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A million signatures for media pluralism
23/4/05: European Socialists are to support a one-million-signature campaign to secure new European laws on the media under provisions in the European Constitution.
The move, believed to be the first initiative under provisions in article 47 of the constitution, was proposed by leading Italian journalist and Socialist MEP Michele Santoro at an international seminar on media concentration organised by the European Parliament's 202-strong Socialist Group in Brussels today.
Group vice-president Harlem Désir, who led the talks involving senior journalists, media chiefs, academics and journalist organisations, said: "Our ambition is to build a broad European coalition for pluralism in the media that simply cannot be ignored by the European Commission, member states and media owners.
"The European constitution empowers Europe's citizens by making it possible for them to force through new laws at European levels. To make the European Commission come forward with a proposal, we need a million signatures.
"I expect that campaigners will use postcards and the Internet to gather those signatures." Mr Désir called for minimum EU standards on the independence and accountability of regulatory authorities for the media.
"We already have European standards for the energy industry's regulation, so why can we not also have them for the media?"
The EU should bring forward new measures to promote independent production and distribution in the media, he added. Speakers in the discussion condemned the Commission for producing worthy statements about values, diversity, pluralism and freedom of _expression, but failing for 13 years to respond to demands for regulatory safeguards at European level.
Mr Désir said after the seminar, in a joint statement with Socialist Group spokeswoman on the EP culture committee Christa Prets: "Pluralism is a public good and an essential part of our democracy. Standardisation of the way in which information is presented to the public diminishes the cultural wealth of Europe. We need a European policy to ensure pluralism and diversity."
Last modified: Saturday, April 23, 2005
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Notices
Events & Announcements
World Press Freedom Day
More reporters are currently imprisoned in Turkey than in any other country in the world. Only a matter of weeks ago lawyers failed to persuade a Turkish court to release a 76-year-old journalist from a Turkish internet news station.
World Press Freedom Day on Friday May 3, 2013 is being marked in Britain by a rally to highlight the dangers facing journalists in Turkey and in this podcast, Nicholas Jones speaks to Barry White, Organiser at the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom, and Sam Bamford, the TUC's policy officer for Eastern Europe and Africa about the importance of a campaign to highlight international press freedom.
The World Press Freedom Day rally is being staged by the National Union of Journalists at the NUJ head office, Gray’s Inn Road, London WC1 on Thursday May 2, 6pm-8pm.
DATELINE: 27/4/13
UK launch of EU media campaign
DATELINE: 13/3/13
The UK launch of a 'European Citizens' Initiative' calling for EU rules against concentration of media power will take place on Thursday March 21 from 11:00am – 12:30pm in Committee Room 4A at the House of Lords, London. Guest speakers will include actor and activist Hugh Grant (pictured), media consultant Claire Enders, Professor Steven Barnett, Barry McCall (President of the NUJ) and Marc Gruber (Director of the European Federation of Journalists).
A European Citizens' Initiative is an official petition, like a Downing Street petition. If it succeeds in gathering a million signatures across the EU, the Commission is obliged to respond.
This petition calls for the EU to act to protect media pluralism and press freedom.
CPBF Annual General Meeting
DATELINE: 1/3/13
Make a note in your diary
Saturday 13 July 2013 from 10.00am
NUJ HQ, 308/312 Gray's Inn Road, London WC1.
Leveson, media ownership, CPBF future work.
DOWNLOAD FREEPRESS NOW
DATELINE: 26/3/10
Download Freepress in PDF, ePub or mobi format. Issue 194 now available.
MEDIA FOR ALL CONFERENCE
DATELINE: 26/3/10
Papers from the Media for All Conference
MEDIA MANIFESTO
DATELINE: 26/3/10
The media’s job is to inform and entertain us but we rely on them too to tell us what our rulers and representatives are up to. In the run-up to the Iraq war the government used spin and disinformation in the media to create panic and mislead people. The truth is coming out now, but we need stronger, more independent media to be able to scrutinise governments and make informed choices.
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Previous stories
International
The latest from the Vanunu campaign
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MEDIA MONITOR: Thumbs Down for Berlusconi
More MidEast links
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