The final report “Montenegro Media Sector Inquiry” published on 5 April 2018, expressed the urgent need for Montenegrin authorities to guarantee professional rights of journalists. A group of independent experts carried out a detailed analysis of the Montenegrin media sector from August 2017 until January 2018. Representatives from the EFJ’s Montenegrin affiliate, the Trade Union of Media of Montenegro (SMCG) were consulted for the investigation. The report found that the private Montenegrin media had failed to engage with the SMCG about a collective agreement prepared by the national journalist trade union a year ago. The EFJ backs the recommendation addressed to private…

It was as sad and enraging as it was utterly humbling: hundreds of media freedom activists gathered on 16 April in eight cities worldwide to remember Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was murdered six months ago to this day, and to call on the Maltese government to finally bring those to justice who ordered her killing. Vigils were held in Valletta, London, Brussels, Berlin, Dresden, Amsterdam, Edinburgh and Washington DC. The EFJ co-organised with CPJ, RSF, TI, Il Kenniesa the gathering in Brussels and the ECPMF did the same in Dresden and Berlin. As shows the Daphne Project. 45 journalists from 15 different countries have been…

Radio station Lánchíd Rádió as well as Hungarian opposition daily newspaper Magyar Nemzet have shut down on 10 and 11 April 2018. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) is appalled by the latest developments following Orbán’s electoral win, which further narrows media pluralism in Hungary. The Hungarian opposition daily newspaper Magyar Nemzet and its online version were forced to close yesterday due to financial reasons. A sudden increase in rent of the publishing buildings, whose owners are reported to be close to the newly re-elected Hungarian Prime minister Viktor Orbán, led it to cease its media production.  The Hungarian radio station Lánchíd Rádió…

Difference Day 3 May 2018 We are happy to invite you to the World Press Freedom Day: Difference Day at BOZAR in Brussels on 3 May 2018. Entrance is Free. For the 4th time in a row, VUB, ULB, EHB, Evens Foundation & BOZAR and their valuable partners and with the patronage of UNESCO are organising a spectacular day that celebrates the UN World Press Freedom Day. The program is packed with insightful debates, exhibitions & speeches on: ‘VOICES OF RESISTANCE!” Register Now: Free Entrance In 1993, the UN General Assembly proclaimed 3 May as World Press Freedom Day. World Press Freedom Day is about freedom of expression,…

How to shape the future of journalists’ trade unions and associations in the Western Balkans and Turkey? The EFJ’s Labour Rights Expert Group Plus (LAREG+), composed of representatives from Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey, convened on the 10th of April 2018 in Skopje (Macedonia) to reflect on a one-year strategic plan to improve journalists’ working conditions in the region. This meeting was the last of a series of trainings organised throughout the year 2017-2018 in the framework of the project Building Trust in Media in South East Europe and Turkey, financially supported by the UNESCO and the European Union.…

The director of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), Renate Schroeder met with a group of Slovak journalists from various Slovak media on 11 April in the European Parliament to discuss the current situation of journalists in Slovakia and what must be done to better protect (investigative) journalists. The meeting “Slovakia and Malta: killed journalists. What is changing in Europe?” organised by the Information Office of the European Parliament in Slovakia brought together 15 Slovak journalists from  TV Markiza, TV TA3. RTVS- public TV and radio, TV JOJ, Daily SME , Daily DennikN, daily PRAVDA and press agency TASR. Nora Wehofsits, advocacy…

A new report about the fact-finding mission conducted by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), which investigated the media situation in Estonia and Lithuania from 22 to 24 January, was published on 9 April 2018. Members of the mission interviewed almost 30 experts: representatives of the government, academia, press councils, public service media, journalists‘ organisations, investigative journalists, editors-in-chief and CEOs of major media companies. The two Baltic states were chosen in the wake of a wave of disinformation spread by Russian specialists during the US election campaign. The question, whether the comparatively small societies…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined its Serbian affiliate, the Journalists’ Union of Serbia (SINOS), the Journalists’ Association of Serbia (UNS) and the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (NUNS) in condemning the attacks on Serbian cameraman Vladimir Milic as well as journalists Dragana Zecevic and Radmila Komazec on 26 March 2018 in Kosovska Mitrovica, Kosovo. They were covering a meeting of the local community about the Kosovo dialogue in the Mitrovica Community Centre. The level of violence was very high as shown in this reportage. Milic, who works for the public television Radio Television of Serbia (RTS), was reportedly attacked by Kosovar policemen who…

The undersigned international press freedom groups and journalists’ organisations, including the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), call on Turkish authorities to immediately release the 12 printworkers and staff arrested on March 28 at the premises and print works of the newspaper Özgürlükçü Demokrasi and the further 15 staff taken into custody after home raids on the morning of March 29, 2018. Authorities must also restore control over the paper and its premises to the rightful owners. The EFJ and the below-named organizations also denounce the fact that lawyers acting for those arrested have been denied contact with prosecutors or access…

Registration opens for the upcoming MediaRoad event Robot “journalism” is already the reality in many newsrooms churning out content faster than we can consume. News organisations are increasingly experimenting with robot journalism using computer programmes to analyse data and produce news stories because robots are more productive. But how much do we know about these robots behind the news? Are they friends or foes of journalists? Should journalists be afraid or take advantage of the technology to improve their working conditions and quality of journalism? This workshop will focus on these questions and explore the pros and cons of robot…

A delegation of the Western Balkans’ Regional Platform project for advocating media freedom and journalists’ safety visited Brussels on March 21st and 22nd and held meetings and consultations with the members of the European Parliament and representatives of the European Commission from the Directorate General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement negotiations (DG NEAR). Representatives of journalists’ associations and a trade union from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia presented the journalists’ safety and the media situation in their countries. They emphasised joint problems their members and other journalists face, including poor working conditions, fear for personal safety due to work,…

The Italian public television RAI, Rai Journalists Trade Union (Usigrai) and the Italian EFJ affiliate, FNSI (Federazione Nazionale della Stampa Italiana), signed a new collective agreement to extend the national labour contract to journalists working in public media. For the first time, the agreement includes an ethical commitment to combat hate speech, discrimination and racism, as well as a commitment to promote gender equality and the rights of minors. This 2018-2022 agreement, signed on the 13th of March, aims to reverse the trend among media organisations to use right-grabbing contracts and provide unfair remuneration to journalists. It will include: a reduction…

The Norwegian Media Businesses’ Association (MBL) signed an unprecedented  framework agreement for freelance journalists with the Norwegian affiliate of the European Federation of Journalists, the Norwegian Union of Journalists (NJ), concerning purchase, sale and copyrights of freelance materials on Wednesday, 21 March 2018.  The NJ had been in negotiations with the MBL to establish this framework agreement since April 2016. The purpose of the agreement is to ensure predictable frameworks for freelance jobs. The framework agreement will take effect on 1 April 2018. It requires an individual agreement to be concluded between the freelancer and the employer. The NJ and the MBL will prepare templates for  agreements which…

“Cumhuriyet, as one of the most important daily newspaper in Turkey, is playing a great inspirational role for all journalists in the world and by putting your own life at risk to tell the truth in the country, you attract more respect and become an example for many of our colleagues and we would like to thank you for that”, said Oliver Money-Kyrle, IFJ Assistant General Secretary during a joint solidarity visit in Istanbul to the former imprisoned journalist Murat Sabuncu (editor in chief of Cumhuriyet). The joint delegation for the solidarity visit included representatives from the International Federation of Journalists…

36 journalists, union leaders and media experts from 20 European countries discussed issues around new business models and trends in (digital) journalism from 15-16 March 2018 in Nuremberg, Germany. With great enthusiasm participants explored recent trends in journalism,  successful new models in financing journalism and the role of unions and associations to best serve their members in this process of change. The first panel “What is trending in journalism” included academics, publishers and an editor in chief from a local newspaper, all giving interesting insights in changes in the media eco-system,  its impact on the work of journalists, use of…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) co-signed an open letter by seven international freedom of expression organisations on 23 March 2018, urging diplomats in Malta to make their presence felt concerning the investigation of the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder. “Your engagement in this case is setting a standard and precedent for what is permissible in the European Union”: We, the undersigning international organisations are closely monitoring the investigation of the murder of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and the related court proceedings in Malta. Daphne Caruana Galizia was a journalist, a blogger, a mother of three. For years, she reported…