The study “Uncovering news deserts in Europe. Risks and opportunities for local and community media in the EU” by the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (CMPF) was published today. This research detects challenges and opportunities for local and community media in the 27 EU Member States, analysing the news deserts phenomenon from a holistic perspective. A network of researchers spanning all the 27 EU Member States ran the investigation, using the methodology developed by CMPF. They assessed risks based on 55 variables that relate to the local media market conditions; local journalists’ safety and working conditions, local outlets’…

Spanish freelance reporter Pablo González is the only journalist imprisoned in an EU member state. On 28 February, it will be two years since he was arrested and held in pre-trial detention in Poland without any evidence of the allegations against him being made public and no trial in sight. The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ), together with their Spanish affiliates, urge the Polish authorities to release him, so that he can defend himself in court, and ensure that he receives a fair trial. A Polish court extended González’s pre-trial detention for the eighth time on 15 February…

As the next hearing of Turkish journalist Dicle Müftüoğlu approaches on February 29, 2024, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined International media freedom and human rights organisations in calling for immediate attention to her case and her unjust detention. Müftüoğlu, Co-Chair of the Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFGD), has been wrongfully held for over nine months on unsubstantiated terrorism charges in a case that starkly violates international legal standards and media freedom. Case Overview: A Miscarriage of Justice Müftüoğlu’s arrest occurred during a broader crackdown on Kurdish activists and politicians by the Ankara Prosecutor’s Office in April 2023. The…

The European Parliament today adopted with an overwhelming majority (546 in favour, 47 against, 31 abstentions) the Anti-SLAPP Directive, intended to protect journalists and media outlets from abusive litigations. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the organisations of the Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe (CASE) in welcoming an important step in the fight against SLAPPs, but regrets the considerable room for manoeuvre left to the Member States on several crucial points. “Some refer to this law as Daphne’s law (Daphne Caruana Galizia) and I think it’s important to mention it here in this room named after Daphne. We achieved…

French journalist Antoine Galindo was arrested on 22 February and subsequently detained in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, while on assignment for Africa Intelligence, the news platform for whom he was working. The International and the European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) together with their French affiliates the Syndicat National des Journalistes (SNJ), the Syndicat National des Journalistes CGT (SNJ-CGT), CFDT-Journalistes and the Syndicat Général des Journalistes Force Ouvrière (SGJ-FO) condemn Galindo’s arrest and call on the Ethiopian authorities to immediately release him. They ask the French government to do everything it can to help Galindo. Following his arrest by authorities in civilian…

As the war in Ukraine enters its third year, Sergiy Tomilenko, president of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) and EFJ Steering Committee member reflects on two years of unwavering work and relentless determination to support journalists and media workers on the ground, with the help of international partners such as the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), and UNESCO. On 24 February, it will be two years since the war in Ukraine started and Tomilenko recalls the imperative need to raise more funds in a war that rages on, despite vanishing from the…

February 24 marks two years since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Today, the organizations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) reaffirm our solidarity with Ukrainian journalists and call for guarantees of their safety and full freedom to report, as well as a renewed effort to provide the necessary financial and technical support for them to continue their work. Over the past two years, Ukraine’s journalists have demonstrated incredible courage and resilience in covering the horrors of this war for their communities and the outside world, often at great personal sacrifice. We call for continued international support…

A new study released by the European Commission on “Public financing of news media in the EU”, calls for transparency, independence and pluralism from EU Member States in funding news media, both public and private. The study builds on the particular context of recent reforms regarding the financial directions taken by the Member States in supporting news media to adapt to the changes in media consumption and cope with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.  Those evolutions need attention at the European level to guarantee the efficient functioning of democracy and media freedom, the report says. It confirms that the…

Germany is facing a major nationwide media blockade, led mainly by farmers who have demonstrated fervently against the government’s proposed subsidy cuts. Criticising the poor representation of their claims in the media, farmers have blocked access to media premises to interrupt newspaper deliveries during protests lasting hours. Since the beginning of February, farmers have targeted at least three media companies and two publishing houses across the country. The European Federations of Journalists (EFJ) call for calm discussions between farmers and the media, and regret that disruption of newspaper deliveries is being used as a means of protest. “Attacks on the press…

On the sixth anniversary of the brutal killing of investigative reporter Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the undersigned organisations in renewing our call for long-awaited justice for their killings and the imperative to break the cycle of impunity. As we remember Ján and Martina, we are alarmed by increasing threats to the rule of law and media freedom in Slovakia, in particular relating to the lack of accountability for crimes, the diminished protection of public watchdogs and the stark erosion of democratic institutions. The undersigned international organisations call on the Slovak…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)  reiterate their call for justice for the murder, six years ago, of investigative reporter Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová. Ján Kuciak and Martina Kušnírová were shot and killed at their home on 21 February 2018. Kuciak had regularly reported on cases of corruption for online news website Aktuality.sk. His investigative reporting included articles on alleged tax fraud committed by prominent members of the business community, with suggested links to SMER party as well as organised crime groups. Six years on, Kuciak’s and Kušnírová’s families are still…

“The ongoing prosecution of Julian Assange jeopardises media freedom everywhere in the world”, says the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), in a joint statement ahead of his appeal hearing in London on 20 and 21 February. The IFJ and EFJ, which represent nearly 200 journalists unions’ and associations, have opposed Assange’s extradition since the publication of the US incitements under the US Espionage Act. The charges relate to Wikileaks publication in 2010 of the Iraq and Afghan War Logs. These provided an extraordinarily detailed account of US military actions between 2004 and 2009.…

The Russian authorities have taken intimidation of foreign correspondents to a new level: recently, the police began visiting journalists’ homes to dissuade them from covering demonstrations in Moscow by the wives of soldiers mobilised for the war in Ukraine. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and its Russian affiliate JMWU denounce this new form of censorship. After the mass arrests of journalists covering a rally of the wifes of Russian soldiers mobilised in Ukraine near the Kremlin on 3 February, the Russian authorities have moved on to a new form of pressure, which until now they have reserved for activists:…

The Safety of Journalists Toolbox presents national instruments and initiatives from across the OSCE region and makes them accessible to interested stakeholders. It is a practical instrument to showcase existing measures on the safety of journalists from across the entire OSCE region and thereby encourage further action. The Toolbox is the result of the work carried out in the framework of the OSCE RFoM project on the Safety of Journalists | OSCE and builds upon longstanding OSCE commitments. It provides an accessible and user-friendly set of tools to guide not only participating States, but also media outlets, journalists and civil…

The resource hub ‘Spotlight on Artificial Intelligence and Freedom of Expression’ is part of the #SAIFE project of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media and aims to provide information on how Artificial intelligence (AI) conditions our information environment. AI has a powerful role in shaping and arbitrating our information space – influencing what information and content we read, view, and share. This poses challenges and risks to freedom of expression and media pluralism, which can harm society, undermine democracy, and erode human rights.  The2022 Digital News Report by the Reuters Institute of Journalism at Oxford estimates that 77…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) today joined the Safe Journalists Network (SJN) and other partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) in deploring the Belgrade Court of Appeals’s decision to acquit the four suspects for the murder of journalist Slavko Ćuruvija. On Friday 2 February 2024, the Belgrade Court of Appeals reversed the decision of the Special Department for Organized Crime of the High Court in Belgrade, and acquitted the four suspects for the murder of journalist Slavko Ćuruvija. This disappointing development constitutes a grave backslide to the fight against impunity and further undermines journalists’ safety. This final…