In 2016, the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) enters its second year of activity thanks to the renewed support of the European Commission. Through the cooperation among its 6 consortium partners - the Media Foundation of the Sparkasse Leipzig , initiator of the ECPMF based in Leipzig; OBC Transeuropa (Trentino); Oxygen for Information (Rome); South East Europe Media Organisation (Vienna); Journalismfund.eu (Brussels); and the Institute of European Media Law (Saarbrücken) - the ECPMF project aims to protect and promote press freedom and promote transnational public debate on violations registered in Europe .
Liaising with several other European entities active in defending media freedom across the continent, OBC Transeuropa will raise awareness of the situation of freedom of information in six member states of the European Union, in the Enlargement and Eastern Partnership countries through:
1) a transnational journalistic campaign along with 14 media partners by publishing and disseminating news and analyses aimed at increasing information and debate on relevant topics;
2) the further development of the Resource Centre on Media Freedom in Europe ;
3) the initiative #Wiki4MediaFreedom which builds on the work initiated by the Wikipedian in Residence hosted at OBC in 2015.
Pressure on international media in Turkey is increasing. German journalists have been expelled from the country as their press accreditations were not renewed. International freedom of expression organisations urge Turkey’s authorities in a joint alert to revoke the decisions, to stop the expulsion of international journalists, to renew press cards to foreign media outlets, and to respect their independence.
"Fake news" or disinformation is one of the most pressing issues of our times. Building on the materials of the Resource Centre on Press and Media Freedom in Europe, OBCT devoted its latest special dossier to this topic
There are over a thousand ongoing trials against journalists or Croatian media, and the list is not complete. The complaint of the Association of Croatian Journalists
A court in Montenegro today sentenced the independent journalist Jovo Martinović to 18 months in jail. The ECPMF and its partners are appalled by the verdict and condemn Martinović's conviction in a joint statement
An edit-a-thon will take place in Madrid on January 18th to boost the availability of accurate knowledge on media freedom in the largest open encyclopedia worldwide
What is the state of the Croatian media? And what could the government and the institutions do to improve the situation? We asked Hrvoje Zovko, the new president of the Association of Croatian Journalists (HND)
An edit-a-thon will take place in Berlin on January 26th to boost the availability of accurate knowledge on media freedom in the largest open encyclopedia worldwide
From his recent arrest during an investigation on corruption in public procurement to the murder of TV host Viktoria Marinova, Bivol's investigative journalist Dimitar Stoyanov gives an overview of the criticizes of information in Bulgaria
The difficult situation of Turkey's press told by well-known journalists, the effects of European solidarity initiatives, and the prospects for the future. A report of the event "Turkey's Media Under Siege", covered by OBCT
The media situation in Serbia continues to deteriorate. Recent events show that government repression of few remaining non-aligned media has become routine. According to RWB, Serbia has the worst media situation in all the Balkans
Turkey: Sentence has been passed in trial of 28 media workers
A Turkish court on Thursday sentenced 25 journalists and media workers to 3 to 7 years prison terms over terrorism links to the Gülen movement. All of the journalists convicted worked for Zaman daily or other media outlets deemed to be close to the movement which is blamed by Turkish authorities of being behind the July 2016 failed coup. The lawyers of the case will appeal against the conviction
Bianet: read the full article in English
Do working conditions of Journalists In Greece affect press freedom?
“I am considered lucky because I earn 500€ a month. From the total amount, I am obliged to pay the extra cost of the bank transfer”, Haris Drousiotis, 23, tells me. He works from home, rewriting news and he doesn’t have an employment contract, which means that he lives in constant stress worrying if he is going to get paid that month. “The work I have done can be deleted any time and there won’t be any sign that I was ever employed there”, he comments, adding that he knows of previous employees who weren’t pad for months of work in the past.
After 29 Years, MEGA Channel died
It was the country’s first private TV-Station and changed the way Greeks entertained and informed themselves
Greece: the bad habit of mansplaining the news
Flipping through the hubbub of Greek television channels, especially during the morning rush or evening hours of talk shows, the prevalence of men is undeniable. The reasons for the media’s sexist orientation is not irrelevant to the sexism of (Greek) society.
Hate speech: what it is and how to contrast it
Curated by Radio Popolare - an OBCT mediapartner within ECPMF project - this broadcast is about "hate speech". The interview with Lorenzo Ferrari, OBCT researcher and among the authors of the special dossier curated by OBCT.
Kosovo: Arrogance in place of transparency
Despite Ramush Haradinaj's government having approved a new concept paper on improving communication with the media, Kosovo's journalists claim that old complaints about a lack of transparency remain.
Montenegrin principal court: Djurovic must return to RTCG Council
Principal court has ruled that Goran Djurovic must be reinstated as a member of the Council of RTCG (the Public broadcaster). The decision to remove Djurovic from the Council was widely recognized as a politically motivated action: as a part of the ruling party strategy aimed at taking back control on the public broadcaster.
Montenegro: Nikola Vukčević will be reinstated as member of RTCG council?
Administrative court has repealed the ruling of Agency for preventing corruption, but there is a small chance that Nikola Vukčević will be reinstated as member of RTCG council. Even though court has ruled that he was not in conflict of interest, Agency claims “he possibly could have been”. Now it is up to Montenegrin Parliament to decide whether it is going to name somebody to replace him.
Romania and press freedom: let’s just recap!
In this article Dilema Veche provide a brief review of the events that have recently affected press freedom in Romania: a legislative proposals according to which televisions should broadcast more “positive news” (with tax benefits); a black lists of journalists who are against the government made by a minister; the National Audiovisual Council (the institution that should regulate the media slips) which does not punish any channel for fake news broadcasts; investigative journalists kicked out or left work due to editorial pressures.
Albania: Fake news & bombastic titles, the abyss of portal-mania
In the last four years, portal-mania has exploded in Albania: a new trend that seems to be closely related to the extension of mobile to a large number of users. How does it affects information?
The Media Freedom Resource Centre is an open online platform that facilitates quick and systematic access to an ever-growing collection of resources on media freedom and pluralism, such as region-wide and country-specific publication and practical tools for journalists, practitioners, policy makers. Whether you are journalist, a media expert or an organisation, use this crowd-sourcing platform to share and disseminate your materials!
Building on a previous Wiki GLAM initiative, Wiki4MediaFreedom aims at boosting the availability of accurate knowledge on media freedom and pluralism in Europe on Wikipedia. People who are willing to contribute, learn and help disseminate in languages other than English relevant information on these topics are very welcome to join!
Through a partnership between Index on Censorship, European Federation of Journalists and Reporters Without Borders Mapping Media Freedom monitors and visualises the state of media freedom in Europe by crowdsourcing reports of violations and limitations from journalists and press freedom watchdogs. Get involved!
The project European Centre for Press and Media Freedom is co-funded by the European Commission
