European Federation of Journalists

Poland: Polish media grapple with unprecedented challenges and uncertain future as the country faces electoral crossroads

At the conclusion of their press freedom mission to Warsaw from 11-13 September, partner organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) declared that the media and journalists in Poland are facing unprecedented challenges including legal threats, financial precarity, political pressure, regulatory capture and growing polarisation. The delegation, comprised of representatives of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), ARTICLE 19 Europe, the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), Free Press Unlimited (FPU) and International Press Institute (IPI), met with editors, journalists, regulators, civil society groups, lawyers, the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights and the Ministry of…

Feature: Media literacy tools in the age of AI-generated disinformation

AI-generated disinformation is a growing concern, especially in an age of general mistrust in the news. Disinformation continues to spread on social media platforms and raises various problems: the influence of malicious actors such as bots; creation of memes, videos or other visual content with the intention of changing opinions; generation of incorrect text that appears convincing, and more. Young people are generally enthusiastic about using Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a UN report found a high level of trust in AI and a positive attitude. However, most do not deeply understand how it works. At the same time, German magazine…

Feature: A European Media Freedom Act worthy of its name?

EFJ Director Renate Schroeder wrote about the European Media Freedom Act in an article originally published in Social Europe. Read the article in its entirety here:  Amid a sea of online misinformation, in a ‘polycrisis’ world reliable public-interest journalism has never been more essential. Today, the sustainability of free media is threatened in many European Union countries. Pluralism is lacking, with the rise of the platforms to information monopolies accelerating the shrinkage of the space for independent and public-interest journalism. Media are increasingly captured and controlled by politicians—or subjected to ‘fake news’ smears in the style of the former United…

Lack of independent media funding is a major cause of news desertification around Europe

The Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Pluralism (CMPF) published their preliminary study, “News deserts in Europe: assessing risks for local and community media in the 27 EU Member States”. The study, carried out as part of the Local Media for Democracy (LM4D) project, illustrated that one of the main causes for the desertification of accessible independent media throughout Europe is the lack of adequate and sustainable funding for media organisations. For the scope of this project, and in line with the methodology adopted by the Media Pluralism Monitor, the CMPF developed a comprehensive and Europe-specific definition of news deserts…

Media freedom and journalist groups call on EU to secure effective Media Freedom Act

To the EU Council, the European Parliament and the European Commission On behalf of media freedom, journalists and human rights organizations across Europe, we call upon the European Union institutions to negotiate a strong and effective European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) that can counter media capture and protect editorial independence and media pluralism across Europe. Media freedom is in crisis in many EU countries as populist governments and oligarchs collaborate to misuse powers of the state to bolster propaganda and drown out independent media critics. Increasingly, public broadcasters are turned into propaganda platforms while media regulators are captured by political…

Turkey : EU to prioritise media freedom reforms and human rights in relations with Turkey, ask journalists’ groups

The undersigned organisations call on the incoming Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union to place media freedom and human rights front and centre of relations with the newly re-elected Government of Turkey. The May elections, which saw a parliamentary majority for the AKP and its allies and the re-election of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as President, took place against a backdrop of a media landscape dominated by pro-government outlets, the smothering of independent voices and the repression of critical journalism. Over the past two decades, Turkey’s government has captured over 90% of the media landscape, including direct control…

Trade unions in media and culture sectors joined forces to protect atypical workers’ rights

On 7-8 June 2023, several European journalists’ trade unions met in Madrid with their counterparts representing actors, musicians, translators, media workers and other cultural figures to discuss collective bargaining for atypical workers. The conference was the final event of the Atypical Workers project, of which the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) is a partner, together with the International Federation of Actors (FIA), the International Federation of Musicians (FIM) and UNI-MEI. The goal of this EU-funded project, which started in 2021, was to promote the rights of atypical workers in various sectors and improve the capacity of trade unions in servicing…

Public letter responding to the CULT draft report on the European Media Freedom Act

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins journalists and press freedom, civil society, trade unions, and digital rights groups in a letter to Sabine Verheyen, Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Culture and Education (CULT), in expressing concerns about several changes in the CULT’s report on the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA).  Dear Sabine Verheyen, We, the undersigned journalists, press freedom, civil society, trade unions, and digital rights groups, are writing to you with regard to the proposed amendments to the draft  European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) you have written as the Rapporteur on behalf of the Committee on Culture…

EFJ joins new EU project on Resilient Media for Democracy in the Digital Age

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) is a partner of the ReMeD project on Resilient Media for Democracy in the Digital Age which was kicked off on 31 March 2023 in Pamplona, Spain. Funded by Horizon Europe and coordinated by the University of Navarra, in partnership with six European universities, ReMeD aims to address the current challenges to a healthy relationship between the media and democracy. In particular, the project will produce policy recommendations to guide European digital media legislation, including the Digital Services Act, the Digital Markets Act, and the upcoming Media Freedom Act. With an interdisciplinary approach and…