A survey published today by the Council of Europe, based on a sample of 940 journalists reporting from the 47 Council of Europe member states and Belarus, shows that journalists in Europe are often exposed to serious unwarranted interference in their work, including intimidation and violence. As a consequence, many also suffer from fear, which frequently leads to self-censorship.
The study was commissioned by the Council of Europe to experts Marilyn Clark and Anna Grech, from the University of Malta, who carried out the survey with the support of the Association of European Journalists, the European Federation of Journalists, Index on Censorship, the International News Safety Institute and Reporters without Borders.
The study 'Journalists under pressure: unwarranted interference, fear and self-censorship in Europe' aims to contribute evidence-based data to the debate on how to address threats to media freedom, which have shown a significant increase in Europe in recent years. The survey was carried out via an anonymous online questionnaire in five languages among journalists mainly recruited from members of five major journalists´ and freedom of expression organisations.
The full study has been published as an ISBN publication and is available on the Council of Europe Online Bookshop.