26 February 2019 | 14.30-17.30 | Press Club Brussels Europe The problem of women’s unequal access to and representation in mainstream media is not new and research studies focused on the European media industry over at least the past 30 years have demonstrated the challenges women face in developing a career in the media and being represented in ways which reflect their lived experience. Come and join us at the launch of the AGEMI (Advancing Gender Equality in Media Industries) project and web platform where you can find a range of useful resources focused on aspects of gender equality, including…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) shared its condemnation of the jail sentence against a Turkish female journalist for writing investigative stories on the “Paradise Papers”,  a set of confidential electronic documents relating to secret offshore investments. “In Turkey the price for doing investigative journalism is not an award but prison. All European Leaders should put pressure on Turkey to drop all the charges against Pelin Ünker”, said Mogens Blicher Bjerregaard, EFJ President. The EFJ reported the case as a media freedom violation to the Council of Europe’s Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists : On 8…

The Dutch union of journalists Nederlandse Vereniging van Journalisten (NVJ, an EFJ affiliate) and its photojournalist section the NVF announced on 09/01/2019 that they will be going on strike in protest at the erosion of rates of pay. The NVJ/NVF has written to six prominent Dutch media companies calling for talks before January 11th – with strike action set to go ahead on January 25th if talks are unsuccessful. Already over 200 photojournalists have pledged their support for the action. A national monitor of freelance rates shows they fell from €80 a photo in 2014 to an average rate today of €42…

On 7 January 2019, Federico Marconi and Paolo Marchetti, an Italian journalist and a photographer both working for the Italian weekly magazine Espresso, have been attacked by members of two neo-fascist groups, Avanguardia Nazionale and Forza Nuova. The two journalists were near the Verano monumental cemetery in Rome to cover the event organised by Avanguardia Nazionale in memory of the Acca Larentia killings, in 1978. A group of neo-fascists approached Marchetti and took his camera’s memory card. Other militants then surrounded the journalist Federico Marconi and began to hit him with kicks and slaps. The boss of Forza Nuova together…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) is organising a workshop on “Modernising public service media through innovation and dialogue”. It will take place on the 4 and 5 March in Bucharest, Romania. The workshop will bring together journalists, trade unions and social partners (public broadcasters) to address recent challenges and develop strategies to ensure quality and independence in public service media in a period of digital changes, to improve working conditions of media workers in public service media and to regain trust in the media. The workshop will discuss the key themes: Public Service Media in Europe: The challenge for Innovation,…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) calls on again Lithuanian Parliament to guarantee the full independence of public broadcaster LRT. The Director General of LRT, Monika Garbaciauskaite, issued today a letter expressing strong concern about proposed legal changes in LRT governance. A new draft law on LRT is to be debated by the Lithuanian Parliament on 11 January. “The latest developments that are now taking place may have a direct impact on LRT’s independence and at the same time pose serious threats to freedom of speech and democracy on the whole,” reacted Monika Garbaciauskaite. Following the report, issued on 12…

The Trade Union of Media of Montenegro (SMCG) presented a few days ago its analysis on the working conditions in digital media in the country, which shows that the average salary of employees at Montenegrin portals is significantly lower than in traditional media. According to the research’s findings, the average salary for a journalist in these media outlets is only 362 euros per month, or rather 38% lower than the salary earned by people working in traditional media (around 500 euros) and 40% lower than the average salary at the state level (510 euros). The research, called “New Media – Old Problems”, covered…

  INSTITUTE OF MALTESE JOURNALISTS (IGM) Address Room No 120 (Third Floor) 280/3, Republic Street, Valletta, Malta Staff Matthew Xuereb (President) – matthew.xuereb@timesofmalta.com / president@igm.mt / +356 7948 7100 Yannick Pace – +356 77842440 Email info@igm.mt igm.mediamalta@gmail.com Website https://igm.org.mt/  

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) strongly calls for release of imprisoned journalists in Europe. Following the reports from the EFJ national affiliates, 177 journalists will spend New Year’s Eve in prison in Europe: 159 in Turkey; 11 in Azerbaijan; 5 in Russia; 2 in Ukraine. Read the full list, here. In Turkey, a significant number of journalists continued to be detained on charges related to alleged terrorism, while others were convicted in 2018 to heavy imprisonment sentences, including life sentences. No progress has been recorded concerning journalists currently serving behind bars life-imprisonment sentences or very long imprisonment sentences. Another trend consists of…

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today published a list of 94 journalists and media staff killed in work-related incidents during 2018. The new death toll marks a slight increase up from 82 killings recorded last year and represents a reversal of the downward trend from the last three years. In Europe, four journalists have been killed in 2018: Jan Kuciak (Slovakia), Jamal Kashoggi (Turkey), Victoria Marinova (Bulgaria), and Antonio Megalizzi (France). The list does not include the Russian journalist Maksim Borodin who died in suspicious circumstances in Ekaterinburg (Russia). In its 29th list, the IFJ says that this year’s roll call of…

The European Federation of Journalists is supporting the initiative of the European Center for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), also joined by two other media freedom organisations (PEN International and RSF), to request immediately the Albanian government to drop initiative on amendment of media laws currently being discussed in the country and raising serious concerns about media freedom situation. The joint-letter sent to Prime Minister Edi Rama says : Request to drop initiative on amendment of media laws in Albania Dear Prime Minister Edi Rama, Dear Minister of Justice Etilda Gjonaj, Copy: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Council…

This December, the German Association of Journalists (DJV) developed an online survey to record the time freelance journalists need for writing their articles in the magazine sector. The collected data will be used to realistically calculate the personal hourly rate for the freelance journalists working in the magazine sector. The survey was closed on  15th December and the results should be available at the beginning of the new year. The data will be then presented anonymously to the publishers with the goal of guaranteeing fair fees for all journalists and finally agree on Joint Remuneration Rules. The European Federation of…

On  28th November, the Dutch Association of Journalists (NVJ) agreed on a “working conditions policy plan” aiming to adapt the rates of freelance journalists in line with the employed journalists. NVJ is negotiating with the publishers to guarantee  4 to 4,5 % salary increase to the publishers association. The NVJ has chosen a comprehensive approach in the negotiations with the publishers to guarantee better rights for both employees and freelancers. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) welcomes this decision in times when more and more freelance journalists suffer precarious working conditions throughout Europe. The plan is part of a broader…

The Hungarian public media MTVA became on Monday 17 December the focal point of the protest movement that started last week in the capital against Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, over the passing of new bills, including the so-called “slave law”. According to media reports, thousands of demonstrators gathered outside state public broadcaster MTVA headquarters. About ten opposition members of parliament (MP) entered the building with the aim to read the demands of the protesters live on air. The requests included the overturn of a controversial labour law, the annulment of the judicial reform and a call for more independence and objectivity…

On December 13, Antonio Megalizzi, an Italian journalist who had been seriously hurt at the head during the gun attack on the Christmas market in Strasbourg, died after being for few days in a coma. His conditions were partiicularly bad since the very first moment and when he arrived at the hospital it was clear that he was struggling between life and death. Megalizzi, who was only 28 years old, went in Strasbourg as a voluntary journalist of Europhonica, a shared radio show aiming to give voice to independent student and university media interested in Europe. The show broadcasts from the European Parliament…

On International Migrants Day, trade union leaders across Europe, representing 45 million members from 90 trade union organisations in 38 European countries, will reiterate their support for solidarity with migrants by backing the first European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) on migration. Trade union leaders showed their commitment by signing the ‘We Are a Welcoming Europe’ initiative at a high-level meeting of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). “We are totally opposed to criminalising those who offer humanitarian assistance to migrants” said Luca Visentini, ETUC Secretary General. “The authorities should applaud and support those who help refugees fleeing life-threatening conflict. The Citizens Initiative rightly defends…