The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) is a partner of the new Stars4Media pilot project, starting in November 2019. Together with Fondation Euractiv, Vrije Universiteit Brussel and WAN-IFRA (World Association of newspapers and publishers), the EFJ will put young journalists from Europe with 2-10 years of experience in contact with media outlets in order to organise an exchange programme of 4-12 weeks. WHY: Addressing the crisis of the Media sector Disinformation disorder, falling trust and readership, unprecedented challenges in their business models, shifting skills and technology. The media sector is going through a deep multifaceted crisis. Solutions for a healthy…

Italian journalist and editor of the Campania Notizie news website, Mario de Michele, survived a gun attack on 14 November. The journalist escaped uninjured despite 10 bullets – six of which hit the car – shot by two unknown individuals while driving in the town of Gricignano d’Aversa. “It is a miracle he is alive”, the Italian journalists’ union Federazione Nazionale della Stampa Italiana (FNSI) said in a statement. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) stands in solidarity with the journalist and alerts about the very worrying decline when it comes to journalists’ safety in Italy and Europe. The event…

Investigation about Russian journalist Ivan Golunov‘s arrestation was declared ‘classified’ by Russia’s Federal Investigative Committee (SK) on 11 November. The European Federation of Journalists and the Russian Journalists’ and Media Workers’ Union (JMWU) denounced this decision considered as an attempt to intimidate all the journalists investigating Russian politics and corruption. Golunov has been arrested on 6 June and accused of drug-dealing – the drugs were tossed by someone into his backpack and into his apartment. Such a practice is becoming more and more common for the intimidation and imprisonment of disturbing investigative journalists. After an unprecedented mobilisation campaign by civil…

In the plenary session of 13 November, few members of the European Parliament debated about the impunity of crimes against journalists and the importance of protecting journalists in order to have a solid democratic system. In their interventions, all the MEPs agreed to condemn the violence against journalists and the need to find the murderers of the crimes against journalists that remain unsolved in the EU. Although some of them referred to the situation in regions like Latin America or Africa, all of them are aware that journalists are in danger in Europe too. In this sense, they all agreed…

The Warsaw Regional Court ruled in favor of a Polish public radio journalist, Dorota Nygren, who was sanctioned for refusing to broadcast discriminatory information. The radio broadcasting has been found guilty of breaking the principle of equal treatment and the court ordered the payment of compensation for the discrimination and the correction of plaintiff’s reduced salary. On 2 September 2017, Nygren wrote a story for the radio information agency of the Polish public service broadcaster (IAR) about an event that happened in Italy, where a 53-year-old man spat at a 97-year-old priest in a local church. As editor, Nygren decided not to publish the…

Spanish political party VOX has denied the accreditation to several media outlets, ahead of the general election of 10 November. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its Spanish affiliates Federacion de Servicios a la Ciudadania de CC.OO (FSC-CC.OO), Federacion de Asociaciones de la Prensa Espanola (FAPE) and Federation de Sindicatos de Periodistas (FeSP) in condemning this new attack on freedom of expression and in recalling the Article 20 of the Spanish Constitution, which guarantees the freedom of expression. Right before the general election of Sunday November 10, VOX has denied the accreditation of Grupo Prisa media outlets – some…