Free European Media - book launch
The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) launches the book “Free European Media” in connection with the conference, barring the same name Free European Media 2018, Gdansk, Polen.
The e-book: Free European Media 2018
Hate speech and fake news are rife, citizens are getting more and more confused as propaganda undermines the credibility of our news media, and our fundamental values are under attack. Impartial and accurate journalism is under attack. It is high time to address the importance of uncensored, pluralistic media for the development of our free democracies in Europe.
The conference Free European Media 2018 adresses that challenge and Nordic Journalist Center is partner in both the conference and launch of the book “Free European Media” (see several chapters below).
International cooperation
The Free European Media Conference 2018 is organized by European Federation of Journalists, Council of Europe, Nordic Journalist Centre, European Centre for Press and Media Freedom and the International Press Institute. Supported by Helsingin Sanomat Foundation
Recommendations from the conference Free European Media, European Solidarity Center, Gdansk, Poland, 15th-16th February 2018
The outcome: Recommendations Free European Media
The first chapters
Visit the first chapters below. When the book is released you will find all chapters here including the full version.
The book is edited by Mogens Blicher Bjerregård, President of the European Federation of Journalist.
Preface:
By Mogens Blicher Bjerregård: Preface – Free European Media (book)
Malta – What are ethics?
Daphne Caruana Galizia, Malta. Killed 16 October 2017, journalist, writer, and anti-corruption activist. Photo: Ricardo
What is self-censorship? My father, brothers and I spent our first Christmas without my mother together, in a cottage hidden away in rural England. We cooked, played Monopoly and watched cowboy films by Sergio Leone. It reminded me why my mother liked them so much—her first regular column was called The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
Speech by: Matthew Caruana Galizia at the Free European Media Conference, Gdansk, 16 February 2018
Download: Journalists must stand up and break censorship, Malta
Polen: Polish media wars
Demonstration i Warszawa, Solidarnosc Polen. Photo polennu.dk
If you want to build an authoritarian state, and more and more evidence suggests that it is precisely what Jarosław Kaczyński wants, one of your key tasks should be gaining control over the flow of information.
Written by Mikołaj Chrzan and Paulina Siegień
Download: Polish media wars (pdf)
Turkey: From corrupt bullies to king’s fools
Photo collage: Evin Barış Altıntaş and Mehmet Koksal
A brief look at the recent history of the media in Turkey: The incredibly high number of journalists in prison – 154 as of the time of writing – which has made Turkey the world’s leading prison of journalists and the massive crackdown and layoffs with nearly 10.000 journalists and media workers out of work since 2016 portrays a clear picture of the current pressure over journalists and the media industry.
Written by Evin Barış Altıntaş and Mehmet Koksal
Download: From corrupt bullies to king’s fools (pdf)
United Kingdom: British Journalism threatened by State Surveillance
Duncan Campbell. Photo Tim Dawson
In April 2015 critical newspaper articles started to appear about the Police investigation of a decade-old murder near Glasgow, Scotland. These suggested that, despite spending more than £4m trying to track down Emma Caldwell’s attacker, the failure to secure a conviction was the result of bungling by detectives.
Written by Tim Dawson
Download: British Journalism threatened by State Surveillance (pdf)
Serbia: Who Rings the Bell?
Stop Media Darkness. By Marko Somborac, cartoonist
Three journalists murdered and one assassination attempt in Serbia around millennium. While many aspects of these murders could be discussed, one is beyond debate: Vujasinovic in 1994, Curuvija in 1999 and Pantic in 2001 were murdered because of their work and by – or under the veil of – the State.
Written by Maja Vasic-Nikolic
Download: Who Rings the Bell? (pdf)
Russia: Free Media in danger – Self-Censorship and Lack of Solidarity
The mother of the killed journalist Dmitry Kholodov. Photo: Alexander Vorobyev
In 2017 the Supreme Court of Russian Federation made a significant decision: All accusations and previous legal actions against Elena Nadtoka, editor of private local newspaper from Rostov Region were regarded as illegal, and it obliged local courts responsible for it and urged them to change their verdicts. This took place after a final verdict of European Court of Human Rights.
Written by Nadezda Azhgikhina
Download: Free Media in danger – Self-Censorship and Lack of Solidarity (pdf)
Denmark: 40 registered logs of my phone in one day
Freja Wedenborg, Danish journalist. Photo Andrea Sigaard
During a random day in January my phone’s location is registered 40 times. This is due to the Danish Data Retention Law, which obliges the telecommunication companies to monitor the citizens’ location at all times a day on behalf of the government, and in clear violation of EU law.
Written by Freja Wedenborg
Download: 40 registered logs of my phone in one day (pdf)
Greece: Muzzling the press
Antonis Repanas, Greek journalist. Photo Antonis Repanas
I have always said that Idomeni is the shame of Greece and the shame of all of Europe. Today, another page is written in this book of shame for Idomeni: the page of muzzling the media, a page reminiscent of times past, a times when newspapers in Greece had to secure the nod of the censorship committee before going to press.
Written by Antonis Repanas
Download: Muzzling the press (pdf)
Czech Republic: Prime minister accused of grant fraud
Lucie Sykorova, Czech journalist. Photo Ladislav Vaindl
Prime minister accused of grant fraud, the vice-chairman of the Chamber of Deputies sued of antisemitism and holocaust denial, the president permanently assaulting and publicly insulting journalists. This is going on in the heart of Europe – in the Czech Republic. And situation in media?
Written by Lucie Sykorova
Download: Public insulting of journalists by Czech leaders
Azerbaijan: Bullet for Critics
Khadija Ismayilova. Photo credit- Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety
Azerbaijan is an oil and gas-rich country on the western shore of the Caspian Sea, which gained formal independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991. With its utterly gorgeous capital, designer boutiques, ultra-modern skyscrapers, luxurious resorts, and perhaps the best music festivals in the region, Azerbaijan still resembles the Soviet Union as the regime there has managed to “preserve” and even further embrace the very Soviet culture of repression and censorship of free press and critics.
Written by Gulnara Akhundova
Download: Bullet for Critics, Free Housing for Propagandists
Spain: Putting the chill in media freedom and free speech
Protesta en Madrid. Photo: Adolfo Lujan
In Spain, it has become risky for journalists to do their job since the so-called gag laws were passed in 2015. Even tweeting, writing, singing, satirizing and joking can be dangerous too. It can lead to a fine or, worse, to prison.
Written by Silvia Chocarro
Download: Putting the chill in media freedom and free speech
Germany: A solution for online hate speech or a threat to free speech?
On January 1st 2018, a new law came into effect in Germany, with a monstrum of a German title: the Netzwerkdurchsetzungsgesetz (NetzDG). This Internet Enforcement Act, to give a rough translation, was put forward in early 2017 by then minister of justice Heiko Mass — currently German foreign minister. The law is intended to address a supposed shortcoming in the enforcement of German internet law: existing laws, such as the Telemediengesetzt or Telemedia Act, oblige social network providers to delete illegal content once they were made aware of them. However, according to Mr. Maas the main social network providers had failed to fulfil that duty.
Written by Christian Honey
Download: NetzDG — a solution for online hate speech or a threat to free speech?