editors of leading media outlets share their real-life newsroom dilemmas of reporting on migration. Training provides material for media trainers to design their own…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) shares the outrage of its German affiliates Deutscher Journalisten Verband (DJV) and Deutsche Jounalisten Union (DJU) in ver.di about a new draft law by the German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) which  would remove protections prohibiting the country’s domestic and foreign intelligence services from hacking journalists’ devices during terrorism investigations. Under the current German law, journalists – along with priests, lawyers, doctors, and Members of Parliament – are granted special protection to limit their surveillance by intelligence agencies. According to the German newspaper Die Zeit, the new legislation would remove some of the protections…

On 14 June, the UK Representation to the European Union (EU) and the Mission of Canada to the EU hosted the event “Thought is free: Protecting and promoting media freedom”. In two panels, six discussants shared their thoughts on media freedom, fact checking, safety of journalists, the loss of trust in media and the daily struggles of female journalists. The event was organised in the lead of the Global Conference for Media Freedom to take place on 11-11 July in London. In his opening statement, the Ambassador of Canada Dan Costello quoted journalists to be “modern heroes”, listing a worrying…

Ahead of the European Games to take place in Minsk from 21 to 30 June 2019, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) reiterates its call on Belarusian authorities to respect press freedom and journalists’ right to work in complete freedom. The EFJ further calls on the European Olympic Committee to advocate for press freedom in Belarus, its host for the European games. At the moment, the situation is particularly worrying for freelance journalists working in Belarus for foreign media outlets, who are denied accreditation and therefore imposed unjustified bans to carry out their journalistic activities. Since April 2014, freelance journalists…

Russian authorities detained on Wednesday 12 June hundreds of people, including at least 10 journalists, following a protest in Moscow in support of investigative journalist Ivan Golunov. The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ/IFJ) joined their affiliate in Russia, the Russian Union of Journalists (RUJ), in asking for immediate release of all detained journalists. Today’s march was initially organised to press for the release of Meduza journalist Ivan Golunov who was freed on 11 June. Demonstrators were calling for punishment of police officers involved in Golunov’s arrest on 6th June on drug-dealing accusations. Golunov always denied the allegation and…