As an advocate of the necessity of integration across the whole of Europe at the democratic level, the ECJ contri-butes to the building of a European consciousness and to the dissemination of knowledge of European contexts. With this background, the Europen Chamber of Journalists considers comprehensive press freedom and freedom of information as an essential element of the democratic order. The ECJ supports the free media and the Europe-wide implementation of the basic groundwork in the sociopolitical area with many projects.

However, the tendency towards the concentration of the media, which can endanger the freedom of opinion within the European structures, cannot be ignored. New technologies and intensive international competition are forcing the media into drastic change. In the media business big money is tempting, and journalistic seriousness and editorial quality criteria fall by the wayside. This crisis in the industry affects journalists above all.

In many media organisations & newspaper publishers, there is an air of crisis. Readers, listeners and viewers are leaving in droves, adverts and advertising income from sponsoring are being lost rapidly. This trend has consequences: lower income from advertising means fewer readers and leads to journalists and editorial staff being outsourced or the employment of freelancers instead of permanent employees as journalists. Result: the number of journalists working freelance or part-time is increasing rapidly.

But other forms or media organisation and entrepreneurs are arising, and this is a positive development: Internet newspapers, press portals, editorial blogs, etc. Changes in the press and media landscape bring new chances with them, for the range of work as a journalist is wide. Technology allows us to reach a wide audien-ce with very modest means.

For a healthy media democracy, it is of fundamental importance to retain a diversity of media and to build it up further. The accumulation of market power and influence on public opinion in the course of takeovers and share-holdings signals a trend towards editorial flattening and endangers journalistic quality.

The joint interests of journalists and representatives of the press on the one hand, and the ECJ on the other, thus involves the sustainable strengthening of the interests of journalists. The freelance representatives of the press and press officers need a competent partner who makes their justifiable interests clear to third parties and does not just represent the interests of full-time journalists.

In the spirit of the democratic plurality wanted by all, an independent representation of part-time journalists is the order of the day. The social commitment of all members of the organisation is thus secured.