The French press council (Conseil de Déontologie Journalistique et de Médiation, CDJM) has been awarded a grant of €15,000 as part of the Financial Support Programme of the ‘Media Councils in the Digital Age' Project. The grant will allow the CDJM to improve and develop its activities, strengthen its organisational capacities and increase its visibility and representation within the French media industry. The project will run until 31 December 2021.
With the help of the grant, the CDJM will carry out several activities throughout France, including taking part in the ‘Assises Internationales du Journalisme' held in Tours from 29 September to 1 October. During this international conference, which brings together numerous media professionals, the CDJM will run a workshop entitled "But what is the CDJM doing!" It will look back on its 20 months of existence, and exchange with journalists and the public about its activities.
A series of recruitment seminars will be organised, both offline and online. The press council will visit newsrooms in Paris and its neighbouring regions to meet with editorial staff and managers, presenting its work and recruiting new members.
In addition, the CDJM will have the possibility to call upon the Europe-wide network and to benefit from technical assistance in the form of individual coaching by consultants from existing press councils in Europe.
"We are very proud to have obtained this European grant to consolidate the CDJM's development. Referred to by the public, identified by journalists, recognised by European press councils, the CDJM must today strengthen its presence in the French media. The European aid and the technical support of experts will help us to give a new momentum to this organisation which was designed to promote journalistic ethics and restore confidence between the media and the general public,” said CDJM President Kathleen Grosset.
The CDJM was created on 3 December 2019 and is the 19th press council in Europe. It is a tripartite association between journalists, media and the public, focusing on journalistic ethics. Since its creation, the CDJM has received more than 450 complaints from the general public about nearly 200 journalistic content.
The Financial Support Programme, coordinated by the European Federation of Journalists, aims to strengthen new or newly created self-regulatory bodies in Europe, by helping them to improve their organisational capacity, increase their membership, and promote greater awareness of their role in the media landscape.
The grant was launched within the project "Media Councils in the Digital Age" framework. This project is funded by the European Commission (DG CONNECT) and led by a European consortium, which brings together several European press councils (Austria (OP), Germany (TDP), Belgium (RVDJ and CDJ), Finland (JSN), as well as two universities (ULB in Belgium and Ramon LLull-Blanquerna in Spain) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ).