The “Manifesto of Venice”, a manifesto for gender equality and correct information, will be launched on the World Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls, on 25 November 2017. Signed by 800 journalists, including directors of national newspapers in Italy, the manifesto will be launched by the EFJ affiliate in Italy, the Federazione Nazionale Stampa Italiana (FNSI) Equal Opportunities Committee (CPO). It is a result of their collaboration with the CPO of Unione Sindacale Giornalisti Rai and Giornaliste Unite Libere Autonome (GiULiA), following a proposal by the Veneto Journalists’ Union. “We, journalist signatories of the Manifesto of Venice, are…

Today, 15 November 2017, the Italian Secretary of State for the Interior, Marco Minniti, has met with leaders of the National Federation of Italian Press (FNSI), a member of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) to discuss journalists’ concerns for press freedom. Daniele Piervincenzi, a journalist for Italian TV RAI, was assaulted by Roberto Spada, the brother of a mafia boss, when he approached him for an interview about the local elections in Ostia, on 7 November 2017. Following the report from FNSI, the EFJ condemn the assault and filed a complaint to the Council of Europe Platform to protect the safety of…

An European consortium comprising the Universities of Newcastle (UK), Padova (Italy) and Gothenburg (Sweden), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the Permanent Conference of the Mediterranean Audiovisual Operators (COPEAM) is developing an action project to advance gender equality in media industries (AGEMI). Help us build the AGEMI project database by submitting your media best practice on gender equality! Best practices can be tutorials for students, monitoring exercises, modules to strengthen gender equality in the media, guidelines on reporting gender issues or specific issue with a gender lens, media or unions’ policies to build a gender culture in newsrooms and…

The president of the European Federation of Journalists Mogens Blicher Bjerregård is attending today in Istanbul the opening of the trial of 17 journalists and executives at Turkish opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet.  “Journalism is not a crime,” chanted several hundred people gathered outside the central Istanbul court to protest against the prosecution of journalists, executives and lawyers of Cumhuriyet. “You can really feel the solidarity present in the courtroom,” said Mogens Blicher Bjerregård. “Let’s hope for justice.” On the behalf of the international support group attending the trial, Steven M. Ellis, from the International Press Institute, delivered the following statement, in front…

Citizens’ fundamental rights to freedom of expression and information can only be guaranteed through media freedom and pluralism. Even though that is enshrined in Article 11 of the Charter, the reality is different. “Since our last report in 2013, plurality has just gotten worse,” stressed Italian MEP Barbara Spinelli in her opening remarks at the “Media Pluralism and Freedom in the EU” hearing, which took place in the European Parliament on Tuesday (11/07/2017). Organised by the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) Committee, it reflected the media situation in EU, with the experts presenting the most alarming issues. Spinelli…

The year 2016-2017 has seen intense debates over fake news, algorithms and distrust towards journalists and journalism. The 2017 Digital News Report, published by the Reuters Institute for the study of journalism, contains interesting findings on some of the prevailing narratives around these issues. Social media are not doing a good job in separating fact from fiction The overall trust in news – 43% all media combined – drops significantly when it comes to social media, as only 24% thinks that social media do a good job in separating fact from fiction, compared to 40% for the news media. Only…

The first edition of the Migration Media Award awarded 35 journalists from 16 countries for their journalistic excellence on migration in the Euro-Mediterranean region. The award ceremony was held on 14th June evening in Valletta, Malta, under the auspices of Malta’s EU presidency.The winning entries feature fact-based and impartial reporting on the complexity of migration, its many challenges and opportunities. High quality reporting as rewarded by the new journalistic competition is urgently needed to improve people’s understanding of migration. The twelve first-prize winners for the four categories of video, print, online or radio in the English, French or Arabic languages come…

UPDATE (24.04.2017). Italian journalist Gabriele Del Grande has been released in Turkey. ————- The Italian affiliate of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the Federazione nazionale della stampa italiana (FNSI), gathered in Rome on Tuesday 11 April to call for the release of Gabriele Del Grande, an Italian journalist arrested by the Turkish authorities at the border with Syria. “We hope his swift release and immediate return to Italy, while we thank the Italian diplomatic authorities, which is closely following the case”, said the General Secretary and the President of the FNSI, Raffaele Lorusso and Giuseppe Giulietti. Gabriele Del Grande…

The European and International Federation of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) have backed calls by striking workers at one of Italy’s top financial newspapers for the editor to resign. The EFJ-IFJ joined its affiliate, the Federazione Nazionale della Stampa Italiana (FNSI), in supporting the stoppage by Il Sole 24 Ore workers which started today. The strike, backed in a vote on Friday by 90% of union members, is demanding the resignation of the paper’s editor, Roberto Napoletano, following a police raid on the paper’s headquarters and claims senior managers, including Napoletano, issued false statements about the company’s position. Reports said that Napoletano and two former…

A multidisciplinary European consortium comprising the Universities of Newcastle (UK), Padova (Italy) and Gothenburg (Sweden), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the Permanent Conference of the Mediterranean Audiovisual Operators (COPEAM) has just been awarded a grant by the European Commission’s Directorate –General for Justice and Consumers to develop an action project to advance gender equality in media industries. The project will bring journalism, media and communication students together with media professionals so as to foster a gender equality perspective within both journalism and media education and professional journalism practice, and bridge the transition between education and employment. The project…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), regional organisation of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), works with a broad range of like-minded partners in the media, trade union and NGO sectors. EFJ is member of the following organisations : Full member of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) Full member of the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) Full member Ethical Journalism Network (EJN) Full member of European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) Full member of the Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD) Full member of IFEX Full member of the International CSO Safety of Journalists Coalition (ICSO SoJ) Full…

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on Tuesday discussed the rising levels of violence against journalists, particularly in Turkey, Russia and Azerbaijan. Ukrainian MP Volodymyr Ariev (EPP/CD), pictured above, presented the report, where he drew attention to the death of 16 journalists and the arrest of 150 media employees since January 2015 in member States. Mr. Ariev spoke about the deterioration of media freedom in Turkey and called for “release from detention all journalists who have not been indicted for actively participating in terrorist acts”. He also raised concerns on the media situation in Crimea and eastern parts of Ukraine.…

The European Federation of Journalists supports its member in Germany, the Deutscher Journalisten-Verband  in requesting  fair accreditation to journalists who wish to attend the European Parliament’s Europe of Nations and Freedom group) conference in Koblenz on 21 January . The meeting,  is to be attended by leaders of Germany’s right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) as well as Marine Le Pen, who heads up France’s National Front. The leader of the Dutch Freedom Party Geert Wilders and the chief of Italy’s Northern League Matteo Salvini are due to speak at the conference. According to information of the Deutscher Journalisten-Verband, several  journalists who…

Enforcing labour rights and improving working conditions for journalists remain challenging in South East Europe and Turkey, as concluded in the Labour Rights Expert Group meeting of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) on 26 October in Zagreb. The meeting is partly funded by the UNESCO as part of the project “Building trust in the media in South East Europe and Turkey” that enables labour rights experts from the region to exchange views with their colleagues. Erisa Zykaj, journalist and representative from the Association of Professional Journalists of Albania (APJA) said that the enforcement of labour rights is yet to…

The recently published study on  “A comparative analysis of media freedom and pluralism in the EU Member States“conducted research on Bulgaria, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy,Poland and Romania, all countries which have shown political pluralism at high risk, accompanied by heavy state interference in the media, or close economic ties between politics and media. The 175 pages long study starts with the premise that any attempt to address media freedom and pluralism on a European level should be “intrinsically connected to the issues of democracy, rule of law and fundamental rights and should become part of a regular process of democratic…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the Alliance Internationale de Journalistes (AIJ) successfully organised yesterday (4 October) a roundtable discussion on Refugees and Migrants, the inconvenient truths – Journalism against bias and stereotypes in Brussels. Migrants and refugees have suddenly jumped at the top of the agenda and media organisations play a crucial role in shaping the public opinion. How to cover the refugee crisis with more humanity? How best to communicate with media?  Many journalists, NGOs representatives and intergouvernmental organisations (UNCHR, OIM) dealing with migration issues attended the event to reflect and build a constructive dialogue on these fondamental questions. The biggest requests @UNmigration…