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3 May 2022
Media freedom cannot be taken for granted – but is the planned EU initiative the right way to safeguard it?
The European Commission is planning to publish this year a proposal for the European Media Freedom Act. The goal of the initiative is to improve transparency, accountability and independence around actions affecting media freedom and pluralism.
So what is the state of media freedom in Europe today?
How to balance media freedom as a public good with independence from state-controlled bodies?
Is the media business model itself a risk to media freedom?
Watch our conversation with Renate Schroeder, Director of the European Federation of Journalists to find the answers!
About Renate Schroeder
Renate is the Director of the European Federation of Journalists. In 1993 she joined the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and since 2003 she works for the EFJ. Her workload includes: advocacy at the EU and Council of Europe level; presentation of EFJ at international meetings, lectures and fact-finding media freedom missions; member of juries of journalistic prizes, project work, communication and assistance in several EFJ expert groups on i.a. freelancers, media literacy and digital journalism.
Renate studied International Relations and Political Science at Boston University (Bachelor’s Degree in 1988) and in Berlin at the Free University (Masters in 1992). She worked at the United Nations, New York, the research institute FAST in Berlin and the Friedrich-Ebert Foundation in Brussels before she joined the EFJ. She is of German nationality and speaks English, French, Italian, German and Spanish (passive).
About European Federation of Journalists
The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) is the largest organisation of journalists in Europe, representing over 320,000 journalists in 72 journalists’ organisations across 45 countries.
The EFJ was created in 1994 within the framework of the IFJ Constitution to represent the interests of journalists’ unions and associations and their journalists.
The Federation fights for social and professional rights of journalists working in all sectors of the media across Europe through strong trade unions and associations. It promotes and defends the rights to freedom of expression and information as guaranteed by Article 10 of the European convention on human rights.