The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ and EFJ) yesterday sent an observer to Istanbul to monitor the first trial against journalists accused of participating in the 15 failed coup of last July. The trial, which may shed light on how the courts will approach numerous cases concerning the right to freedom of expression and the right to a fair trial under the state of emergency, has amplified international concerns over press freedom in Turkey. Raffaele Lorusso, General Secretary of the affiliate Federazione Nazionale della Stampa Italiana (FNSI) and an IFJ Executive Committee member, yesterday attended the trial of…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) join a coalition of freedom of expression organisations and journalists’ organisations urging OSCE Participating States to urgently appoint a new Representative on Freedom of the Media. The Representative on Freedom of the Media is an independent OSCE Institution, holding a unique mandate to protect and promote media freedom in all 57 OSCE participating States. The former mandate holder, Dunja Mijatović, left Office on 10 March 2017. There has been no announcement of her successor since. Continued failure to appoint a successor will weaken protections for freedom of…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Türkiye Gazeteciler Sendikasi (TGS) have printed postcard with the names of the 158 journalists and media workers currently jailed in Turkey forming the letter G for #Gazeteciliksuçdegildir or #Journalismisnotacrime and they invite you to send a moral support to all the journalists and media workers in jail. How to do it? Get in touch with the union or professional association in your country and ask them to send you the specific postcard or simply print a PDF version available here. You can also use the PSD files…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) together with the consortium leader, International Federation of Journalists  (IFJ), is preparing a proposal to the European commission Tender for Technical Assistance to Public Service Media in the Western Balkans. As part of the bid they are looking for two key experts to manage the programme for 30 months starting November 2017. The candidates must be prepared to be located in one of the beneficiary countries. – KE1 : Team leader (550 days) – KE2 : Senior Broadcast Management Expert, Deputy Team Leader (440 days) Interested candidates are asked to send their CV using…

An international conference on public service media (PSM) in Bosnia and Herzegovina has concluded with an agreement that the failure of PSM in the country would be unacceptable. Public service media in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is under threat of imminent collapse due to insufficient and unsustainable funding and the authorities’ inability to make the necessary reforms to the media law. More than 100 participants from parliament, government, regulatory authorities, the media, the international community and the civil sector met in Sarajevo to discuss the importance of PSM. Organised by the Radio and Television of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BHRT) in…

Two defamation lawsuits have been launched on June 9 by Gjin Gjoni, a member of the High Council of Justice in Albania. They target the daily Shqiptarja.com along with its journalists Adriatic Doci and Elton Qyno, as well as the Balkan Investigative Reporting in Albania (BIRN) and reporters Besar Likmeta and Aleksandra Bogdani. The latter two journalists are both winners of the prestigious CEI SEEMO Award for Outstanding Merits in Investigative Journalism. Gjoni and his wife Elona Caushi are seeking a total of 7 million lek (€52,000) in damages, for three stories published by BIRN over the last year, related to an investigation…

Tuncer Çetinkaya, a journalist and former regional representative of Zaman newspaper in Antalya, has been detained for 11 months in Turkey and is now held in Antalya prison. He urgently needs medical care. According to his relatives who contacted the IFJ-EFJ, Tuncer Çetinkaya is seriously ill and suffers from autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) which requires regular and specific treatment. His daughter reports that during his first three months in jail,  Çetinkaya was not allowed to use his drugs or see a doctor. His health situation has steadily worsened and he has already lost 54% of his kidney. He also lost a lot of…

How to fight fake news? Do facts still matter? The European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) took part in this burning issue with the conference “Defending the truth in a post-truth era” taking place on June 13 and 14 in Leipzig, Germany. Many case studies were showcased by different NGOs and stakeholders highlighting the need to invest in media literacy, fact-checking trainings and collaborative journalism. LieDetectors is one of the project presented by Juliane von Reppert-Bismarck, aiming to bring journalists into classrooms in order to give them an overview of what a fake news is and to help children…

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…

The EFJ newsletter, EFJ Focus, is available in English and German. EDITORIAL EU moving forward on journalists’ rights protection When the EFJ was established twenty five years ago, one of its aims was to lobby EU institutions for the interests of journalists. Currently, the EFJ is making progress on influencing: the proposed EU copyright directive the protection of whistleblowers the consultation to provide social protection and equal rights for freelance journalists We have built alliances with authors’ organisations to ensure the protection of authors’ rights in the EU copyright directive while maintaining our cooperation with publishers on common topics. We…

Update (20/06/2017): Representatives from the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) and the Russian Union of Journalists (RUJ) expressed today their deep concern for the safety and fate of Donetsk journalist Stanyslav Aseev. They call for Aseev’s immediate release. ————————– The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ and EFJ) joined their affiliates, the National Union of Journalists in Ukraine (NUJU) and the Independent Media Trade Union of Ukraine (IMTUU), in demanding the Ukrainian authorities do all they can to find the journalist Stanyslav Aseev, known as Stanyslav Vasin, who went missing in the occupied part of the Donbass region on 3…

Irish freelance workers will be allowed the right to collective bargaining. On the evening of 31 May, the Irish Parliament adopted the Labour Party proposed Competition Amendment Bill 2016, which aims to introduce exemptions from competition law for certain self-employed workers. Since a competition ruling was handed down thirteen years ago, agreements  negotiated with  artists unions on minimum tariffs  have been considered as breaches of competition  law. To avoid the competition law a union has to prove either that its members are false independent workers (in a subordinate relationship, obliged to follow instructions,  do not share the same business risks…

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) released this year’s Global Rights Index report, providing an insight into workers’ rights violations around the world. It rates 139 countries from one to five according to 97 indicators to determine where workers’ rights are best protected in law and in practice. Following the report, the worst countries for workers in Europe are Turkey, Belarus, Greece, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, Serbia and the United Kingdom. The number of countries experiencing physical violence and threats against workers has risen by 10 percent in just one year. In Europe, however, trade unions have greater respect…

UPDATE : Mathias Depardon has been released and deported from Turkey on 9 June 2017 after 32 days of captivity. The gathering in Brussels on Monday 12 at 5 pm (Place Luxembourg) is maintained for asking the release of all journalists in jail.   — A joint call for French freelance photographer Mathias Depardon’s release by the Turkish authorities had been made by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), two other press freedom groups and 19 news organizations for which he has worked. Depardon, 37, has been detained arbitrarily for the past eleven days in Turkey. EFJ and the 21 organizations…

The future role of media is under question – new online media companies are emerging, print advertising is in decline and there is more and more talk about ‘fake-news’, which contributes to losing readers’ trust. The Greens in the European Parliament organised on Wednesday (07/06/2017) a Democratic Discourse with experts discussing the new trends in the digital news landscape and how journalists and media outlets are living up to them. “The majority of professional journalism is still funded by newspapers – 69 % of the funds for professional journalism came from newspaper companies in the UK in 2012,” pointed out…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins the Western Balkan’s Regional Platform for Advocating Media Freedom and Journalists’ Safety in condemning the verbal and physical attacks against journalists from Insajder Production, Vice, Radio Belgrade and daily newspaper Danas during the inauguration of Serbian President Vucic on May 31 in Belgrade. The attacks occurred while Vucic’s supporters and opposition activists started clashing in front of the Serbian parliament. According to media reports, Danas journalist Lidija Valtner was taking a statement of a protester when she was dragged away by two persons holding her by the neck and trying to take her mobile phone away.…