The existence of vibrant and independent local media that serves the public interest of its local communities is a cornerstone of our democratic societies. They are the key to empowering citizens to grasp and exercise their rights in the communities where they live. However, the very existence of these media has become uncertain across different parts of the European Union. We spoke to people researching this phenomenon in Turkey, Portugal and Croatia. They spoke to us about the news deserts emerging in their countries, a term developed by US scholars and policymakers to explain the crisis of traditional news media…

To mark the 24th anniversary of the murder of Serbian editor and publisher Slavko Ćuruvija, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and international press freedom organisations are today visiting Belgrade to renew our calls for justice and issue fresh warnings about the current climate for the safety of journalists. The mission to Belgrade comes 24 years after Ćuruvija was shot dead in cold blood outside his apartment on 11 April 1999, and a matter of weeks after the final hearings began in the retrial of four state security officials accused of planning and executing…

Two years ago today, veteran Greek crime reporter Giorgos Karaivaz was assassinated in Athens. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins the undersigned partners in the Council of Europe’s Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists in honouring his memory. To mark the anniversary, we also renew our call on the Greek authorities to urgently bring to justice all those responsible for this abhorrent murder and to provide more transparency about the investigation. It is wholly unacceptable and deeply saddening that the case must now be categorised as an instance of impunity for murder, considering there has been no significant…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) today in denouncing the arson attack on the family car of Italian freelance journalist Rossella Puccio in the city of Palermo and expressing solidarity with the reporter. The targeted attack happened during the night of April 3, while the journalist’s family car was parked in a public area in the Sferracavallo district of the city. Footage captured by a nearby CCTV camera showed a man approach the vehicle, pour liquid from a bottle over the car and light it on fire. The car was…

We partner organisations of the Council of Europe’s Safety of Journalists Platform, a Europe-wide system of public alerts to flag and remedy serious threats to media freedom, call on the Russian authorities to release journalist Evan Gershkovich immediately and to drop all charges against him. Evan Gershkovich, a US national, was engaged in legitimate journalistic activities for The Wall Street Journal when he was arrested on 30 March in Yekaterinburg. Gershkovich has reported from Russia for many years and has repeatedly received official accreditation from the Russian Foreign Ministry. He was detained by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) and accused…

“I noticed unusual noises when I used my car on Friday morning. After a check at the garage, I found out that my wheels had been sabotaged again, almost two years after the first time”. Morgan Large is a journalist for the Breton radio station Radio Kreiz Breizh (RKB). During the night of 23 and 24 March, her car was damaged in what is likely to be an act of intimidation.  Last week, the journalist was running personal errands when noises from her vehicles alerted her. After a few hundred metres, she decided to call her garage. A few checks…

Presscouncils.eu will hold a EU Master Class on Digital Journalism focusing on digital ethics and digital empowerment of young journalists and students of the profession. The curriculum includes training on digital security, data journalism, AI in journalism and ethical standards in online news. These sessions will be led by international experts who will guide the participants to analyse the ethical standards of journalistic materials from the view of press councils. This will allow participants to discover how press councils work and the critical questions upon which the councils’ work is based. The call for applications is open from today via this…

One year ago, as Russian forces retreated from the outskirts of Kyiv in the first days of April, the world was shocked by the emerging images and testimonies of the atrocities suffered by the local civilian population during the month-long occupation of the region. In a few days, Bucha, the largest town in Kyiv’s immediate northwestern suburbs, became an international symbol of the war crimes committed as part of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Among the hundreds of civilian victims, Ukrainian journalists Roman Nezhyborets and Zoreslav Zamoysky were found dead, killed in conditions likely never to be fully determined. While the world discovered the…

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…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined more than 30 global press freedom groups and news organizations in a letter to Anatoly Antonov, the Russian ambassador to the United States, calling for Evan Gershkovich’s immediate release. Ambassador Anatoly I. Antonov Embassy of the Russian Federation to the United States 2650 Wisconsin Ave., N.W. Washington, DC 20007 Via email: rusembusa@mid.ru March 30, 2023 Dear Ambassador Antonov, We, the undersigned news organizations and nongovernmental press freedom organizations, write to express our deep concern regarding your government’s detention of journalist Evan Gershkovich and the unfounded espionage charges leveled against him. Gershkovich, who works…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and their affiliates in Russia, JMWU, and in the United States, NewsGuild-CWA, call on Russian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Wall Street Journal reporter and U.S. citizen Evan Gershkovich, detained on Thursday in Yekaterinburg. He could face up to 20 years in prison as the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) says he was “collecting classified information”. Gershkovich is the first reporter for a US news outlet to be arrested on espionage charges in Russia since the cold war. On 30 March, the FSB stated that it had…

On 13 September 2022, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that: “We need to better shield ourselves from malign interference. This is why we will present a Defence of Democracy package. It will bring covert foreign influence and shady funding to light. We will not allow any autocracy’s Trojan horses to attack our democracies from within.” The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined 45 organisations based in Europe and active in the fields of democracy, human rights and the rule of law, in issuing recommendations for an ambitious Defence of Democracy package, for a wide view of how…

Legal intimidation and SLAPPs (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) are attempts to intimidate and silence public watchdogs through lengthy and expensive litigation proceedings by starting meritless lawsuits. These threats mostly target civil society actors participating in public debates, including human rights advocates, whistle-blowers, climate activists and even academics more broadly. Under the pretext of seeking justice or protecting their rights, those who start these actions only seek to drain them from their resources (time and money) and force them to self-censor. These abusive tactics have become a very effective way to repress dissent and limit the public’s access to truthful…

Today, 27 March 2023, security guard Pal Kola, 60, was shot dead by unknown assailants on the premises of the leading national TV station Top Channel, where he was stationed in a booth outside the building​​. The heinous attack took place around one o’clock in the morning. State police have since established a dedicated investigative team and are working closely with the Prosecutor’s Office to actively pursue the perpetrators. A car suspected to have been used in the crime was found burned out a few kilometres away from the crime, together with two Kalashnikov rifles. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins the…

Is there a story in your local town, somewhere in Europe, that you think is worth sharing with the rest of the world? If the answer is yes, but you lack resources, we may have the solution for you: a grant to support local investigative journalists and/or local news media outlets from several European countries who want to do investigative reporting at the local level in resonance with the European level. Why local? In every nook and cranny of the world, there are many stories waiting to be told. This grant programme aims to tackle the shortage of local journalists and…

The article was originally published here. The concept of news deserts was initially developed by US scholars and policymakers to explain the crisis of traditional news media and the vanishing of local news outlets as a consequence of the digital transformation and the 2008 global economic crisis. In an attempt to provide a definition for this concept, some authors have focused on digital accessibility by measuring the availability of broadband and wireless technology in local communities. A second group have focused on linguistic and cultural barriers that leave ethnic communities marginalized and disenfranchised, whereas a third group have concentrated on the quality…