EBU partners with Council of Europe to back journalism

The EBU has partnered with the Council of Europe to track alleged violations of media freedom in member states.

The EBU has become the eleventh partner to join a platform that was set up by the Council of Europe to promote the protection of journalism and the safety of journalists.

The platform allows partners to issue alerts concerning threats to media freedom, with issued alerts sent to the authorities of the concerned country and to the different Council of Europe institutions.

“I am pleased to welcome the EBU to the platform and I am convinced that this partnership will strengthen the impact of the Council of Europe in addressing media freedom challenges,” said Council of Europe secretary general, Thorbjørn Jagland.

“As the leading alliance of public service media, the EBU has unique expertise, working for almost 70 years for and with broadcasters. Our two organisations share a conviction that public service media needs to secure its editorial independence and institutional autonomy.”

The news came as the EBU launched a new ‘Quality Journalism initiative’ to help newsrooms redefine and reposition their offer to audiences.

The scheme was launched at the EBU’s General Assembly with the publication of report titled Perfect Storm, which aims to address the challenges facing public service news providers.

“The EBU has been supporting Members to deliver high-quality news and journalism since its inception. However, Members are now facing a period of unprecedented change and we want to see what new services we can offer to meet new demands,” said EBU director of media, Jean Philip De Tender.