prijava
BRUSSELS / SARAJEVO, December 23 (FENA) - The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the oldest and largest journalist association in the world, recorded the killing of 49 journalists in this year worldwide.
As IFJ Head of Campaign and Communication department Pamela Morinière said in an interview with FENA, this is a significant drop in comparison to previous years, but it also means that journalists refrain from covering certain regions of the world, which is not a good sign for press freedom.
The lack of security is particularly acute.
"One of our challenges is to reinforce journalists' security around the globe. This is why we are lobbying for a UN convention on the safety and independence of journalists," said Morinière.
Another challenge is to reinforce ethics, therefore we have adopted our world Charter of ethics this year.
"We have reiterated the need to protect journalists’ sources, to gather information fairly but also insisted on the importance to be careful with what nonpublic figure publish on social media, the need to recognize the jurisdiction of self-regulatory bodies. Finally, we are concerned with state interference in media and the increase of 'robot' journalism as well as news that dehumanize information and have a negative impact on jobs, but also quality and ethical information," Morinière stated.
She commented on political changes in Europe, notably the rise of populism, and how it reflects on media freedom in Europe and said the IFJ has watched with great concern the deterioration of press freedom in countries such as Hungary or Poland. Also, they find the situation in Turkey very problematic because journalists are constantly being imprisoned, intimidated, and media freedom slammed.
"We are contributing to the Council of Europe's Platform for the safety of journalists where we denounce attacks against the press in Europe. If you have a look, the list of attacks is 'very impressive'," said Morinière, adding that this platform is a good way to fight against impunity as it holds government to account.
Speaking of the situation in BiH, she said that worsening of media freedom, including attacks on journalists, even by citizens, and violation of journalists' rights were seen.
"Media concentration is also an issue. We are concerned about political pressures on media and media professionals," IFM Head of Campaign and Communication department Pamela Morinière said in an interview with FENA.
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