In times of political gambling, minorities become the scapegoating target of populist leaders. In name of the freedom of expression, racist discourses are legitimised by the electorate choice of right-wing representation in the structures of power. Although some discourses are becoming obsolete, media magnifies the stereotypes and can influence the negative perceptions largely and inaccurately promoted and which is yet reinforced by strong political discourse. But (new) media can also be an instrument for mobilization, participation and change. How is media helping to build democracy and a new narrative for Europe? And how to tackle hate speech, racism and underrepresentation…

The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ and EFJ) have joined the Russian Union of Journalists (RUJ) in expressing their deepest condolences to the newspaper Noviy Petersburg after the death of its investigative journalist and co-founder of the newspaper Nicolay Andrushchenko who died on 19 April in Mariinsky hospital at the age of 73. The IFJ has also backed calls for a full investigation in to his death. Andruschenko was a prominent journalist famous for his investigative reporting on such dangerous topics as local crime, corruption, and police brutality. He was reported to have been severely beaten by unidentified…

Petra Reski, female journalist and author of several books, recently published as freelancer for Freitag magazine some articles on the relations of an Italian businessman operating in Germany. The businessman accused of being member of the Italian maffia launched lawsuits against the journalist who did not received support from Freitag magazine based on the argument that “redaction are not legal protection insurance against inadequate research work”. The freelancer felt let down by “Freitag” magazine. The German union Verdi couldn’t support her financially for technical reasons as to receive legal support from the union, a journalist is asked to contact the…

Ms Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Mr Donald Tusk, President of the European Council cc: Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the European Union and EU ambassadors to Turkey 20 April 2016 Object: Extension of Turkey’s state of emergency in a context of grave human rights violations Dear HR/VP Federica Mogherini, Dear President Donald Tusk, EuroMed Rights, European Federation of Journalists, Front Line Defenders, Index on Censorship and World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) are deeply concerned by the Turkish government’s decision to extend the state of emergency…

The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ and EFJ) have condemned an attack on Armenian correspondent Sisak Gabrielian by activists of the Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) while he was covering parliamentary elections in Yerevan on 2 April, 2017. Reporting for the Armenian service of Radio Free Europe (RFE) during the parliamentary elections, Sisak Gabrielian was hit in the face by one of the ruling HHK party activists and forced out of the office by polling station attendants after having noticed and started filming alleged fraudulent activities. According to the RFE Armenian service, Gabrielian noticed that many residents voting…

UPDATE (19.04.2017): Newspaper Novaya Gazeta received today an envelope containing an unidentified white powder. The envelope’s return address was “Grozny,” the capital of Chechnya, where preachers and political officials have recently threatened the newspaper for reporting on the alleged torture and detention of men suspected of homosexuality. ——————— The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ and EFJ) have joined their Russian affiliate, the Russian Union of Journalists (the RUJ), in expressing their concern over serious threats by religious and  public opinion leaders in Chechnya against journalists and media staff at Novaya Gazeta, the leading independent newspaper in Russia. The…

The EFJ is encouraging to register for the Dataharvest/EIJC, the European Investigative Journalism Conference organised by Journalismfund.eu, the most relevant networking event for investigative and data journalists in Europe. The European Investigative Journalism & Dataharvest Conference, organised by Journalismfund.eu, will take place in Mechelen, Belgium from 19 – 21 May for the most interesting edition yet! #EIJC17 & Dataharvest offers hugely inspiring investigative journalism cases, ample opportunities to meet interesting colleagues and coders, and tons of training sessions to brush up your skills hands-on. Check out our preliminary programme. This is the one conference you do not want to miss! Register now. Also don’t forget to take a look at our pre-conference activities on the 18th of…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) in cooperation with EBU (European Broadcasting Union) would like to invite you on Wednesday 26 April 2017 to the screening of the documentary “Erdogan ou l’ivresse du pouvoir”. It will be followed by a debate: 17:45 – Welcoming: Jean-Paul Philippot, President EBU-UER 18:00 – Screening of the documentary (In French, with English subtitles) 19:00-20:00 – Discussion with : Gilles Cayatte,  journalist and co-author Guillaume Perrier,  journalist and co-author Rebecca Harms, Member of the European Parliament (Greens) Moderation : Mehmet Koksal, EFJ-FEJ 20:30 – drinks & snacks offered to participants Venue: Press Club Brussels Europe 95,…

“The influence of propaganda and self-censorship, new channels of distribution and the attractiveness of Internet to the youth are all challenges we have to find best practice”, said Liubov Petrova, director general of the media group “journalist” at the beginning of a major media forum on developments and perspectives for quality press in Russia. About 200 editors’ in chief, publishers and journalists from throughout Russia joined these two days meeting covering new and traditional media trends, problems of press subscription, digital challenges and new technologies. The quality of the content has decreased, advertisement revenue has decreased, subscriptions have decreased while…

The European and International Federation of Journalists (EFJ/IFJ) welcome the acquittal of all defendants in the Oda TV case, including Ahmet Şık and 11 other journalists, charged with terrorism, incitement, and obtaining secret documents. On 12 April 2017, after a six-year trial, the Istanbul’s 18th Court for Serious Crimes found that prosecutors had failed to provide enough evidence to convict journalists Ahmet Şık, Soner Yalçın, Barış Pehlivan, Barış Terkoğlu, Ayhan Bozkurt, Nedim Şener, Müyesser Yıldız, Doğan Yurdakul, Coşkun Musluk, Sait Çakır, Yalçın Küçük, İklim Bayraktar and former police chief Hanefi Avcı. Following the acquittal, Ahmet Şık – who is currently…

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…

Better contracts, more transparency in payments and a fair share of remuneration for journalists: these are on top of the agenda for the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) in the latest consultation on the EU copyright directive. The EFJ is putting forward important amendments to the proposed new rights for internet publishers. “We have heard many speeches in which EU Commissioners and Members of the European Parliament have emphasised the need for pluralistic European content online. They have acknowledged that achieving this means that the value gap between authors and those who profit from their work must be closed,” says…

The Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), and the European Association of Judges (EAJ) firmly condemn the ongoing widespread persecution of lawyers, journalists, judges and prosecutors in Turkey. After the failed coup of 15 July 2016, the Turkish government declared a state of emergency and adopted 21 decree-laws, which led to a serious undermining of human rights and the rule of law across the country. Thousands of judges and prosecutors, and hundreds of journalists and lawyers have been dismissed from jobs, detained, or arrested. A widespread censorship on media has been…

The European and International Federation of Journalists (EFJ and IFJ) wrote a letter to the Prime Minister of Montenegro expressing their grave concerns on the ongoing trial against investigative journalist Jovo Martinovic. “Together with our affiliate the Trade Union of Media of Montenegro (SMCG), we wish to recall our letter of 2 September, in which we raised our concern over the arrest of detention of Mr. Martinovic for membership of a criminal organisation and drug offences, despite compelling evidence which shows he was only doing his job as an undercover investigative journalist.” At the beginning of the year Martinovic received…

Partners of the Council of Europe Platform for the Promotion of Journalism and the Protection of Journalists are deeply concerned by the aggravating current situation in Belarus regarding mass detention of journalists. They urge Council of Europe to include Belarus to the list of the countries addressed by the Platform. Since the beginning of March 93 journalists were detained by the police, while covering protests across the country. While the majority was released the same day, at least 8 journalists were sentenced to 5-15 days in jail. The Association of European Journalists (AEJ), Article 19 (A19), the Committee to Protect…

The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ and EFJ) express their deepest condolences to their German affiliate dju in ver.di. after the death of its Chairman Ulrich Janßen who died at the age of 61 on March 31 following a serious illness. Ulrich Janßen was a committed fighter for the social and professional rights  of journalists. He was an excellent trade union leader and a committed works council representative. As Chairman of the works council of the Nordwest-Zeitung publishing house in Oldenburg , Ulrich Janßen supported and inspired his colleagues. He had been involved in trade union activities since…