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Moscow - the unexpected journey
By Roman Berger
The Swiss journalist and writer, Roman Berger, recalled his journey to Moscow at the EFJ Annual Meeting and the struggle for journalists and their unions to be independent in a country like Russia where the state controls everything. “Moscow is not a media desert with only pro-government media†– this is Berger’s conclusion.
The delegate from Estonia has summed up the reason of his presence at the EFJ Annual Meeting: "Only when I found out after my research that the Russian Union of Journalists (RUJ) is a critical organisation, my union was willing to send me as a delegate to participate in the meeting in Moscow." Meelis Suld told me why he came to Moscow.
The decision of the EFJ to hold its Annual Meeting on "Journalism in times of conflict" in Moscow was a difficult one. It had led to some unions boycotting it in protest of Putin's policies in Ukraine. Others have raised the question: how independent can journalists’ unions be in a former soviet country where unions still tend to rely on the state and the rights of workers are not represented? (Read the full article in English and German)
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Why impunity must end, journalists’ safety ensured and ethics improved
By Dunja Mijatović
Dunja Mijatović, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, gave a keynote speech at the EFJ Annual Meeting and expressed her support for ethical and independent journalism in Russia. She highlighted the dire situation of journalism in media.
“Journalism is an important profession. It can be seen as a skill, a talent, even a passion in a way; a passion to tell the truth, to inform, to reach others, to communicate news using all platforms. So why is this passion, this profession so fiercely attacked, challenged and perceived as controversial?â€
“Russian media is in dire need of self-examination.There is a need to cleanse journalism of fear, propaganda and routine frustration. In the absence of critical journalism, democracy suffers and deliberate misinformation becomes the standard.â€
“There is no democracy without professional, courageous and investigative journalism, and there is no future without democracy.†(Read the full speech)
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To view more pictures, visit our website.
(Photo credit: RUJ/Alexander Vorobyev, EFJ/Yuk Lan Wong)
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