European Commission Vice-President Henna Virkkunen with MEPs and Members of the EANA Board

The News Media Coalition (NMC) brought its case for safeguarding Primary Source Journalism (PSJ) to the heart of the European Parliament this week, as CEO Andrew Moger addressed the European Alliance of News Agencies (EANA) Debate on The Role of News Agencies in Fighting Disinformation in Europe.

Alexandru Giboi.

The event, hosted in Room Spinelli 1H1 by European Parliament Vice Presidents Pina Picierno and Antonella Sberna, brought together MEPs, news agency leaders, copyright experts and senior EU officials. Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for Technological Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, delivered the keynote address. The debate was opened by Stefano de Alessandri, CEO of ANSA and President of EANA, and moderated by EANA Secretary General Alexandru Giboi.

A new Framework to empower newsgathering

Speaking alongside Patrick Lacroix, CEO of Belga, MEPs Stefano Cavedagna, Ivaylo Valchev and Hermann Tertsch, and H.E. Andreea Pastarnac, Ambassador of Romania to Belgium, Andrew Moger used his guest speech to launch the NMC’s new nine-point Framework to empower Primary Source Journalism (PSJ).

He set out, in plain terms, what PSJ is and why it sits at the centre of Europe’s response to disinformation:

“Primary Source Journalism, or PSJ, is on the ground, first-hand reporting of newsworthy events by trained journalists — that’s written reports, photography and video news material created by journalists witnessing news events of public interest across a range of topics and to accessing information about them. Largely it is everyday but vital news reporting.”

Andrew Moger

Moger argued that the case for PSJ has only grown more urgent as synthetic content floods the information ecosystem:

“At a time of AI-generated misinformation and disinformation, distinguishing truth from falsehood is more critical than ever.”

He placed news agencies at the centre of that effort, describing PSJ as “the raw material of truth” and pointing to news agencies as “a significant powerhouse engine generating the high value societal commodity of original trustworthy news information’

Why PSJ is under threat

Moger told MEPs and officials that the conditions for first-hand reporting are deteriorating across cities and communities, with practical consequences for the public’s ability to make sense of cultural, political and sporting events. Issues included insufficient access to major news announcements, copyright in news images being stolen, video-journalists blocked from capturing newsworthy scenes and accreditations restrictions which dictate how and what news content can be created and where the news editorial material can be published, posted or shared or distributed.

These were live and recurring problems — issues that ripple globally because news itself is global.

A European policy framework already exists — but has not been delivered

Moger pressed the institutional audience on a point the NMC has championed for several years: the legal and political scaffolding for protecting PSJ in Europe is already on the books, but has not been put into practice.

He pointed to Recital 16/38, agreed by the European Commission and the European Parliament in 2021, which states that “a robust system of safeguards at national level is required to enable journalists to fulfil their crucial role ‘on the ground’, especially with regard to access to venues, sources of information and reporting from events of public interest.”

“I cannot see that has happened,” Moger told the audience.

He closed with a call to the European institutions to act on what they have already endorsed:

“The future of PSJ is in all of our hands. I invite you all to see it as one of the most vital weapons against not only disinformation but also what new challenges to knowledge and citizenry follow disinformation.”

Jonathan Lockwood

Jonathan Lockwood, VP and General Counsel at Getty Images was among the fellow NMC members and Board representatives at the event. Jonathan’s intervention underscored the breadth of the Coalition’s industry base. Christophe of Agence France-Presse, also an NMC Board member, was present to represent one of the world’s leading wire services in the discussion.

Credits to the pictures presented in the article go to credit: Belga Photo (Eric Lalmand) and the NMC.