The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) will join its Australian affiliate the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) tonight at a tribute for colleagues lost in the horrific Paris shooting at French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo yesterday.Australian media will gather to pay tribute to their fallen colleagues with a condolence book signing. The event will take place at 6pm at 245 Chalmers Street, Redfern, Sydney. Those unable to attend can sign online here.  Details for a tribute in Melbourne are available here.Tomorrow, at 11.30am (CET) on January 8, a minute’s silence will be observed at the entrance of the International Press Centre at Residence Palace (155 Rue de la Loi).On January 7, at 11.30 am three men stormed the offices of Charlie Hebdo in central Paris. The attack, which took place during the weekly editorial meeting, reportedly left 10 staff members and two police officers dead and 11 more were injured. The attack is the largest killing of media workers since the Ampatuan Massacre in the Philippines in 2009.Charlie Hebdo, a weekly satirical magazine has courted controversy in the past with its irreverent take on news and current affairs. In November 2011 the offices were firebombed a day after the magazine carried a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad. Charlie Habdo has been under threat from Islamic extremists and under police protection since 2011.  See the full IFJ statement here.MEAA federal secretary Christopher Warren condemned the killings, saying: “It is critical that journalists have the freedom to push boundaries as we inform and entertain our communities. Over the past 12 months we have seen media workers around the globe attacked, killed, jailed, kidnapped in an effort to silence criticism and prevent important stories being told. Journalists must be free to hold truth to power – and this includes the freedom to do so through humour and satire – and that means being free from the threat of persecution and retribution for doing their job. This attack is an attack on all journalists by those seeking to silence dissenting and critical voices in the media – je suis Charlie.”

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