The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and its Belarusian affiliate, the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), were guests at the 2nd Council of Europe workshop dedicated to Belarusian journalists in exile, on 20-21 November, in Warsaw. The event provided an opportunity to highlight the unwillingness of Big Tech, and even its complicity with the repression of the Belarusian regime. The EFJ calls on Tech Giants to stop supporting the Belarusian dictatorship and to protect media freedom wherever it is threatened. The event was organised by the Council of Europe and the Justice For Journalists Foundation. It was attended by around…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) to call on Azerbaijani authorities to release Abzas Media director Ulvi Hasanli, chief editor Sevinj Vagifgizi and Hasanli’s assistant, Mahammad Kekalov. The EFJ believes that the two journalists and Kekalov are the victims of police manipulation to prevent them from continuing to investigate the corruption of those in power in Azerbaijan. On 21 November 2023, the Khatai District Court in Baku ordered that Hasanli, Vaqifqizi and Kekalov be remanded in custody for four months. If found guilty of “conspiring to bring money into the country unlawfully”, the…

The Broadcasting Expert Group (BREG) of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), which represents public service media experts from all over Europe, strongly supports the strike by France 3’s local programs. Since 4 September 2023, an absurd, fast-track reform has been imposed on employees, suppressing national news editions and putting regional editions in serious difficulty. Our colleagues in local newsrooms across France are having to produce much more content without additional resources. Staff are already stretched to the limit, and there is a shortage of additional journalists across all local programs. Employees are exhausted, overworked and stressed. They do not…

For an innovation- and creator-friendly AI Act: Europe’s creative community urges EU policymakers to put transparency back at the heart of the EU AI Act We represent the collective voice of hundreds of thousands of writers, translators, performers, composers, songwriters, screen directors, screenwriters, visual artists, journalists, and other creative workers whose human artistry lies at the core of the creativity that our societies cherish and enjoy on a daily basis. As the AI Act is entering into the final round of negotiations, we urge all policy makers to prioritise maximum transparency on training data and artificially generated content to provide…

Thirteen journalists’, press freedom and civils society organisations, including the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), are calling on EU Member States, the European Commission and the European Parliament to impose greater transparency on the media and their relations with political decision-makers and economic players. Citizens have a right to know. The current negotiations on the final version of the EMFA must incorporate these transparency guarantees. Read our open letter about the transparency of media ownership and state advertising. Joint open letter on media ownership and state advertising transparency in the trilogue negotiations of the EMFA The provisions of the European…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the undersigned partner organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) and South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) in condemning the insulting and threatening behaviour of the President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, towards journalist Snezana Mitrović and her employer N1 television. We call on the politician to publicly apologise and end all intimidating practices against all media in the future. Our organisations further warn that this aggressive rhetoric towards a member of the media, and indications of state monitoring of media, are the latest examples in a decades-long list of pressure by…

The owners of the Slovene daily Večer decided to move the media’s newsroom in Maribor, to another building, owned by the current mayor of Maribor Saša Arsenović. The relocation could jeopardize the newspaper’s autonomy. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) stands by the Večer journalists and calls on the owners of the media outlet to abandon the relocation of the newsroom.  The decision to move the newsroom was announced by Večer on 13 November 2023. The company that owns the newspaper Večer Mediji (Večer Media), led by director Miha Klančar, pointed out that the relocation to Galerija Gosposka would allow…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and other partner organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) today condemn the summoning of Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI) presenter Sigfrido Ranucci by the Parliamentary Committee for the general direction and supervision of radio and TV broadcasting. We see this summons as another intimidation practice targeting an independent investigative TV programme, whose reporting has been critical of a number of members of the current government.  Our organisations also urge the Italian Parliament to guarantee the independence of the Italian public service broadcaster (RAI) and halt unjustified political interference on its journalistic output. On 25…

The digital transformation has encouraged local and community media outlets to explore new strategies for audience engagement and content distribution, according to a recent blog post by the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (CMPF). Researchers Urbano Reviglio and Danielle Borges surveyed various best practices of local and community media in Europe. They found innovative responses offered by local media outlets to engage audiences amidst the harsh competition of the attention economy. Newsletters are one of the most popular strategies, which are used by media outlets around the region as a tool to deliver customised and specifically-targeted news to their readers.…

This article first appeared on Journalisti.fi and is being reposted in English. Read it in Swedish here: https://journalisti.fi/artikkelit/2023/11/medieforbundet-vill-inte-forhandla-trots-konkurrensverkets-besked-om-kollektiva-forhandlingar-for-frilansare/ In September, the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority gave the go-ahead for which the Union of Journalists in Finland had been waiting since a year. In a blog post, special expert Miira Kuhlberg states that there are no obstacles under competition law for a trade union to represent, for example, freelance journalists in collective negotiations on working conditions and minimum fees. The Finnish Competition Authority now confirms the European Commission’s year-old guidelines on the issue. Isn’t it obvious that trade unions should…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) is one of the signatories of the Paris Charter on AI and Journalism. The first of its kind, this charter defines ethics and principles that journalists, newsrooms and media outlets around the world will be able to appropriate and apply in their work with artificial intelligence. It was created by a commission initiated by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and chaired by journalist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa. On November 10th, 2023, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and 16 partner organisations, including the EFJ, published the Paris Charter on AI and Journalism, on the…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined its partners in the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) and the Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe (CASE) in deploring the lawsuit against Dutch daily newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad (FD) and stand in solidarity with the FD and its journalists. The case, of which the hearing will take place on 13 November 2023, is a clear attempt to silence and discourage Het Financieele Dagblad and its journalists from further reporting. On April 6, 2023, het Financieele Dagblad (FD), a Dutch daily newspaper specialising in business and finance, received a summons from Willem Blijdorp, founder…

A delegation of 30 EFJ members has joined over 80 trade union delegates from Europe to conclude the final conference of a 2.5 years project “Trade Union for A Fair Recovery project” held in Brussels, co-organised by the European Trade Union Confederation and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ). Maja Sever, EFJ President together with Tea Jarc, ETUC Confederal Secretary, and Joost Korte, Director-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion at the European Commission kicked off the conference by congratulating the delegates leading the ways to support journalists and millions workers towards a fairer recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic. Jarc,…

The European Union is set to miss a critical opportunity to demonstrate that it is on the side of those who hold power to account. The trilogue negotiations concerning the Directive expected to fight Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) are coming to a close and the 74 undersigned organisations are sounding the alarm that, in the absence of certain key provisions, the anti-SLAPP Directive will fail to counteract the growing problem of SLAPPs in the EU. These provisions include first and foremost a strong early dismissal mechanism for all SLAPPs. If the Directive fails to ensure that all claims…

Today, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined 18 organisations representing public service media, journalists, media workers, civil society, as well as the cultural and creative industries in urging the EU’s trilogue negotiators to effectively protect the independence of public service media in the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA). Maja Sever, EFJ President, said: “The weakening of Article 5 is unthinkable for anyone who sincerely wants media pluralism and independent journalism in Europe. There is no place for “seeking to” or warning by distorting competition in the market. To serve the public, public service media must have a solid framework…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) today joins the undersigned media freedom and journalist groups in expressing dismay at the decision of Romania’s Prosecutor Office at the Bucharest Court of Appeal to close the investigation into the smear campaign against journalist Emilia Șercan. To do so, the Prosecutor made the extraordinary ruling that ‘the offences’ – including the publication of stolen private photos and the presumed disclosure of evidence held by the police – ‘were not provided for by the criminal law’. This decision comes twenty months after Șercan first filed a complaint to the police about stolen personal photos…