The UK competition authority (CMA) will investigate the proposed merger of 21st Century Fox with Sky on the grounds of media plurality, announced by the Secretary of State, Karen Bradley.  The affiliate of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has welcomed the investigation but urged Bradley to broaden the scope of her referral. NUJ acting general secretary, Séamus Dooley, said the inquiry should also deal with the threat posed to broadcasting standards and the union reiterated its call for the government to implement the Leveson Inquiry Part Two. If the merger goes ahead the…

Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, has made his State of the Union speech outlining his vision for the future of Europe. Commenting on the State of the Union speech, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) welcomes his commitment to address the social dimension of the digital single market in particular in the area of social and workers’ rights. In his speech, President Juncker said: “In a Union of equals, there can be no second class workers. Workers should earn the same pay for the same work in the same place.” Ricardo Gutiérrez, EFJ General Secretary said: “We welcome…

A Montenegrin journalist working for Dan newspaper, Vladimir Otasevic, reported that the Prime Minister’s brother, Velizar Markovic, had threatened his safety during a phone call on Monday 11 September. In the conversation, Otasevic was asking for a phone number of the Prime Minister’s other brother when Markovic  insulted and verbally threatened him, saying that he shouldn’t be surprised if someone ends up dead at the end. An audio recording of the conversation was released by Dan on Tuesday. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) today strongly condemned the death threats and backed its affiliate in Montenegro, the Trade Union Media…

Russian journalist Yulia Latynina has fled Russia after a series of attacks led her to fear for her life. The Russian Union of Journalists (RUJ) has appealed to the Russian government to investigate the attacks. The International and European Federation of Journalists joined its affiliate the RUJ in condemning the attacks on Yulia Latynina and called on the Russian government to bring the perpetrators to justice. This latest attack is part of a string of attempts to intimidate and silence the journalist. In July 2017, Latynina’s home was sprayed with an unknown chemical, causing breathing problems for several children and elderly…

The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) condemn the court’s decision to maintain the five Cumhuriyet journalists and media workers in pre-trial detention, after a 13-hour long hearing at Silivri prison, on 11 September 2017. The court ordered their detention despite clear demonstration by the defendants’ lawyers that the accusations of “without being a member of that organisation, spreading propaganda on behalf of an illegal terrorist organisation” were completely baseless. An international delegation including the EFJ-IFJ, IPI, PEN International, Norsk PEN, PEN Vlaanderen, RSF, foreign consulate representatives, foreign press correspondents and MEP Rebecca Harms has attended the hearing and shared solidarity…

The European and International Federations of Journalists welcome the release of two Azerbaijani journalists, Mehman Aliyev and Alexander Lapshin, on the 11th of September 2017. Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev today pardoned Russian travel blogger Alexander Lapshing. He was arrested in Minsk in December 2016 and extradited to Azerbaijan, after the Supreme Court in Belarus decided to send him to Baku despite the objections from Moscow. Lapshin was accused of illegally visiting Nagorno-Karabakh, the disputed territory between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and calling for independence of the region. The second journalist, Mehman Aliyev, editor-in-chief of the Turan news agency, has been released today from pretrial detention, on condition that he…

The media environment is becoming increasingly digital, mobile and more and more people consume news directly on social media. Which innovative financing tools will make quality journalism sustainable in the future and how can we preserve a lively news environment that informs citizens and scrutinizes societal power hubs? Those were the main questions of the debate, organised yesterday (07/09/2017) by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF) in cooperation with the European Federation of journalists (EFJ). It was moderated by Caroline Margaux Haury, European Affairs Manager at the FNF. Renate Schroeder, director of the EFJ, gave opening remarks. “The evolution of the…

Fake news have become an unavoidable term when talking about (digital) media. They are seen as an effective tool of manipulating political discourse, a way for content creators to generate revenue from advertising and are easily widespread on the social media. The parliamentary group of social democrats in the European Parliament organised on Wednesday (06/09/2017) a conference to tackle the political and legal challenges linked to fake news and invited Ricardo Gutiérrez, General Secretary of the European Federation of Journalists, as an expert to the panel. Arnaud Mercier, professor of political communication at Panthéon-Assas University in Paris, said that fake…

A coalition of international journalist and media freedom organisations, as well as intergovernmental institutions have gathered in Brussels on 5 September under the initiative of Harlem Désir, the newly appointed OSCE Media Freedom Representative, and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) to discuss challenges and develop new ideas for cooperation to defend media freedom across Europe. The attended organisations included Access Now, Article 19, Association of European Journalists, Committee to Protect Journalists, European Federation of Journalists, European Digital Rights, IFEX, International Federation of Journalists, Index on Censorship, International News Safety Institute, International Press Institute, PEN International, Reporters Without Borders as well as David Kaye the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of…

The EFJ urges the Estonian Presidency of the Council of the European Union to reconsider denied accreditation to three Russian journalists for the EU informal meeting of the EU ministers of Foreign Affairs in Tallinn (Estonia) to take place on 7-8 September 2017. The Estonian Presidency refused three requests for accreditation from Russian state owned news agency Rossiya Segodnya to cover the EU informal meeting. The requests were filed by the Brussels based correspondent Vladimir Dobrovolskiy, and by Moscow based journalists Maria Kiseleva and Anastasia Sedelnikova. No explanations were provided by the Estonian authorities for their refusal. Sergey Kochetkov, first…

Journalists are facing increasing economic and political pressure hampering editorial independence in the newsrooms, concluded 20 journalists who attended the two-day workshop on Promoting editorial independence in the newsrooms. It was co-organised by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) together with the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) on 29 & 30 August with the financial support of the European Union. The workshop was also supported by the Association des journalistes Professionnels (AJP, Belgium) alongside their yearly Summer School for young journalists in Belgium. Journalists coming from 13 European countries (including Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Estonia, France, Finland, Macedonia, Montenegro, Lithuania, Russia,…

A Special report on the status and cases of threats against journalists in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) was published on Monday 28 August 2017 by the Institution of Human Rights Ombudsman of BiH. The publication highlights the very bad employment status of journalists in the country, as well as the increase of violence, harassment and attacks against them. Some of the key findings highlighted in the report are: According to the BiH Journalists’ Association research, between 34% and 40% of journalists work in Bosnia and Herzegovina without adequate employment agreements, while those working with agreements are not sufficiently protected. Journalists…

Russian journalist Anna Kurbatova was deported from Ukraine to Russia on Wednesday 30 August and barred from returning for 3 years, accused of spreading anti-Ukrainian propaganda. The EFJ and IFJ join their affiliate the Russian Union of Journalists (RUJ) in condemning the deportation of Kurbatova and call on the Ukrainian authorities to lift the ban. “Russian propagandist Anna Kurbatova, whose forcible expulsion has been decided, has crossed the Ukrainian-Russian border”, said Ukrainian Secret Service (SBU) spokesperson Olena Hitlayanska. “She has been banned from entering our state for three years”. According to Russian news agencies, Kurbatova has been given an official…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) is joining the call of the Western Balkan’s Regional Platform for Advocating Media Freedom and Journalists’ Safety in condemning the attacks and pressures on journalists, which happened in the last few days in Slavonski Brod (Croatia), Skopje (Macedonia) and Partes (Kosovo) : On Wednesday, August 23, journalists Visnja Ruzojcic from HRT and Aleksandra Primorac from the portal SBplus were physically attacked in Slavonski Brod. According to the reports of the SBplus portal, the journalists Primorac and Ruzojcic reported on the shooting, which happened during the previous night and in which one citizen was seriously injured.…

The Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFOM) invites young Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot journalists, interested in experiencing and sharing stories of bi-communal life, to a week-long exchange project. The exchange project takes place within the framework of the on-going Cyprus Dialogue, launched by the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media in March 2017, and in close co-operation with the Cyprus Journalists’ Union, Basin-Sen/Press Workers’ Union, and the Turkish Cypriot Journalists’ Union. Journalists are encouraged to apply and selected participants will travel to the neighboring community and work at a host media outlet for…

The Friedrich Naumann Foundation and the European Federation of Journalist invite you to attend the event “Ever-changing & ever so urgent: The Future of Financing Journalism” to take place on 7 September in Brussels, from 12 to 14h. The media environment is becoming increasingly digital and mobile and more and more people consume news directly on social media. While the potential to reach a wide audience has never been higher, this fast-paced, algorithm-driven news reality can pose a challenge to financing quality and investigative journalism. When sensationalist – sometimes fake – news gain most ad revenue and shares, the incentive…