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This cartoon was created for World News Day, a cause that Voxeurop supports. Its purpose is to highlight violations of press freedom and acts of violence against journalists worldwide.
| A note from the editor |
| Of all the key principles I learned at journalism school, one often springs to mind: “Never write anything that would never change your life once it's on paper.” For my narrative journalism teacher, writing carried a dual responsibility: to write with honesty and sincerity, and to write regardless of the consequences. Today, journalism is a deadly profession. Journalists around the world are subjected to intimidation, arbitrary imprisonment and smear campaigns. When they are not actively victimised, they have to contend with precarious working conditions and predatory practices by large financial interests. Every week, we choose a cartoon to sum up the major event of the moment. Whether the cartoon is touching or scathing, it always embodies the freedom of tone that defines Voxeurop. With help from our partner Cartoon Movement, we choose the cartoon every Monday morning during our editorial meeting, and then I write a short explanatory text to accompany it. It usually takes me a good hour to research and write the text, which has to cite a carefully selected range of articles from the European press. Added to this is the time it takes to translate each article – into four languages! – as well as the time spent editing it, publishing it on our website and sending it out every Wednesday morning by email to you and several thousand contacts. During the whole process, six people are involved for several hours at a time. Here's a little exercise: take the hourly rate in your country and multiply it by six hours of work, and then add the illustrator's fee. As you can see, even short content like this requires a significant investment of labour and capital every week. So we mean it when we say that your financial contribution, however small, really makes a difference. A few donations, added together, have enabled us to publish our articles and keep you informed on a continuous basis for more than ten years. The result is a unique media outlet in the European landscape, as you can read in our latest activity report. This is why we have launched a campaign for donations and the purchase of shares. If you can, please consider making a one-off or regular donation. You can also support us by purchasing shares in our European cooperative (each share is worth 50 euro) and joining more than 200 readers, translators and journalists who own our 100 percent independent media outlet. Any questions? Make an appointment here with me or any other member of the editorial team. We say it all the time, but we mean it now more than ever: thank you to everyone who supports us! At a time when freedom of information appears more threatened than ever, your help is vital. Adrian Burtin |
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