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Description
According to the 2022 ‘Media Pluralism Monitor’ report, conditions in which journalists work are an important factor affecting media freedom and their watchdog activities. At the same time, a recommendation assumed in the same year by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, quality journalism is aided by the prevention of discrimination among the editorial staff. Hence, the assumption behind the project is not only to strengthen equality standards in the Polish media from the point of view of content delivered to readers, but also to provide solutions that will optimise the functioning of journalists’ place of work. Our research indicates that Polish journalists wish to broaden their knowledge on legal protection they are entitled to, in the event of violations they experience in their work.We will address these problems by organising the Equal Media Academy. We will recruit journalists from all over Poland, especially those working in local and civic media. Within the Academy, we will organise four two-day trips to Warsaw to workshops devoted to legal protection of journalists, even treatment at the place of work, and equal work standards, e.g., inclusive language of content prepared. It will be a great opportunity for representatives of small editorial teams to meet and exchange their knowledge and contacts. We will organise legal advice for journalists available both online and by phone. We will establish an Information Database – a website gathering publications related to free media and equal treatment. We will present it during the closing event (later also available as a webinar) during which we will present the ‘Equal Work Standards for Editorial Teams’ developed during the Academy.Our partner is Press Club Polska raising journalists’ qualifications in Poland and ensuring citizen’s right to obtain reliable information. Our partner will support us in promoting the project, recruiting Academy participants and in promoting our legal counseling.
Summary of project results
The Media Pluralism Monitor 2022 report points to the link between media freedom and media watchdog activities and the working conditions of journalists and female journalists. At the same time, as the recommendation of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, adopted in the same year, qualitative journalism is fostered by countering discrimination in editorial offices. We wanted to fit in with this kind of thinking and contribute with our project to strengthening the equality standards of the media in Poland from the perspective of the content provided to the audience, but also of solutions to improve the functioning of the editorial office as a workplace. Indeed, our research showed that there is a need in Poland to increase journalists'' and journalists'' knowledge of the legal protection to which they are entitled in the case of violations they experience in their work. What is more, more and more information about situations of violations of employee rights in the journalistic community started to appear in the public space, mainly on the grounds of discrimination and mobbing in workplaces.
We responded to these problems by organizing the Equal Media Academy. We recruited journalists and women journalists from all over Poland, especially those working in local and civic media. As part of the Academy, we organized four two-day workshops on legal protection for journalists/women, equal treatment in the workplace, and equal standards of work, e.g., inclusive language for prepared content. It was a good opportunity for people working in small editorial offices to get to know each other and exchange knowledge and contacts. We also organized legal advice on-call for journalists from all over the country, available online and by phone (there were over 300 hours in total). We created an Information Base - a website with publications related to free media and equal treatment. We presented it at a final event where we presented the ''Equality Standards for Editorial Work'' developed during the Academy.
Our partner was the Press Club Poland, which is involved in raising the qualifications of journalists in Poland and cares for the rights of citizens to obtain reliable information. It supported us in promoting the project, recruiting people to the Academy, and promoting our legal advice.
Our project was aimed at everyone working in the media - journalists and reporters, as well as editorial managers and executives.
A publication containing ''Equality standards for editorial work'' was distributed to 190 journalists and reached more than 1,100 people on social media.
As we know from the evaluation questionnaires, the workshop participants not only raised their level of knowledge but also acquired new contacts and were able to exchange experiences with other professionals. We were also able to inaugurate a network of journalists working for equality journalism. As a result, its members continue to support each other on this topic even after the project has ended.
As an additional activity, we produced a podcast in which PTPA experts discussed the rights of journalists in editorial work, methods of protection against discrimination and harassment and presented the available sources of knowledge from the ‘Information Base’. We also organised a webinar on the implementation and application of the ‘Equality Standards for Editorial Work’ and recorded 8 educational spots promoting PTPA''s activities.