Friday 22 November - AEJ 51st Congress: “Journalism and democracy in a time of flux”.
In her introductory remarks, AEJ President Eileen Dunne highlighted the importance for societies of the role of independent journalism. Media actors everywhere, she said, were facing growing threats to their profession and their personal safety. The 51st Congress was declared open by Torbjørn Frøysnes, Council of Europe Ambassador to the EU. He spoke of new challenges for the Council of Europe’s work, including the protection of whistle-blowers, state-surveillance and resulting interference with journalists’ freedom of expression.
The first Congress session focused on serious attacks against media freedom in Europe. Chaired by William Horsley, the AEJ Media Freedom Representative, leading experts spoke about what has been done to provide a safe environment for journalism, what further action is needed and how widespread use of surveillance by state intelligence agencies is hampering the work of investigative journalism. Council of Europe’s Onur Andreotti said that violations of the rights of journalists had consequences beyond their profession; it impacted on entire society and the freedom of expression for all. She pointed out that the state’s duty is not merely to refrain from interference but also to observe its ‘positive obligations’ with respect to protection for journalists. She emphasised the obligations of states to prevent violations being committed; to guarantee the right to life, to put in place an effective criminal law and to act against impunity by launching an effective investigation. That investigation should be independent and prompt, because delayed justice is denied justice. Ides Debruyne, Director Journalismfund.eu, an independent non-profit organisation, promoting investigative journalism in Europe, described how his organisation was involved in a study in 2011 commissioned by the European Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control on how fraudulent use of EU funds could be deterred through investigative journalism. The main recommendations from the study included the need for access to information being made easier, bureaucracy being reduced and cross-border cooperation and exchange of information being further encouraged by European institutions. European policymakers should do more to facilitate investigative journalism and increase the budget for promotion of freedom of speech. In order to combat fraud and corruption, the level of journalistic professionalism needs to be raised. Jean-Paul Marthoz, a Belgian journalist and senior advisor to Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), talked about the impact of mass surveillance practices on investigative journalism. He presented a US perspective, arguing that censorship there meant censorship everywhere, because many of the major US stories are also global stories.
Aggressive surveillance and pursuit of leaks create a chilling environment for journalists. People are now afraid to provide information to journalists in case their identities might become public one day. Better oversight of security services is vital. Marthoz recommended a Washington Post investigation entitled: Top Secret America. The national security and intelligence systems have grown so big, technology has become so complex and sophisticated, and it is no longer taken-for-granted that the system fulfils its main purpose of keeping citizens safe.
The second session of the AEJ Congress, chaired by Eileen Dunne, discussed the future of media and media funding. The main speakers were Andrzej Krajewski, Free Speech advisor to the Polish Broadcasting Regulator KRRIT; Wilfried Ruetten, Director of European Journalism Centre (EJC) and Sixtine Bouygues, Director of Strategy and Corporate Communications, European Commission. Krajewski talked about a sharp reduction in journalism jobs in Europe and in the USA, with a greater proportion of PR material finding its way to the news coverage. Andrzej Krajewski feared that in a few years’ time, the slide in media standards would erode the democratic system. “Saving the media should be seen as saving democracy” he said. So how could media be funded better and in new ways? Krajewski suggested moving away from ‘funding by prize-giving’, which tended to produce exclusively positive EU stories. Instead, it was time to start independent high-quality media funds. High quality journalism should be supported just like elections, he argued. Wilfried Ruetten suggested that EU money to be given to individual journalists rather than media houses. Unlike media houses that tended to spend it on bureaucracy and buildings, individual journalists reporting on serious issues could be held more accountable. Sixtine Bouygues addressed the question of what role the EU Commission should play.
She described how the Commission had reduced the costs of its own Communication work. The EU had been able to cut the costs of its visual logos, and websites had been simplified and rationalised. Christophe Leclercq (EurActiv.com), argued for a swift process of consultation with media organisations and other stakeholders to devise proposals for boosting public support to independent media coverage of EU policies in new ways. He argued that EU institutions had missed opportunities to move in that direction in the past; and that the editorial independence of any entity receiving public funding would need to be strengthened. Nicola Frank (European Broadcasting Union) noted the changing media landscape where everyone was competing with everyone, but said the EU and EBU, with members in 56 countries, could help public service media especially when a country was seeking membership of the EU. Finally Katharine Sarikakis (Vienna University) commented that journalists could only be independent if there was a sound financial structure and legal framework, and lamented the closure of ERT, the Greek public service broadcaster, even though it was making a profit at the time when it was forcibly closed down.
Saturday November 23 - 51st AEJ General Assembly: in Memoriam Dr Horst Keller; modification of statutes and attention for young journalists.
The General Assembly started with an In Memoriam for Dr. Horst Keller who sadly passed away in August. The address was given by David Haworth, who spoke movingly about the AEJ stalwart’s impressive journalistic career and called him ‘a great friend whom we will never forget’. An important moment for the association was the approval of the modification of the Statutes, not only an adjustment to reflect our changing times, but also an opportunity to streamline the organisation by introducing a fully- fledged Board. Special attention for young journalists was required by Vice-President Saia Tsaousidou. Her suggestion to make a top priority of interesting young colleagues in the activities of our association met broad approval by the delegates.
Two resolutions were adopted unanimously. The AEJ General Assembly applauded the recent revelations by Edward Snowden and other whistle-blowers and denounced the widespread and secret snooping by state intelligence agencies, condemning intrusions on freedom and privacy. The General Assembly also condemned the crackdown on media representatives and human rights activists in European countries as Azerbaijan, Belarus and Russia. A resolution urged the Council of Europe to postpone Azerbaijan’s forthcoming chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers in May 2014 if it continues to treat its dissenting voices with ‘a blatant disregard for human rights, democratic values and the rule of law.’
The 51st AEJ Congress/GA ended with a convivial dinner for delegates, partners and friends in the famous Brussels’ Restaurant Chez Leon. The succesful event was organised by AEJ International’s Brussels representative and President of Press Club Brussels Europe N. Peter Kramer. With many thanks to the wonderfully supportive sponsors:
Huawei Technologies, Visit Brussels, Wallonie-Bruxelles Int., Stand-Up for Europe, Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, Restaurant Chez Leon and PressClub Brussels-Europe.
More details are available on the AEJ website www.aej.org.
By: N. Peter Kramer
