Article
European journalists on the challenges of covering the EU
Culture - 04-03-2010 - 17:35
The European Parliament's annual Journalism prize is awarded in four categories: written press, radio, TV and the internet
With over 1,200 journalists covering the European Union the Brussels press pack is rivalled in size only by its Washington counterpart. But what is it like covering the European Parliament, Commission and Council of Ministers? How do journalists make sense of it all? We asked some correspondents their thoughts ahead of the 31 March deadline for the European Parliament's journalism prize which marks excellence in reporting of EU affairs by the written, radio, TV and internet media.
Frans Boogaard covers Brussels based EU news for Dutch newspaper "Algemeen Dagblad" and is also a member of the International Press Association (API). "Being in Brussels for quite a long time (three years in the 80's and again since 1996), I think Europe is getting more and more complicated," he said, making it "more and more difficult both for European institutions and European correspondents to explain to their public what's at stake".
"EU news is not exactly like selling hot buns"
Michael Stabenow is a correspondent for leading German newspaper "Frankurter Allgemeine Zeitung". He said, "EU news is not exactly like selling hot buns. That is the painful experience that most of the 1200 correspondents accredited with the EU institutions feel."
The European correspondent for the "Irish Examiner" Ann Cahill told us, "it's a privileged job in many ways as you can chart the rise of ideas and follow their development through the power politics of government, business, civil society and the EU institutions."
Separating news from "chatter"
"It means moving among many institutions and sources, wearing out a lot of shoe-leather, listening to various sources and then having to sit down and rendering all this coherent to my readers," according to former deputy bureau chief at Ansa News Agency Maria Laura Franciosi.
"The quantity of material and the volume of communication generated by the institutions is enormous," she said. "The difficulty is therefore to sort things out and to sort what is important and newsworthy from 'chatter'".
Nikos Bellos, head of the Cyprus News Agency in Brussels, said, "the toughest part of our work as Brussels correspondents is covering the news on schedule while maintaining the necessary standards of accuracy and the reason its tough is that so many things happen at more or less the same time."
He added, "this in turn can lead to situations where one has to cover an event without actually being physically present, in which case technology, for example, the web streaming of press conferences, contacts within the institution's press services and other journalist colleagues prove invaluable."
Domestic and EU politics - "two sides of same coin"
Many journalists find it tough trying to communicate what is going on in the EU in a way that means something to people in their country. "The news desks back home are not only geographically a long distance away from Brussels, they are also removed mentally and have a certain fear of contact with Brussels," Mr Stabenow said.
"Some journalists therefore are not daring to engage closer with EU topics. Reporting about the EU should be about interaction - domestic and EU politics are two sides of the same coin. Therefore good coverage about Europe needs both: the perspective from Brussels and from the member countries," he added.
"In my mind news is everything that can easily relate to the everyday life of people, not 'blue sky thinking' speeches and big plans or strategies," said Ms Franciosi. "The voice of the people and their stories: this is what is really missing in Europe. No matter how well one can cover the activity of the institutions, people are only interested in knowing what the EU’s decision will mean for their lives".
This is backed up by Anna Cahill who told us that "there is then the job of communicating it to the public so that they can see that it is relevant to them and they can understand it, even if they do not understand anything about the EU."
Cooperation with EU Institutions
Frans Boogaard also elaborated on the changes in the media scene: "Those who rule the media are cutting down the number of correspondents for economic reasons. This is a bad sign, especially at a moment Parliament starts exercising new powers."
On the cooperation with the EU Institutions themselves he said that: "Our (API) repeated request to the three institutions to coordinate meetings better in order to allow correspondents to attend EP plenaries in Strasbourg without missing important council meetings in Luxembourg or Brussels, had a positive reply from Parliament immediately and after some hesitation from the Commission, but not from the Council."
REF.: 20100226STO69653