Dear ECPMF Supporter,
 
Sometimes all it takes to defend media freedom is a pause for thought. 
 
Take Germany’s Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, for example. He was all set to prosecute satirical columnist Hengameh Yaghoobifarah. Why? She wrote in the taz newspaper that the police are no good at their jobs and should be dumped on the scrap heap. After an outcry from the media freedom community 
and a quiet word from Chancellor Angela Merkel, the case was dropped. Now that Germany holds the Presidency of the Council of the EU, we hope for more quiet reflection and consideration for press freedom. This is especially vital when it comes to restoring the budget cuts to cultural and media initiatives. In the post-corona virus period, more financial support - not less - is required to support quality journalism and defeat disinformation. 

In Montenegro, we call on the authorities to think again about the prosecution of reporter Jovo Martinovic and  prove that they understand the role of journalists in a democracy by dropping the charges. And we welcome the acquittal of Bulgarian media owner Iwo Propokiev.
 
Partly, the EU budget cuts can be blamed on Brexit: the United Kingdom is no longer paying in to the European Union and seems to have already rejected European values on press freedom. Death threats have forced a local newspaper reporter and her daughter into hiding in the North of England. So we have reminded the British government of its responsibility to protect journalists' safety, with examples of how best to do this. It should be required reading for all politicians – especially in Slovakia, where a colleague of the murdered reporter Jan Kuciak recently received a bullet in the post.
 
Politicians should pause for thought, too, before meddling in public service media (PSM). At a time when everyone’s health and safety relies on trust in public TV and radio news, their independence should be sacrosanct. But it is not. Poland’s presidential election coverage shows the extent of bias in support of the governing PiS Law and Justice Party. In Prague last week, ECPMF, at the invitation of the Czech Senate held talks on how to prevent and protect PSM from government interference, one clear strategy it uses is domination of PSM Council. Meanwhile Britain’s BBC faces budget cuts that will damage investigative and regional reporting.
  
Pressing the PAUSE button on new initiatives gives critical voices a chance to be heard and politicians a moment to think: do they want to defend human rights or destroy them? If they need guidance, we can respond rapidly with concise briefings and for indepth research, there’s a whole free online library at the European Media Freedom Resource Centre. Germany’s Chancellor Merkel has a reputation for taking time to analyse all aspects before making decisions. Maybe the rest of Europe will now follow her example, and take a moment...
 
Best wishes from Jane
 

*A Lockdown for Independent Media?*
Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the media landscape and press freedom in Central and Southeast Europe

Join Berlin-based Media NGO n-ost for the *launch of a new publication bringing together a series of COVID-19 Country Reports from Central and Southeastern Europe*. The reports provide a closer look at the effects of the pandemic on the media landscape and press freedom in nine countries throughout the region.

*When?*
Launch Event #1: July 2 18h CET (focusing on media)
Launch Event #2: July 6 15h CET (focusing on policy making)
Where: Online (Zoom-Event)
*Please register* HERE (with one registration you can join both events) or via link

The next IJ4EU call for our Investigation Support Scheme opens in August. In the meantime teams of cross-border investigative journalists can apply to the IJ4EU Publication Support Scheme
 
Free Press Unlimited's Award scheme is now open, closing in August. Full details of how to apply here