Euronews journalists passed a no-confidence vote in the broadcasters’ management and adopted a statement saying that their media could no longer be seen as an independent and balanced voice.
An internet poll conducted on 6-7 December shows that out of 291 journalists and technicians at Euronews, 205 (70.4%) said they don’t trust the company’s management, and only 34 (11.7%) said they did. 52 expressed no opinion (17.9%), according to La Tribune.
67% of all employees took part in the vote, and, as the trade union Force Ouvrière, who organised the vote, said the outcome only has symbolic meaning and has no legal basis, but does send a clear message to the management.
FO also said that at the moment, Euronews is no longer an organisation with a European approach and with a European vision for its future, something that should be obvious for such a channel.
The EurActiv.com website quotes a journalist from Euronews, who asked not to be named, that their media was no longer allowed to criticise Turkey after the failed coup attempt. In its statement, the FO trade union raises a number of questions to management, the first one being how it can justify the closure of the Ukrainian service in the actual context of tension between Kyiv and Moscow.
The Ukrainian service of Euronews was bought in March 2015 by Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Firtash, which led to the government in Kyiv banning the service for its suspected bias.
Interestingly, the website, who has been following developments at Euronews, also mentions that Euronews benefits from an estimated €25 million in annual funding from the EU.
Broadband TV News has asked Euronews for comments on these issues, and the broadcaster has replied it does not understand the panel.
