The undersigned partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) are highly concerned about yet another series of violent attacks and threats to journalists and media workers covering protests against the government’s pandemic-related measures across Italy. Several incidents of hostility and violence towards media were reported in Rome on 9 October, when journalists and photojournalists [...]
The partners in the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) are highly concerned by a barrage of attacks and harassment of journalists by protesters at demonstrations across Europe in recent weeks against new government measures taken in light of the Coronavirus-pandemic. They fit a disturbing pattern observed throughout the region of increasing violence, harassment and intimidation of journalists [...]
Slovenia’s Government Communication Office (UKOM) must stop denying public health officials and ministers clearance to give interviews with media and halt wider attempts to control news coverage during the pandemic, the International Press Institute (IPI) said today. IPI, a global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists for press freedom, also urged UKOM to [...]
The International Press Institute (IPI), a global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists for press freedom, today expressed serious concern over the recent increase in threats and violence against journalists in the Netherlands. Over the past few days, several journalists and TV crews have been threatened, insulted or physically attacked by groups of [...]
Estonia, one of Europe's smallest nations, has been well known as a trailblazer globally when it comes to digital government. Its media organizations are leaders, too, running ahead of the other two Baltic countries of Latvia and Lithuania when it comes to people committing to paying for online content. Since September 2019, when the Estonian [...]
Italians have little confidence in journalism. This much was revealed in a recent Reuters Digital News Report which showed that in 2020 only 29 percent of Italians trusted their media. Concerningly, the report also pinpointed a further decline in this figure compared to the previous year, as has been the case for several years in [...]
As flares illuminated Republic Square in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana in red light, photojournalist Borut Živulovič stood amongst the crowd with his camera and equipment covering anti-Covid-19 lockdown protests against the government on November 5. As he was documenting the clashes between protesters and riot police, an unidentified individual approached the photojournalist from behind and [...]
COVID-19 has had a significant impact on press freedom and independent journalism in Malta, the EU’s smallest member state. Key issues include a non-transparent system of providing public aid to media outlets, a restrictive attitude toward access to information, and delays in the public inquiry into the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. The [...]
The International Press Institute (IPI) was today joined by the partner organisation of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) in sending an open letter to the government of the Czech Republic raising concerns about its side-lining of critical media during press conferences. ----------------------------------- Dear Andrej Babiš, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Jan Blatný, Minister [...]
Leggi questa dichiarazione in inglese qui Il consorzio MFRR esprime seria preoccupazione per la scia di aggressioni, minacce di morte e intimidazioni ai danni di giornalisti e operatori dei media che in Italia si occupano di argomenti legati al Covid 19 e raccontano le proteste anti-lockdown. Nelle ultime tre settimane, il consorzio ha documentato almeno [...]
Read this statement in Italian here The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) today expresses our serious concern over the string of physical attacks, death threats and acts of intimidation against journalists and media workers covering issues related to COVID-19 and recent anti-lockdown protests across Italy. Over the last three weeks, MFRR partners have documented at [...]
The International Press Institute (IPI) today condemned acts of violence towards journalists and media workers covering protests in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana last night and called for thorough police investigations to identify those responsible. On November 5, 2020, photojournalist Borut Živulovič, who works as a photographer for the agency Bobo and a freelancer for Reuters, was [...]
Zur deutschen Version At a time of a global health crisis, it is vital that citizens have access to reliable and timely reporting. Honest and transparent official communication directed towards a vibrant and free media ecosystem could result in a balanced flow of information that raises awareness, increases public trust in the measures aimed to [...]
Zur deutschen Version In Romania, the right to access information is often an intricate affair for journalists and citizens alike. Testimonies written in the Bucharest and regional-based press depict arbitrary refusals from authorities to release the requested data, unjustified delays and convoluted bureaucratic procedures that often end up in court. The implications for fair and timely [...]