The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its European group the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) today welcomed backing for its global Ethical Journalism Initiative from a major broadcaster in Romania, Realitatea TV, which says it will work with the IFJ in Romania to promote the campaign for ethical and professional standards "at national and international level".

The company is backing the IFJ campaign, it says,  to confront a crisis of falling media standards in the region which has seen many cutbacks in recent months, including in Romania where two daily newspapers closed recently.

"We welcome this offer of help to strengthen ethics and professionalism in media," said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. "We hope, too, that it will lead to similar commitment from other media employers who are genuinely concerned about the media crisis and the need to rebuild public trust in journalism."

The IFJ ethical campaign has already been supported by the German-based WAZ group which operates in nine countries in south Eastern Europe and which has signed an International Framework Agreement covering all journalists in the group with the IFJ three years ago.

The issue was also discussed between the IFJ Officials and Alexander Lebedev, the Russian owner of Novaya Gazeta and the British newspaper The Evening Standard at a meeting in Moscow two weeks ago.

"The signs are that major players in media are ready to work with journalists to restore values in journalism," said White. "We shall follow up this offer of co-operation in Romania and work with our affiliate MediaSind and the company to develop a common front to strengthen journalism."

The IFJ says that the co-operation will open the door to meaningful social dialogue to ensure that journalists' rights are properly respected, both socially and professionally. "These are key questions as we move to resolve the current media crisis," said White.

For more information contact the IFJ at   +32 2 235 2200
The IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists in 125 countries worldwide