![]() The Foundation Board must be staffed according to expertise and a majority of its members must be independent of political parties. Leading positions in the broadcaster must be filled according to professional and not political criteria. The close structural links between politics and the public broadcaster must be broken. Political influence on the ORF must be ended and prevented. We call for a reform of the ORF law to strengthen the ORF and make it sustainable for the future. A discussion with the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) and the Freedom Party (FPÖ) did not take place.īased on the discussions and insights we address the following joint calls to the upcoming ÖVP-led government: Call 1: Secure the independence of the public service broadcaster (ORF) The European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), Reporters without Borders Austria, the International Press Institute (IPI) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) met well-known journalists from public, national and regional media, representatives of the ORF public broadcaster as well as the media policy spokespersons of several major parties. This concern prompted an international delegation of media freedom and journalist organisations to review the situation on the ground. In addition, restrictions on journalistic access to information related to the government’s work gives cause for concern about the situation of media freedom and the free flow of information in Austria. Harassment and threats against journalists, both online and offline, also reached a new level under Kurz’s government. According to a survey, nearly half of Austria’s journalists feel that media freedom is in a precarious state. In its first year under the government of Sebastian Kurz, Austria fell five places on the international press freedom ranking of Reporters Without Borders, to 16th place. Over the last two years, the policies of the previous government showed that the current media system can be influenced politically. IJ4EU (Investigative Journalism for Europe).COVID-19: How IPI members face the challenge.Countering Online Harassment of Journalists.Europe: Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR).Helsingin Sanomat Foundation Journalism Fellowship at IPI.Conference on Judicial communication and Journalists’ Safetyįunder: Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, under the umbrella of MaTra projects.Milestones in Strengthening media freedom in Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Serbia For the activities, knowledge and network related to the media in the participating countries, the NHC is happy to rely on its partner in this project Free Press Unlimited. To achieve the project’s aims, the Netherlands Helsinki Committee works together with a number of Dutch institutional experts in this field, namely the Training and Study Centre for the Judiciary ( Studiecentrum Rechtspleging), and the Netherlands Association of Journalists ( Nederlandse Vereniging van Journalisten). By working together with journalist associations, the Judicial Trainings Centres and civil society, the project aims to be as inclusive as possible in order to yield satisfactory outcomes to all of its stakeholders. We recognize the wide variety and diversity present in each of the participating countries, which calls for country-specific approaches. ![]() ![]() The project combines training, advocacy and capacity strengthening of the judiciary and media to improve the capacity of the judicial sector to respond adequately to the threats journalists’ face, whilst at the same time improving the conditions under which the media operates. Unfortunately, the media sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Serbia is not always able to function safely and journalists have been harassed, attacked and killed for simply doing their job. Freedom of the media is one of the cornerstone to a well-functioning democracy, and journalists are vital watchdogs who make sure governments answer to the citizens’ needs responsibly.
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