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IFJ welcomes 'First Step', calls on Berlusconi to quit TV
IFJ Press Release, 14 April 2005
15/4/05: The International Federation of Journalists today welcomed the decision by Silvio Berlusconi to cut his stake in the Italian private television company Mediaset, but said that it did not go far enough and failed to eliminate the conflict of interest caused by his commercial television holdings and his role as Italian PM.
“We welcome this step because it recognizes that his position as media owner and prime minister is untenable”, said Aidan White, the General Secretary of the IFJ. “But it is not enough. In reality his family’s hands remain on the controls of Italian’s biggest private television operator while he still exercises undue influence over the countries public broadcasting system”.
The IFJ was responding to the news that following set back for his party in recent Italian regional elections, Berlusconi’s company Fininvest was reducing its stake in Mediaset from 50.9% to 34.3 % to try to answer critics over his conflict of interests.
“But his company will remain by far the largest single share holder, so the idea that this is giving-up control is entirely theoretical”, said White. “It is only a first step. To be convincing, Berlusconi has to quit the commercial television market. It will take more than cosmetic changes to give credibility to the idea that he really intends to end the conflict of interest”.
In Bilbao two weeks ago, the Annual Meeting of the regional group of the IFJ, the European Federation of Journalists, which represents more that 260.000 journalists including members of the Federazione Nazionale della Stampa Italiana, agreed to campaign vigorously in defence of quality broadcasting across Europe and pledged to support journalists in Italy who are demanding reforms to defend independent journalism at the public broadcaster RAI.
Last modified: Friday, April 15, 2005
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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.
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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.
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Saturday 13 July 2013 from 10.00am
NUJ HQ, 308/312 Gray's Inn Road, London WC1.
Leveson, media ownership, CPBF future work.
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