26/7/2023 UPDATE:

We are delighted to announce that our campaign has been successful, and the Conservative Party has agreed to drop the £137 fee altogether.

 

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FPA Open Letter on Charges for Media Coverage at the Tory Party Conference

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The Foreign Press Association in London, representing international correspondents in print, online, and broadcast media from all over the world, is fiercely opposed to the charging of journalists to attend the Tory Party Conference this Autumn.

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We believe that a fundamental tenet of a free and democratic society is allowing journalists – from all over the world - to freely report on matters of public interest. We have not found any comparable charges in any other country in the world, let alone in any other democracy.

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It is a shame that the UK, part of the Media Freedom Coalition, co-organiser of the very first Media Freedom Conference in the world, a country with a proud tradition of press independence, should be the first to effectively tax journalists for doing their job. As observers of this country we feel the need to speak out.

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We have been told that the reasons for the charges are administrative, to cover the “thousands” of no-shows: yet there appears to be no proof of these no-shows and there is no other comparable event that requires journalists to pay for coverage. In fact, this decision sets a dangerous precedent for countries all over the world who will use this decision to justify financial and other barriers to media scrutiny of the political process.

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We therefore call upon the Tory party conference organisers to scrap or refund the charges and allow fair and free reporting for all.

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Signed By (A-Z order by country):

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ALBANIA:
Fax News TV
KMA Albanian News

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AUSTRALIA:
9Honey
ABC
Hans Van Leeuwen, The Australian Financial Review

Network 10 News 

News.com.au
News Corp Australia
Sky News Australia
The Sydney Morning Herald

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AUSTRIA:
Kurier
ORF
Profil
Vorarlberger Nachtrichten

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AZERBAIJAN:
APA News Agency

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BANGLADESH: 

Dhaka Tribune

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BELGIUM:
L'Echo
La Libre Belgique 

L'Post & L’Post24 News 

Le Soir
RTBF (Belgium TV)

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BELIZE:
Naturalight Productions

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BRAZIL:
Fernanda Zaffari, Bandeirantes BS
Mediatalks/UOL
Rede Globo
SBT TV Network
TV Cultura

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BULGARIA: 

bTV

 

CANADA:
CBC
CTV News
Global News
The Globe and Mail

Radio-Canada

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CHILE:
Revista Domingo

 

CHINA:
CCTV Europe
CGTN Europe
China Daily UK
China Economic Daily 

China Radio International 

Guangming Daily
People's Daily UK Bureau 

People's Daily Online 

Social Sciences China Press 

UK Cloud Media
Xinhua News Agency
Yicai

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COLOMBIA: 

7 Media
W Radio

 

CROATIA: 

Hanza Media

 

CYPRUS:
Astra FM
Thanasis Gavios, Cyprus News Agency & PIK/CYBC

 

CZECH REPUBLIC:
Czech Public Radio (Cesky Rozhlas)
Czech Public Broadcaster (Ceska Televize)

 

DENMARK:
DR Nyheder 

Kristeligt Dagblad 

Politiken
TV2 

Weekendavisen

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ECUADOR: 

DNews

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ESTONIA: 

Postimees

 

EUROPEWIDE: 

Europe Street News 

EPA
Eurovision Services

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FINLAND: 

Demokraatti 

Helsingin Sanomat 

Kauppalehti

YLE

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FRANCE:
Abaca Press Photo
AFP Agence France Presse 

L'Agefi
Arte TV
C14 Media
La Croix
Europe 1
Le Figaro
Francais a Londres
France 2 TV
France 24 TV
France 24 TV Spanish Service 

France TV
L'Echo Magazine
L'Express
Les Echos
Liberation
Le Monde
Le Monde Diplomatique 

L'Opinion
Le Parisien
Le Point
Politique Internationale 

Radio France
RFI
RTBF
RTL Radio
TF1

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GERMANY:
ARD German Radio
ARD German Television
Augsburger Allgemeine
Badische Zeitung
Berliner Zeitung
BILD
DPA
Deutsche Welle
Christine Heuer, Deutschlandfunk (German Public Radio) 

Focus
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ)
Gala
Germany Trade & Invest
Handelsblatt
NDR Norddeutscher Rundfunk
Nürnberger Nachrichten
ReporTrois
Rheinesche Post
RTL Television
Sächsische Zeitung
Der Spiegel
Stern Magazine
Stuttgarter Zeitung/Nachrichten
Süddeutsche Zeitung
Sudwestrundfunk
Sebastian Borger, Der Tagesspiegel

TAZ
Die Welt
ZDF German Television
Die Zeit

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GREECE:
ANT-1 TV
ERT S.A. (Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation) 

Ethnos
Ta Nea
Thanasis Gavios, SKAI TV

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HONG KONG:
Chaser News
Phoenix TV
The Stand News
Yazhou Zhoukan (Asia Weekly)

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INDIA:
Ananda Bazar
ABP News Network 

Bartaman Patrika 

CNN News18
The Hindu
India Today
Press Trust of India

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IRAN:
Iran International TV 

Kayhan London 

Volant Media

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IRAQ:
Al Sharqiya News 

NRT TV

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IRELAND:
The Irish Times

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ISRAEL: 

Israel Radio

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ITALY:
Canale 5
Class
Il Corriere della Sera 

Corriere dello Spettacolo 

Il Fatto Quotidiano

Il Foglio
Il Giorno QN
Philip Baglini, London One Radio
Il Mattino
Mediaset
Il Messaggero
La Nazione
RAI TV
La Repubblica
Il Resto del Carlino
Il Riformista
Sky TG24
Giorgia Scaturro, Freelance Journalist

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JAPAN:
The Asahi Shimbun
Fuji TV
Hokkaido Shimbun
I-Media
The JiJi Press
Kyodo News
The Mainichi Newspapers
NHK - Japan Broadcasting Corp. 

NHK Cosmomedia Group 

Nikkei Business Publications 

Nikkei Europe
Nippon TV
Sankei Shimbun
Tokyo Broadcasting System
The Tokyo Chunichi Shimbun 

TV Asahi
TV Tokyo Corp.
Yomiuri Shimbun

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KAZAKHSTAN:
Timur Dyussekeyev, Kazinform News Agency

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KUWAIT:
Kuwait News Agency

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LEBANON: 

Arabs Today

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MEXICO:
CNN Redaccion Mexico 

El Principado Agency

Televisa
TV Azteca

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MOROCCO:
Maghreb Arab Press 

North South Publications

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NETHERLANDS:
Geert Langendorff, Algemeen Dagblad 

BNR Nieuwsradio

De Telegraaf
NOS Dutch TV & Radio 

NPO Radio1
NRC Handelsblad 

Trouw

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NEW ZEALAND: 

Discovery NZ Newshub 

TVNZ Europe

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NIGERIA: 

Arise TV

 

NORWAY:
Britisk Politikk
NRK Norwegian Broadcasting Corp. 

TV2 Norway

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PAKISTAN: 

Chalta TV

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PHILIPPINES: 

ABS-CBN News

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POLAND:
PAP Polish News Agency 

TVN Poland
Telewisja News24

 

PORTUGAL:
Agencia Lusa
CNN Portugal
RTP (Radio e Televisão de Portugal) 

Sic Noticias

 

QATAR:
Alaraby TV
Al Jazeera International

 

ROMANIA: 

Romania TV

 

RUSSIA:
Channel One Russia 

Novaya Gazeta

RTR Russian State TV and Radio 

TASS News Agency

 

SAUDI ARABIA: 

Ajel
Arab News

 

SINGAPORE:
The Straits Times

 

SLOVAKIA:
RTVS (Public Radio & TV of Slovakia)

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SLOVENIA: 

Demokracija 

RTV Slovenija

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SOUTH AFRICA: 

M-Net
News24

 

SOUTH KOREA:
JTBC
Segye Times
Yonhap News Agency

 

SPAIN:
ABC Spain
Agencia EFE
Antena 3
Catalunya Radio
Ctxt.es
COPE Radio
Diari Ara
El Economista
El Mundo
El País
El Periódico de Catalunya 

Euskal Telebista ETB 

Expansion
La Razon
Onda Cero Radio
Publico
RNE
TV3 Catalunya

TVE
TV Galega

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SWEDEN:
Dagens Nyheter
Sveriges Public Service Radio and TV

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SWITZERLAND:
Aargauer Zeitung
Basler Zeitung (BAZ)
Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ)
RSI (Swiss Italian Radio & TV)
RTS (Radio Télévision Suisse) Public TV & Radio 

SRF Radio & TV

Tagesanzeiger Zürich (TAZ) 

Le Temps
La Tribune de Geneve

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TAIWAN:
Central News Agency
Taiwan National TV (Public Broadcaster) 

The Reporter News

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TURKEY: 

Anadolu Agency 

Ekoturk TV 

Hürriyet 

Milliyet
TRT World

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UAE:
Al Arabiya 

Asian Lite 

The National

 

UKRAINE:
Tyzhden (Ukrainian Week)

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USA:
ABC News
Bloomberg TV
Breitbart News
The Daily Beast
LA Times
NPR National Public Radio

The New York Times 

The New Yorker 

NTDTV
Observer

People Magazine 

TIME Magazine 

Univision
UPI

USA Today
The Washington Post
Zenger News
Catherine Meyer, freelance journalist and former FPA President

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VIETNAM:
Vietnam News Agency 

Vietnam TV

 

 

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28 May 2023

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Publishers and Editors refusing to sign up to Conservative Party Conference in ‘draconian’ fees row

 

A row has broken out between the Press and the Conservative Party over plans to charge for media attendance at the governing party’s annual conference.

National, regional and international newsrooms are refusing to sign up to the Conservative Party’s Autumn Conference following the decision by the party to implement a fee for reporting on the event. 

Editors regard the fee as draconian and counter to the Conservative party’s claim to be a defender of press freedom.

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The decision, which has caused deep concern among a broad coalition of industry bodies including the News Media Association, Society of Editors, News Media Coalition and Foreign Press Association, comes ahead of the party’s upcoming conference to be held in Manchester in the first week of October. 

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The impasse follows a breakdown in communication after last year’s conference where the charges were first introduced. No other political party in the UK charges for press accreditation. 

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Normally hundreds of members of the Press attend.

Industry representatives have challenged the fees, charged at £137 for each journalist’s application, on the basis that any fee for media attendance at party conferences – regardless of the political party – sets a deeply concerning precedent in a democratic society. The decision by newsrooms to withhold booking for the event is also being supported by the Press Gallery of Westminster political correspondents.

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In a joint statement today (Sunday, 28th May, 2023), the coalition of industry bodies said: ‘For more than a year, we have been seeking discussion with the Conservative Party to review these charges, as promised. This was to find an alternative solution to supposed concerns which the party seeks to address by charging the media for attendance – a decision which we are united in viewing as undemocratic and detrimental to the interests of society and the Party itself.’

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The joint statement added: ‘In a democratic society, all party conferences are of considerable political and public importance and, as such, there should be no charging barrier for journalists to be able to act as the eyes and ears of the public by freely reporting at such events.  Through objective journalism, the conference also provides a window for the global community to see UK democracy in action.’

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Only last week (18/05/23), Lucy Frazer, Secretary of State for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) trumpeted the way she said the government supports and champions press freedom at home and around the world. She told a major conference that growing Press Freedom was a priority of the UK government. ‘If we want a thriving media sector in the future - our focus has to be on a free press and a press that is free to grow,’ she said. ‘As a government we are taking steps to increase press freedoms and make sure journalists can do their jobs effectively,’ Frazer stressed when  speaking to delegates at the Enders Media & Telecoms Conference.

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The Conservative Campaign Headquarters has stated previously that the fee is to cover admin costs which have risen because, it says, the party receives numerous Press pass applications from journalists who do not then attend. 

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In addressing this, the coalition of media organisation’s statement adds: ‘The issue of so-called no-shows is a factor experienced by all popular events of Press interest often due to changing daily news agendas. We have offered alternative ways to reduce the impact and cost of speculative applications, which have fallen on deaf ears. To live up to the Conservative Government's mantra on press freedom, the accreditation fee for attending the conference must be scrapped'.

 

 

Statement Issued on Behalf of:

News Media Association (NMA)

News Media Coalition (NMC)

Society of Editors (SoE)

Foreign Press Association (FPA)

 

 

 

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24 February 2022

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The FPA is a little like the UN of journalists. It is based in London but welcomes hundreds of correspondents from all over the world and it is only natural that, as we watch events unfold in Ukraine, our thoughts and prayers are with the innocent people in that country and with the many colleagues working to make sure that reliable and accurate reporting of this act of war reaches every corner of the world.

Many of our members will be covering the ways the UK is responding to the Russian attacks, and many others will be covering the invasion on the ground in Ukraine and in neighbouring countries. Please stay safe and continue with your fearless work. These are the times when truthful, rigorous, fact-based journalism is crucial. And these are the values the FPA has always upheld and in which we believe in, especially now at this crucial moment in history.

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5 June 2020

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The FPA condemns the unacceptable attacks on foreign journalists which took place here in London and are becoming alarmingly widespread all over the world.

 

We stand shoulder to shoulder in solidarity with all media colleagues affected, including our colleagues from Nine News Europe desk.

 

 

 

30 October 2018

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On the day of Jamal Khashoggi's Memorial in London, the Foreign Press Association wishes to voice its strong concern about the increased number of threats, attacks and murders of journalists throughout the world.

 

In areas where there are conflicts or high levels of corruption and crime, the threat to journalists is well known. Now we are also witnessing targeted attacks and killings in Europe. 

 

As we celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we ask that responsible and fact-based journalism and press freedom be respected and supported. Not silenced. The media are not "enemies of the people". 

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We also ask that the perpetrators of the murders in Malta of Daphne Caruana Galizia, Jamal Kashoggi in Turkey, journalists in Mexico, Afghanistan, Bulgaria and across the world be held to account and brought to justice. 

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