Recruiting and Organising: Unions Challenges in Times of Media Crisis

EFJ/FES Seminar: Recruiting and Organising:
Unions Challenges in Times of Media Crisis

Belgrade,  15-17 April, 2009

 

Conclusions

 

1.      Journalists’ Unions and Associations Join Forces to:

  • - Coordinate actions on issues of shared interests, such as the media crisis, organise joint events on themes of importance to the journalistic community, present common proposals to the government, raise awareness and reach out to the public by presenting the challenges and problems of the profession in a concerted manner;
  • - Act together in the defence of  independence of media ,focusing solely on professional and social interests of journalists.

 

2.      Reaching out to Young Journalists by

  • - Contacting educational institutions to get issues of social/human and trade union rights into the curricula;
  • - Helping  working journalists to get experience in the educational systems;   
  • - Organising internships in media houses for students and keep contact with them;
  • - Holding roundtables to enable discussions between students and respected journalists on professional and social issues within a changing media landscape;
  • - Taking advantage of new technology and social networks of reaching out to the young.

 

3.      Engaging Web Journalists through

- Organising web journalists and including them into the union structure, educating them on ethical rules, authors’ rights and other journalistic issues; providing journalistic training; contacting  them by personal letters and invitation to unions’ meetings.

-  Fighting  against remuneration based on click rates.

 

4.      Conducting  Internal Reforms by

  • - Broadening criteria for membership within the radical changing media landscape;
  • - Creating more efficient structures to allow for contribution from existing journalists organisations .

 

5.      Challenging Legal Framework on Organising by

  • - Campaigning for the right at national level to organise at the work place and for recognition of industrial action and active union membership where needed,  with the help of the EFJ/IFJ;
  • - Fighting for conditions of Social Dialogue at sector level