Press and media freedoms are increasingly at risk. After its first edition (March 2020-March 2021), the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) has been confirmed for the third year, this time covering a period of 18 months, from May 2022 till November 2023: it monitors violations in all EU Member States and Candidate Countries and documents them on the Mapping Media Freedom platform.
Furthermore, the MFRR provides practical and direct support to journalists and media workers who are at risk due to their work through emergency funds, legal aid, training, and shelter programmes. MFRR partners also carry out advocacy missions and awareness-raising campaigns to secure a wider engagement in European civil society with issues related to press and media freedom.
Within the project, OBCT makes further use of its Resource Centre on Media Freedom to support evidence-informed policymaking and advocacy, and supports QCode Mag in managing the programme Journalists-in-Residence Milan.
Press freedom groups in solidarity with journalists and media in Georgia
20/12/2024The undersigned press freedom, freedom of expression, media, journalists and human rights organisations express solidarity towards journalists and media in Georgia
MEDIA Georgia, threats against the media
Tbilisi | Federico Baccini | 20/12/2024Physical attacks, insults, obstacles at work, damage to equipment, arrests. In Georgia journalists have become a target of police violence during the street protests, while state broadcasters are accused of disinformation
Serbia: Urgent need for a swift investigation into intelligence invasive surveillance of journalists and sources
| 18/12/2024The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) join the SafeJournalists Network (SJN), in expressing serious concern over the revelations in Amnesty International's forensic analysis, exposing the invasive use of spyware and other digital tools by Serbian intelligence services and police to hack journalists' phones as part of a covert surveillance campaign
Urgent call on the European Union to react to the critical press freedom situation in Georgia
| 13/12/2024OBCT and partner organisations express deep concern about the ongoing violence against journalists in Tbilisi in a joint letter to EU institutions
MEDIA Self-defence against SLAPPs in Serbia
Belgrade | Massimo Moratti | 11/12/2024In Serbia, the investigative newspaper KRIK is the target of frequent legal harassment. To counteract it, the editorial team has developed strategies based on civil society solidarity, public denunciation and monitoring of trials
Joint letter to European Commission President: EU should oppose Türkiye’s “agent of influence” bill
redazione | 10/12/2024In a joint letter, 55 international and local press freedom and human rights organisations urge the EU Commission to call for full withdrawal of the "agent of influence" bill in Turkey.
Georgia: Press freedom partners condemn assault on journalists during demonstrations in Tbilisi
| 3/12/2024International community must pressure Georgia to end violent attacks on media
INTERVIEW Albania, media trapped in a triangle of pressure
Serena Epis | 22/11/2024Journalists across Europe are often subjected to subtle forms of pressure and intimidation, including vexatious lawsuits frequently initiated by influential politicians or businesspeople. Blerjana Bino, Executive Director of SCiDEV and Researcher at the SafeJournalists Network, provides insight into the situation in the country
INTERVIEW Serbian journalism, stronger EU support is needed
Serena Epis, Sava Mirković | 13/11/2024Amid a systematic erosion of editorial independence by the government, stronger international support is needed to uphold media freedom in the country. An interview with Igor Božić, news director of the independent N1 TV
Bosnia Herzegovina: urgent call for stronger protection for journalist Nataša Miljanović Zubac
redazione | 7/11/2024The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners together with the SafeJournalists Network (SJN) firmly call for thorough and swift investigations into numerous threats against Nataša Miljanović Zubac, journalist for the Radio Television of Republika Srpska (RTRS)
Attacks on journalists during Bulgaria’s parliamentary elections receive condemnation
redazione | 6/11/2024The undersigned press freedom, freedom of expression and journalists’ organizations strongly condemn the four cases of violence and intimidation against Bulgarian journalists covering the parliamentary elections held on October 27
INTERVIEW Fact-Checking in Albania: Confronting Disinformation and Intimidation
Luisa Chiodi, Sukanya Sengupta | 6/11/2024The disconnect between the younger generation and traditional media, the struggles to hold public institutions accountable, and the urgent need for a syndicate to protect journalists’ rights. These are just some of the challenges that the media sector has to face in Albania. An interview
Intimidated, attacked and barred from entering the country: press freedom organizations urge for protection of journalists’ rights in Georgia
| 31/10/2024International community must place effective pressure on Georgia to uphold press freedom and secure a safe environment for journalists
MEDIA Addressing Key Challenges to Media Freedom in Albania and Serbia
Serena Epis, Sukanya Sengupta | 30/10/2024To contribute to the European Commission’s Rule of Law monitoring, OBCT, in partnership with SCiDEV and IJAS, produced two Shadow Reports outlining the challenges and gaps in media freedom in Albania and Serbia. The main findings were presented during a webinar
ANALYSIS SLAPP in Croatia, a plague
Zagreb | Giovanni Vale | 21/10/2024Over a thousand lawsuits filed between 2016 and 2023 against journalists and media outlets, nearly half of which are SLAPPs, or strategic lawsuits against public participation. These are frivolous lawsuits that aim to silence freedom of expression
Tribute to Daphne Caruana Galizia and all courageous journalists threatened for their work
| 16/10/2024On 16 October at 12 pm in front of the Residence Palais, seven years after the tragic death of the Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, Media Freedom Rapid Response, journalists and representatives of media freedom community will come together to commemorate her brilliant work and dedication
As part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response project, OBCT organised on 17 October 2023 an international conference aimed at unpacking the nexus between rule of law, media and democracy.
Here you can find all the materials and video recordings of the event
Events:
SLAPPs against the media in Europe: is the EU response sufficient and what remains to be done?
22 Apr 2023 | Incontro | Perugia
The objective of the panel co-organized by ARTICLE 19 Europe and OBC Transeuropa, as part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response Mechanism, is to highlight the phenomenon of SLAPPs at the national level and unpack the anti-SLAPP developments at the European level
MFRR Summit 2023: Press Freedom on the Line
29 Mar 2023 - 31 Mar 2023 | Summit | Online
Reflecting the MFRR’s core campaign areas, the online conference will host in-depth discussions on journalist safety, media capture, the rule of law, and SLAPPs. Hosted on Zoom for interactive participation, and simultaneously livestreamed on the MFRR YouTube channel, the summit will feature a range of panel discussions, live interviews, and keynote speeches with journalists, media freedom experts, policy-makers, and other stakeholders all working to defend press freedom in Europe
MFRR Summit 2022 - Boosting Press Freedom
22 Mar 2022 - 24 Mar 2022 | Conferenza | Online
La conferenza annuale del progetto Media Freedom Rapid Response, una tre giorni online aperta dalla vicepresidente della Commissione Europea e da un discorso di Roberto Saviano
MFRR Summit
17 Mar 2021 - 20 Mar 2021 | online
(Conferenza finale del primo anno di Media Freedom Rapid Response, con giornalisti, esperti, rappresentanti della Commissione Europea. Quattro giorni di eventi e dibattiti)
Media freedom is in jeopardy but there is no democracy in Europe without a free press in Europe
Between 17th and 20th March, the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), which monitors and tracks media freedom violations, will bring together leading journalists from over 13 countries and representatives of press freedom organisations, unions and journalist bodies to discuss key threats and trends that underpin threats to media freedom across Europe
Chi ha paura dei giornalisti? Il report MFRR Italia
11 May 2022 | online | online
In occasione della pubblicazione del report sulla Missione Italia, il consorzio MFRR propone un momento di discussione sugli esiti della tre giorni di ricognizione tenuta dalla delegazione agli inizi di aprile
MFRR in Focus: Europe
4 Oct 2021 | WEBINAR | online
In questo appuntamento online, che avrà cadenza bimestrale, i partner del consorzio Media Freedom Rapid Response presentano le questioni più urgenti che minacciano il giornalismo in Europa, negli Stati membri e nei paesi candidati
MFRR in Focus 6
24 May 2022 | online
Per l'appuntamento mensile con il webinar di MFRR, OBCT ha realizzato un'intervista a una videomaker freelance di GVpress: Cristina Pantaleoni, incontrata a Roma durante la missione Italia di MFRR, racconta le difficoltà dei videogiornalisti durante gli scontri con manifestanti e polizia
MFRR in Focus 5
15 Mar 2022 | Webinar | Online
Il quinto episodio del webinar mensile di MFRR si concentra sulle questioni di genere nel giornalismo, dedicando una puntata alle donne, a una settimana dalla Giornata Internazionale dell'8 marzo / The 5th edition of the MFRR monthly webinar focuses on women journalists, a week after International Women's Day
OBC Transeuropa -as member of the Media Freedom Rapid Response consortium- conducted a research on the needs of European journalists and the gaps in support mechanisms. From verbal harassment against media operators to groundless legal charges, what can be done to tackle these issues
2021
Authors: Maria Francesca Rita, Sofia Verza, Luisa Chiodi
Language: English
The project European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) aims to protect press freedom and to promote transnational public debate on violations registered in the European Union, the Enlargement and the Eastern Partnership countries. In 2018, the project enters its fourth year of activity thanks to the renewed support by the European Commission.
The European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) brings together different European entities working in support of media freedom - the Media Foundation of the Sparkasse Leipzig , initiator of the ECPMF based in Leipzig; the two monitoring centres Oxygen for Information (Rome) and South East Europe Media Organisation (Vienna); Journalismfund.eu (Brussels); and the Institute of European Media Law (Saarbrücken).
Press freedom and freedom of expression have a crucial role for the functioning of democratic societies. Despite this, in Europe journalists are threatened, censured or intimidated and this affects the citizens' right to information. OBC, together with SEEMO , Ossigeno Informazione , Professor Eugenia Siapera (Dublin City University) and a broad network of media partners in 11 European countries, devoted a year to studying the challenges to press freedom and the needs of journalists in Italy, South East Europe and Turkey. The project "Safety Net for European Journalists. A Transnational Network Support for Media Freedom in Italy and South-east Europe" is co-financed by the European Union.
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The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) started in March 2020 as a one-year pilot project co-funded by the European Commission. |
