The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) was invited on 26 January to participate in the high-level debate “#SpreadNoHate: Hate Speech Against Migrants and Refugees in the Media” organised in Brussels by the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and the European External Action Service (EEAS). This event was aimed to better understand the mechanisms of hate speech against migrants and refugees as well as exploring new ways to improve the quality of media coverage, by promoting ethical journalism and fostering dialogue between journalists, institutions and organisations. EFJ General secretary Ricardo Gutiérrez moderated the panel on “Strengthening Partnerships between Media and Civil…

Ringier Axel Springer announced on January 23 their plans to close French-speaking magazine L’Hebdo.  Impressum,   the largest journalists’ organisation and the Trade Union of Media and Communications Syndicom  are both deeply concerned about the potential negative impact of the decision on media pluralism, investigative journalism and the future of the media in French-speaking Switzerland. The EFJ expressed its solidarity with their Swiss affiliates and offer full support. A petition was also launched and supported by both EFJ affliates  to demand alternative financial plans to continue or return the title. @EFJEUROPE @lhebdo @IFJGlobal signez la pétition pour @lhebdo https://t.co/zhle3ihJtF — syndicom…

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on Tuesday discussed the rising levels of violence against journalists, particularly in Turkey, Russia and Azerbaijan. Ukrainian MP Volodymyr Ariev (EPP/CD), pictured above, presented the report, where he drew attention to the death of 16 journalists and the arrest of 150 media employees since January 2015 in member States. Mr. Ariev spoke about the deterioration of media freedom in Turkey and called for “release from detention all journalists who have not been indicted for actively participating in terrorist acts”. He also raised concerns on the media situation in Crimea and eastern parts of Ukraine.…

The Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović condemned today the worsening situation with media freedom and safety of journalists in areas not controlled by the Ukrainian government. This comment followed the recent report by OSCE Chief Monitor, Ambassador Ertugrul Apakan, where among others he spoke about the limitation of freedom of expression in the region. The OSCE Chief Monitor mentioned ban of over 350 websites and restrictions against Ukrainian media outlets. Mijatović noted that threats and intimidation of media workers along with the arrest of bloggers Eduard Nedelyaev and Gennadiy Benitskiy are particular worrying cases. She added: Access…

The European Federation of Journalists backs the Bosnia-Herzegovina Journalists Association (BHJA) in condemning the discriminatory actions by Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik against selected media. On January 18 a news crew from N1 Television was denied access to a press conference in Banjaluka on the grounds that they didn’t have accreditation to enter the venue. The TV channel was also removed from the mailing list of the President’s office, which meant no further access to official newsletters or accreditation information that are necessary for the news coverage. BHJA  called these actions unreasonable discrimination against the well-known critical media outlet.…

The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ and EFJ) have strongly backed calls by Greek journalists to prevent banks forcing the closure of the country’s oldest newspapers and threatening up to 500 jobs. The IFJ and EFJ have backed demands from their Greek affiliate, the Journalists’ Union of Athens Daily Newspapers (JUADN), to stop the banks foreclosing on the Lambriakis Press Group (DOL) loans.  The group, which owns the oldest national newspapers To Vima and Ta Nea, is facing serious trouble after the banks threatened to call in their loans. Over 500 media workers, including 250 journalists, most of…

By adopting the draft report on “A European Pillar of Social rights” by Rapporteur Maria João Rodrigues (S&D, PT), the European Parliament adopted the principle of equal treatment saying that  “All workers should have their basic rights guaranteed, whatever their form of employment and contract”. This is one of the main demands the EFJ puts in the response to the Social pillar consultation, which had been initiated by the European Commission, see We thank the rapporteur and the European Parliament for extending the notion of social rights including the right for collective bargaining and joining a union to all workers…

The European Federation of Journalists backs Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM) in condemning verbal abuses by the authorities against journalists. Such actions are damaging for the freedom of expression and are limiting the public access to the information. One of the major political parties in Macedonia VMRO-DPMNE accused Fondation Open Society Macedonia for corrupting the journalists and urged to “clean” the “media of Soros”. AJM calls these claims “a pure spin of the government” and finds it very dangerous to call for violence against journalists, as such comments might have negative consequences in the future. The full announcement by…

On Wednesday 18, during the streaming of Barack Obama’s press conference, Facebook temporary blocked RT account on the grounds of a copyright complain. According to the social network the originally 72 hour ban happened due to the copyright notification, which they received from Current Time TV, a Russian-language media jointly owned by Radio Free Europe and the Voice of America. Russian broadcaster RT, previously known as Russia Today, claimed that they used AP direct feed, which they officially subscribed to. They believed that there might be other reasons for such actions, as this blockage wouldn’t let the media channel to…

On the tenth anniversary of the assassination of Mr Hrant Dink, EFJ-IFJ and partner organisations of the Council of Europe Platform decided to jointly submit a new case under the ‘impunity’ category in relation to the murder of the Turkish-Armenian journalist. The organisations call on the Turkish authorities to ensure that those who failed to protect the journalist and prepared false reports are brought to justice through an open and transparent judicial process. Read the alert here.   On 19 January 2007, Hrant Dink, the Turkish-Armenian journalist and founder of Agos newspaper, was shot dead at 15:05 on the street in front…

On 19 January, an indictment has been issued for hate crime against Ivan Goluban, arrested since November 2016, following threats by text message to CJA president Saša Leković. Goluban has been detained following his arrestation as the judge considered that he could potentially repeat the harassment against Leković. He is facing up to 5 years in jail. In October 2016, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) denounced the increase of hate speech and direct threats towards journalists in Croatia in an article explaining how Saša Leković escaped a serious road accident after his car appeared to have been tempered with.…

A demonstration of solidarity gathered 250 people on Wednesday 18 January 2017 in Lille, in front of the French newspaper La Voix du Nord‘s headquarters, to protest against the managers’ social plan foreseeing a 25% reduction in staff workers. La Voix du Nord‘s owner, the Belgian media group Rossel, announced in early January its plan to cut 178 jobs, including 72 journalists, while the company recorded a profit margin of 5 million EUR in 2015. Union representatives are meeting on Thursday (19/01/2017) morning the French minister of Culture Audrey Azoulay as well as the French minister of Labour Myriam El Khomri to put pressure on…

This article signed by the Vice President of the EFJ Nadezda Azhgikhina was initially published in The Nation weekly magazine in the United States. It is reprinted here with the author’s permission. It’s Not Too Late for an Honest Russian-American Dialogue https://t.co/v9jk5xk7gM — The Nation (@thenation) January 17, 2017 During Russia’s extended Christmas holidays, in a town near Moscow, an unemployed man stabbed his potential employer for political reasons during a friendly meal. The employer, who owns a gas station, said that Russians live poorly because of low productivity—that is, a US worker has to work 30 minutes to earn…

Journalismfund.eu’s European cross-border grant programme allocates grants to transnational teams of European journalists who work together on a cross-border investigation. Applications can be submitted on our website until 11.59 pm Brussels time on Wednesday 1 February 2017. Read more EIJC17 & Dataharvest From Friday 19 until Sunday morning 21 May it’s on, again. The seventh edition of the European Investigative Journalism Conference and Dataharvest will take place in Mechelen, Belgium. It’s the most relevant learning and networking event for people operating on the crossroads of investigative journalism, public data and innovative visualisations. Be there. Register and pay here.

The European Federation of Journalists supports its member in Germany, the Deutscher Journalisten-Verband  in requesting  fair accreditation to journalists who wish to attend the European Parliament’s Europe of Nations and Freedom group) conference in Koblenz on 21 January . The meeting,  is to be attended by leaders of Germany’s right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) as well as Marine Le Pen, who heads up France’s National Front. The leader of the Dutch Freedom Party Geert Wilders and the chief of Italy’s Northern League Matteo Salvini are due to speak at the conference. According to information of the Deutscher Journalisten-Verband, several  journalists who…

On 12 January, the National Radio and TV Council (NRTC) of Ukraine voted unanimously to cease the retransmission of the Russian TV Channel Dozhd (Rain), following TV reports showing Crimea as part of Russia. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins today the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović in condemning this decision, which will have harmful consequences for media pluralism in Ukraine. Decision of @NacRada to stop broadcasting @tvrain DozhdTV very demaging for media pluralism in #Ukraine https://t.co/cdT4mmMLna @OSCE_RFoM — Dunja Mijatovic (@Dunja_Mijatovic) January 12, 2017 According to a press release posted on the council’s website,…